When your business is in need for a boost in sales, what is your first thought that comes to mind? Like most of the people, you probably thought of offering discounts for products. After all, it’s no surprise that almost 130 million US citizens are using online coupons in 2016. But, even if discounting shows that you can benefit from it and the idea is really tempting, the truth is that discounting your products can actually make big damage in the longer period. Discounting your product can make them less valued. Research has showed that 80% of businesses are discounting now more then few years ago, and 75% of them said it has damaged them and their brand. So for customers, the bigger your discount of the product is, the lower it’s perceived in the eyes of consumers. If people see for example something that is discounted by 50% they could think that it’s not really high quality.
Boost sales without discounting
Luckily for you, there are few methods and strategies that you can use for your business to boost sales without having the need to rely on discounting. Study has shown that people who want to complete the process of order, usually stop because of high shipping costs, or because they think website has low security and it’s slow. So to boost your sales, you can test out methods like offering free shipping, improving the speed of page, or placing security logos to checkout page. Try to encourage customers to leave reviews after they complete purchase of a product. This is because shoppers online, are relying much on reviews to make easier decision whether they’re gonna make final purchase. 61% of people are reading reviews before purchasing, and reviews from other customers are trusted much more then manufacturers description of the product. Reviews will lift your product sales for 18%.
Ask yourself, why are you even offering discounting? The reason is to boost your sales, which also means that visitors are not really buying. Only 2% of people who come to online store for first time, convert to shoppers. One research has shown how Cornflakes sales increased by big 500% during the times of discounts, but after it was over, it immediately fell down to normal sale levels. You should also engage in social media platforms and include “shop now” buttons for making buying more easier. Also, visitors who are in loyalty program are spending almost 13% more money then other average customers. This can be beneficial especially for the type of business that are selling products which people are in need to buy almost regularly.
Include sending the abandoned card emails within few hours. This is cause many people are not ready to buy immediately when they put something in car. If you do this, you can reduce abandonment by about 40%. So, before you decide to include discounts in your marketing strategy, think again and be careful. Ask yourself will it benefit you as long time strategy for selling. It’s a high chance that it will not, but it’s very easy to fall in discounts trap. So instead of doing this, focus more on making easier process of buying for customers by following these useful tips above.
