Consumers love a good deal (don’t we all?).
Discount marketing is an impactful way to encourage repeat business, generate new business, accelerate purchases, and increase sales. In fact, 99% of retailers are employing a discount-based pricing strategy. Numerous studies have shown the impact that discount marketing – like gift cards, coupon codes, bundled products, and mark-downs – has on a consumer’s shopping experience.
While discount marketing can be an appealing and effective option, it can only have a positive impact when done right. In this post, we’ll give you the ins and outs of discount marketing and show ways you can use it to benefit you and your customers.
Strategies for Discount Marketing
There are endless possibilities for implementing creative discount marketing strategies. Take a moment to consider your goals, your customer’s needs and goals, the end consumer, and selling trends to help you decide which strategy makes the most sense for your business.
Here are effective strategies for discount marketing:
1. Dollar or Percentage Off Offers: One of the most popular strategies for discount marketing is offering a dollar or percentage amount off. Usually done with coupon codes, these are great ways to encourage consumers to shop the online store by extending an invitation – with a benefit attached. Coupon users spend 24% more than regular shoppers, and 28% purchase a more expensive product with an exclusive offer.
2. Bundle Discounts : Offering specially-curated product bundles or collections at a slightly discounted rate can be a win-win for you and your customers. Not only does it allow customers to purchase more and feel like they are getting a deal, it also increases the average order value (AOV) and gets more products sold (helping meet minimums!). Here are a few popular bundles we’ve seen clients offer:
- Spirit wear bundle: t-shirt, stadium chair, jacket, car decal
- Employee bundle: polo, quarter-zip, mug or tumbler, bag
3. Shipping Discount: An effective way to use discount marketing is to incentivize consumers to meet a purchase threshold or minimum cart total goal. For example, if a consumer’s cart reaches a certain dollar amount, they could get free or discounted shipping (e.g., “free shipping on orders over $100”). This strategy allows for consumers to be rewarded for spending more money.
4. Gift Cards: Gift cards are an effective way to turn a simple Purchase Order or bulk order into a profitable purchasing experience that’s a win-win-win for you, your customer, and the end consumers.
For example, a school could offer to buy each student a t-shirt for $15. You could distribute a $15 gift card to each student (paid for by the school), and fill the online store with additional items like hoodies, lunch totes, and backpacks for them and their families to purchase on their own dime. This allows the school to cover a portion of the cost while giving students the freedom to select the size and color. Other ways to effectively use this strategy include:
- Employee appreciation gifts
- Sports Team uniforms
- Employee uniforms
5. Product Discounts: Displaying a product-specific, pre-applied discount can be a great way to show consumers that they are catching a deal with your offering. For example, a product can be shown as being marked down by a certain percentage. It can also be a great way to get rid of any excess inventory you may have from store to store.
6. First Time Purchase Discounts: Invite new customers in on the fun with welcome discounts. A recent study found that 41% of consumers say they’re more likely to seek out something to buy if they have an offer, and it’s a great opportunity to encourage them to visit (and purchase from!) your store. That same study also found that 47% of consumers say receiving an exclusive offer makes them feel excited, which can also add to the positive experience they have and bring them back for repeat business. Offering new customer discounts could look like:
- New students, corporate employees, or volunteers getting a free shirt with purchase, or a gift card balance
- Small denomination gift card (like $5) for a consumer to put towards their first purchase
7. Limited-Time Offers: Encourage people to act quickly so they don’t miss out on limited-time offers or products. Approximately 50% of millennials say limited time offers are very enticing and something they look out for. A couple ways to implement this include:
- Driving sales in preparation for an event
- Seasonal merchandise
- Special-edition merch
Crunching the Numbers
Before getting too excited about implementing these discount marketing strategies (it’s awesome, we know), it’s important to take a minute to crunch the numbers. The last thing we want is to offer a discount and have it negatively impact sales, instead of supporting and increasing them.
As you consider discount market strategies, take a moment to revisit these key things:
- The cost of goods being sold (COGS)
- The price your competitors charge
- The supply and demand for the product
- The profit margin you are hoping to make on each product
- The budget of your target audience or customer
Understanding key inputs may lead to the discovery that products are being underpriced, or that money may be left on the table. Analyzing current price levels ensures profits are not further eroded by discounting what may already be underpriced. OMG clients can benchmark how certain products sell rationally or nationally within their own company, and even compare their prices to retail prices.
OMG Features to Leverage
- Tiered Shipping: Implement tiered shipping to provide free shipping when a consumer’s cart reaches a certain amount.
- Gift Cards: Leverage gift cards as a creative solution for a variety of needs.
- Coupons: Offer discount codes consumers can apply to their cart total.
- Email Customers: Maintain communication with customers using OMG communication features.
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About OrderMyGear
OrderMyGear is an industry-leading sales tool, empowering dealers, distributors, decorators, and brands to create custom online pop-up stores to sell branded products and apparel. Since 2008, OMG has been on a mission to simplify the process of selling customized merchandise to groups and improve the ordering experience. With easy-to-use tools, comprehensive reporting, and unmatched support, the OMG platform powers online stores for over 3,000 clients generating more than $1 billion in online sales. Learn more at www.ordermygear.com.
Media Contact: Hayley Bell | hayley@ordermygear.com | 214-396-2110
