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How to Use Discounts to Boost Shopify E-Commerce Sales

Use Discounts to Boost Shopify E-Commerce Sales

Are you ready to unlock the full potential of discounting on Shopify to increase sales and AOV? Look no further; this article has all the valuable tips you need to increase your revenue. We have put together everything in one article for your convenience. Learn how to use discounts to boost Shopify e-commerce sales in no time.

But you may ask, why discounts?

According to a recent study by DataReportal, free delivery (50.6%) and coupons (39.3%) were among the top 3 online purchase drivers worldwide. The numbers tell you how much customers love these offers and why you should too. So, keep reading as we explore different discounting types, strategies, and metrics to supercharge your Shopify e-commerce business.

Best Discount Types to Increase Revenues for Shopify Stores

Best Discount Strategies to Increase Revenues for Shopify Stores

Best E-Commerce Discount Metrics on Shopify

FAQs

Best Discount Types to Increase Revenues for Shopify Stores

There are various discount types to maximize your Shopify sales potential. Some of the most frequently seen are provided below:

Currency or Percentage-based deals

With currency or percentage-based deals, your items could be the top-selling products on Shopify. B2B merchants can display these deals on a specific item, total orders, or categories. E.g., “20% off on all the Superman shirts.”

Shopify Buy-One-Get-One (BOGO)

Shopify buy-one-get-one-free deals are a fantastic way to encourage customers to buy more, increasing average order value (AOV). They work well for items with high margins or nearing expiration dates. E.g., “Buy one hat to get one cap free.”

Shopify Free Shipping

Free shipping deals are in high demand on the Shopify platform. Most cart abandonments are due to high shipping costs, and free shipping increases the chances of successful checkouts. For example, “Free delivery on your order.”

Shopify Bundle sales

Bundle discount deals encourage Shopify customers to buy several related items at a lower price. This is an excellent option for wholesalers and retailers who want to sell in bulk. This leads to an increase in AOV and helps move excess inventory. For example, “ Buy a pencil, eraser, and sharpener for a 50% off sale.”

First-time buyer incentives

Offering special discounts to new buyers can help grow your Shopify store’s popularity. Incentives could be gifts with purchase or percentage-off deals, such as “30% off on our summer clothes for first-time buyers.”

Seasonal Offers and Clearance Sales

Seasonal promotions and clearance sales are excellent ways to move excess inventory while keeping items as good as new. A seasonal offer, e.g., “Winter Holiday Sale!” or a clearance Sale, e.g., “Up to 50% off end-of-season clothing items—limited stock.”

Referral Programs and Coupons

On special occasions, send out coupons to increase customer engagement. Creating a referral program is also a great way to attract new buyers by rewarding the old ones. A common Shopify discount code e.g., “BDAY20 – 20% off for customers on their birthday month.” Referral Programs e.g., “Refer a buddy to unlock VIP access.”

Flash Sales

A flash sale on Shopify creates a sense of urgency leading to faster buying decisions. For example, “Flash Sale: 50% off on the last 3 Spider-Man shirts!”

Best Discount Strategies to Increase Revenues for Shopify Stores

A well-planned pricing strategy can be a game changer to level up your business. Giving out random sales offers on your Shopify products will cause you more loss than profit. Look at your resources, study your Shopify customers, and wait for the right time to strike. Maximize sales with smart planning and build long-term customer relationships.

Are you wondering how to do all that? Keep reading to learn various strategies for discounts to boost Shopify e-commerce sales.

The Right Time For Discounts

Timing is crucial for maximum impact. Special offers that are timed the right way are going to improve sales and customer engagement. Below are some of the best times to promote your Shopify store sales:

Seasonal promotions: Specific times of the year when shoppers are most likely to buy.

  • Back-to-school sales
  • Summer clearance events
  • Winter holiday promotions

Holiday-specific special offers: Displaying offers on specific holidays attracts consumers who want to buy themed products or gifts. Valentine’s Day, Christmas, and Shopify Black Friday sales are some of the most well-known discount periods.

Inventory-empty events: These events can help you manage stock levels and make room for new products. End-of-season sales and last-chance promotions are amazing strategies to clear inventory.

Coupons at Cart Abandonment: Send out coupons to capture hesitant buyers who leave items in their carts.

Timing strategically for sales can significantly improve your conversion and customer retention rates.

The Right Customers for Discounts

Selling items becomes easy if you target the right Shopify customers. Knowing who to sell your products to can maximize the impact of your campaigns. Are you wondering how to do that? Let us see below.

Browsing history for personalized offers: Use customer data for tailored offers. Analyze browsing patterns to present special offers on items that align with their interests. For example:

  • Recently viewed products.
  • Items that are complementary to past purchases.
  • Special offers on frequently browsed collections.

Loyalty Programs: Implement a tiered loyalty program that encourages repeat purchases.

TierRewards
Bronze10% off on the next purchase
Silver20% off + free shipping
Gold30% off + special customer service
Tiered Discounts

Exclusive deals for email subscribers: Share exclusive deals with your email subscribers. You can send out special offers like the following:

  • Early access to fantastic sales
  • Special Shopify offers only for subscribers
  • Anniversary or birthday offers

Hence, our aim should be to target the right customers with personalized special sales offers. You will be able to increase the likelihood of conversions and achieve customer loyalty.

Balance Between Discounts and Profits

Do you want to know how to implement discounts without compromising your bottom line? Then, you need to learn effective ways of managing your sales on Shopify. That is the secret to maintaining profitability. Let us find out how you can do it in this competitive e-commerce industry.

Set minimum purchase requirements: This strategy ensures profitability while you give special sales offers. It encourages your consumers to spend more while reducing the discount’s impact on your margins.

Min PurchaseDeals
$20 – $3920% off
$40 – $5930% off
$60 – $7940% off
Minimum Purchase Deals

Limit the duration of discounts to boost Shopify E-Commerce Sales: Time-limited special offers will help you earn profits for your Shopify e-commerce business. For example, you can consider approaches like Weekend specials and Flash sales to create a sense of urgency in your consumers.

Special offers on high-margin products: A high-margin item’s selling price is higher than its production cost. Such items are often associated with luxury, exclusivity, or popular brands. This discounting strategy makes customers feel like they’re enjoying a premium experience without paying full price.

Loss leader strategy: In this strategy, products(called loss leaders) are sold at or below their production cost to attract shoppers. You can take advantage of this situation in the following ways:

  • Put loss leaders near complementary, full-priced items. 
  • Use loss leaders to introduce consumers to your brand encouraging future full-price purchases.

Use of Modern Tools for Shopify Discount Management

Technology plays a big part in the effective application of discount strategies.  Modern tools help further in using discounts to boost Shopify e-commerce sales. Let us find out how you can make full use of these tools.

Automated Coupon Code Generator: These automation tools are quick in action to provide unique and trackable codes at scale. 

  • Generate thousands of different codes in an instant.
  • Set usage limits and expiration dates.
  • Integrating with email marketing platforms to personalize campaigns

Dynamic Pricing Tools: These tools help adjust prices in real time based on the factors below:

FactorImpact on Pricing
DemandIncrease prices during high-demand periods
Competitor PricingPrice adjusted to stay competitive in the e-commerce market
InventoryLower prices for overstocked products
Customer SegmentsOffer personalized pricing to different groups
Dynamic Pricing Tools Examples

A/B Testing Discount Offers: A/B testing optimizes in the following ways:

  • Create different versions of discount offers.
  • Present various offers to specific customer groups.
  • Analyze performance metrics like conversion rates and Average Order Value (AOV).
  • Implement the most effective offer based on data.

Shopify Analytics to Measure Discount Effectiveness: Powerful analytics tools give insights into the performance of discount campaigns. The tools help you with the following:

  • Track redemption rates of discount codes.
  • Measure the impact on profit margins and overall revenue.
  • Predict long-term effects on customer retention and loyalty.
  • Identify customer groups most responsive to discounts.

Creating Urgency and Scarcity

Another incredible strategy is creating a sense of urgency and scarcity in discounts to boost Shopify e-commerce sales. In this way, you are motivating them to make quicker purchasing decisions. And you get increased conversion rates. So, how do we do that? Let us find out.

Limited-Time Offers with Countdown Timers: Countdown timers can make your Shopify customers feel that they are missing out on something. This feeling will encourage them to act fast. Check out the below tips to implement this strategy.

  • Place timers on product pages or in carts to make them visible.
  • The timer should be accurate and needs to be updated in real time.
  • Contrasting colors help to make timers stand out.

Stock Levels Display: Customers experience a feeling of scarcity when you display low stock levels. They would want to buy items from your Shopify store before these ran out. Consider these tactics:

  • Show the exact number when your products are less than 10 in stock. 
  • Put phrases like “Only 4 left” for very low-stock items.
  • Maintain credibility by updating stock levels in real time.

Early Birds Access to Exclusive Deals: You can drive immediate Shopify sales and create buzz if you reward early buyers. Use the following methods to apply this strategy:

  • Send out special deals to the first 100 Shopify customers.
  • Offer bonus items for orders booked within the first 24 hours.
  • Create tiered-based special rewards based on purchasing timing.

Coupon Codes for One-Time Use Only: Unique coupon codes for one-time use can prevent overuse. The one-time use only creates an exclusive image of the deal fascinating your customers. You can apply these codes in the following ways:

  • Generate unique codes for every customer.
  • Display expiration dates to encourage quick use.
  • Keep track of usage to prevent overuse.

Shopify Discounts Promotion

Good promotions are a must when using discounts to boost Shopify e-commerce sales. Digital marketing can help your Shopify products get more exposure. This strategy is known to drive engagement and bring success to your business. Let us dive into how you can take advantage of this strategy.

Promotional Blog Posts: Compelling blog posts highlighting your offers will win you many readers. And readers will eventually turn into buyers. Check out the below tips to help you achieve that goal.

  • Mention the problem your product solves.
  • Explain how your product addresses the problem.
  • Present your discount as an added incentive.
  • Place a clear call-to-action (CTA).

Discount Prizes for Social Media Contests: Social media will help you generate buzz in the digital world. Engage your audience with attractive rewards who will come for more. You can apply the following ideas:

  • Photo contests that feature your products (20%off). 
  • Caption challenges that can create funny product use (10% off).
  • User-generated content contests (15% off).

Collaborate with Influencers To Feature Special Codes: Partner with influencers to maximize the reach and credibility of your brand. Connect and send unique discount codes to influencers to share with their followers. This will drive targeted traffic to your store creating brand recognition. You will also build trust based on third-party endorsements.

Video Tutorials for Discounted Products: Video content demonstrating your products in action can help grab attention. Incorporate attractive discount offers into your tutorials to engage viewers. Apply the following steps:

  • Share information on the features and benefits of your products.    
  • Show different use cases.
  • Mention the limited-time sales offer. 
  • Place a link or code that viewers can use.

Email Marketing: Email Marketing has been used for many years now in the e-commerce industry. You can generate emails to let your audience know about these exclusive deals. These are perfect for first-time buyer offers, seasonal deals, and birthday coupons.

You can incentivize purchases effectively by applying these smart strategies above. Next, we have Discount Metrics to teach you how to measure a profitable discount. So, let’s get going.

Best E-Commerce Discount Metrics on Shopify

Tracking specific metrics can help figure out if your discount strategies are working. All the tactics to boost online sales are useless if you do not know how to track discount effectiveness. The following are some of the most useful metrics in the e-commerce industry:

Average Order Value

AOV helps determine if offers encourage larger purchases. 

Customer Retention Rate

The higher the better showing that offers are attracting loyal customers. 

Conversion Rate

It measures how many visitors have become buyers during the discounting periods. 

Cart Abandonment Rate

The less the better because a low value indicates that offers are helping close sales.

All these discounting tips and tricks to boost Shopify sales are great. Luckily, you do not have to apply these strategies manually anymore.  If you are on Shopify, you can streamline your discount process with Shopify e-commerce auto discount tools. Apps like DiscountRay can make it easy for you to implement varied discounts in an instant. You can track performance, manage cart rules, and much more- all in one place.

Finally…

Thank you for reading and we hope it was worth it. But you will not know until and unless you try it yourself. Learning how to use discounts to boost Shopify e-commerce sales is not enough. You have to be brave enough to implement it. So, what should be your next step?

My advice is to start with small adjustments. Select which discount type is the best for your brand. Use the strategies to make smart moves. Explore all your options. Track your progress using the metrics. Use tools like DiscountRay to simplify and optimize discount campaigns. We hope to see you again with another solution to your e-commerce problem.

FAQs

How can we use discounts to boost Shopify e-commerce sales?

Discounts help to attract both old and new customers. More consumers means more buying of items. Selling more means driving more sales volume to your Shopify e-commerce business. This will eventually lead to increased profits and success of your store. Discounts not only benefit you but also make your customers happy.

Discounts → More customers → More buying of items → More selling → Shopify store success

What is the best strategy for increasing e-commerce sales?

Some of the top strategies in e-commerce are mentioned below:

  • Study behavioral patterns to target the right customers. 
  • Watch and observe your top competitors to understand what works in the market.  
  • Implement effective sales promotions to attract more shoppers.
  • Enhance the website’s user experience to ensure a pleasant shopping experience.
  • Dazzle the customers with excellent customer service.
  • Social media platforms are an excellent tool to promote your products.

How do you use discounts effectively?

Some of the most popular ways to use discounts effectively are:

  • BOGO deals
  • A gift with a purchase
  • First-time-purchase special offers
  • Flash sales
  • Early bird access special offers
  • Coupon codes

What is the quickest way to increase sales?

Below are some of the quickest ways to increase sales:

  • Make use of limited-time discounts
  • Implement a free shipping strategy
  • Optimize shopping experience for mobile users
  • Follow-up emails and discount codes are clever tricks to reduce cart abandonment.

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