The time of year when the web is red-hot is approaching: the number of potential buyers grows exponentially, and you need to seize the moment, whether to sell more or to promote your products and your online store.
We have talked several times about how to increase conversion: adapting to a “mobile” version, giveaways, social media, etc.
Today I want to focus on related products shown directly in the shopping cart.
We call related products those we link to other products to form a kind of “bundle”. For example, if we sell fashion, we can link a pair of trousers with a shirt, a belt, socks, shoes, a sweater, a jacket, a scarf and so on. At the same time, if the customer clicks one of the related products, it should have its own related products too; and if we manage to link all our products to one another (where the product allows), even better.
It’s simple: other retail sectors have used this technique for years with huge success, and you have surely been offered related products at some point. I experienced it in my previous job as a car salesman at a dealership. When selling vehicles, we offered the base price and, as the customer became more interested, I would explain “extras” such as a sunroof, better wheels, cruise control, and we even offered full maintenance services for up to three years.
Keep in mind that, if we choose the right product, a customer in the middle of a purchase is always willing to spend “a little more”.
Last week, for example, I bought some inner tubes for my bike online, since I want to exercise next year (the usual New Year’s resolutions at this time of year… that never get kept, sound familiar?). Anyway, during checkout I was offered some tire levers to remove the tire easily and I bought them, then I was offered a rim tape to protect the tube inside the wheel and I bought that too… In the end I didn’t look any further and completed the order, but the seller managed to increase my purchase by 6 euros and also earned my gratitude, because if they hadn’t offered me the levers, I would probably have struggled to remove the tire or scratched the rim with an unsuitable tool.
Happy customer, higher revenue for the online store.
Review your platform: it is very important to know what it offers and make the most of it. And don’t forget that ingenuity and imagination can help a lot too. Platforms are usually updated with new features, so it is important to know them and assess what they can bring to your online store.
