Product bundles can be a great way for merchants to increase their customer Average Order Value (AOV). Merchants achieve this by combining two or more complementary products added to the cart from the product page or checkout, usually sold at a discount.
Consistency, Clarity and Transparency
One estimate from McKinsey suggests that 35% of all Amazon purchases come from recommendations which include many bundles. Other reasons merchants turn to bundling strategies are to reduce cost of sales, test new products, and reduce inventory.
Product bundles can be extremely effective but they require more than combining a few popular products together.
Some common challenges in successfully providing product bundles include:
Lack of customer visibility
Oftentimes, customers will add a product bundle to their cart, but then lose their visibility into the details of the individual products (e.g., size, quantity, price, discount).
- Ramification: Customer confusion and potential lost sale.
Inflexible bundling
In many situations, Merchants can only set up static bundles that the customer cannot change. They are not allowed to create a new bundle if certain sizes or colors are out of stock.
- Ramification: Lost sales due to frustration or lack of product match.
Individual product return challenges
On many platforms, product bundling strips the individual products of monetary value other than as viewed as part of the entire bundle
- Ramification: Individual components cannot be returned or exchanged easily since there is no visibility to the original product pricing or discounting.
A key goal of presenting a product bundle is consistency and price transparency across the ordering process. To help meet this need, here are the key components to a product bundle:
Product bundle display should include information on the individual products and allow for selection of size and other variables as needed to complete the bundle.
Individual product information should be consistently displayed throughout the purchasing process including the cart, checkout, and order confirmation. This includes the following:
- Pricing
- Discount
- Size and Color (or other variables)
- Detail of the product
Items in the bundle should retain their value as the transaction is processed. This information can then be used in picking and processing of returns and exchanges.
To meet these needs and deliver the complete bundling experience for customers, merchants should formalize the ability to create, present, process, and integrate a bundle. The best approach to accomplish this is to add the following components to the customer buying process:
Internal Administration
An internal tool used to create and manage the product bundles and set associated discounts. This tool should also have the ability to identify a range of sizes, styles, and colors for a particular product within a bundle. (e.g. color and size options for a polo shirt).
Presentation to customer
The user experience should include visibility to bundle changes as the customer adjusts the order (e.g., if a blue polo shirt is in the bundle, it is shown in the respective image). At a minimum, details on each of the products should be available with associated pricing and discounts.
Adding these two approaches to your strategy will help make the bunding experience more successful for both the merchant and the customer. The improved visibility and options help build trust and customer satisfaction.
The Valtira team has extensive experience with bundling solutions on leading ecommerce platforms such as Shopify. We can deliver a product bundling strategy that will help you maximize your ecommerce opportunities. We have standard bundling administration and presentation tools available – or we can develop customized tools to meet your unique needs.
With the right product bundling expertise you will be able to:
- Increase your AOV through improved conversion rates of clients with bundles.
- Decrease customer support calls by providing bundle clarity through the entire buying process.
- Execute successfully on your upsell and cross-sell strategies via a bundle of products to meet your sales goals.