Finally, once the online store website is operational and the marketing strategy is in place, it remains to optimise its sales techniques in order to increase turnover. For this, a solution: increase the amount of the average shopping cart of your online store.

Table of Contents

• Why increase the average shopping cart?
  • What is the average shopping cart for a site?
    • How to increase average shopping cart?
      • 1. Inspiring confidence through elements of reinsurance
      • 2. Encourage purchase
      • 3. Offer advantages
      • 4. Relaunch abandoned shopping carts
• 25 strategies to boost the average shopping cart in e-commerce
  • 1) Understand the bounce rate of your e-commerce 
  • 2) Use cross-selling
  • 3) Have packs available
  • 4) Focus on up-selling
  • 5) The elements of reinsurance
  • 6) Have good merchandising
  • 7) Improve the ergonomics of your site
  • 8) Offer the shipping cost
  • 9) Showcase your most expensive products
  • 11) Display the products already seen
  • 12) Have a loyalty program
  • 13) Promote limited-time promotions
  • 14) Organise a competition
  • 15) Offer split payment
  • 16) Use live chat
  • 17) Show suggestions
  • 18) Up selling and cross-selling
  • 19) The strength of the recommendation
  • 20) Accessible and available customer service
  • 21) Have free proposals
  • 22) The purchase formula in 3 clicks
  • 23) Reassure about payment methods 
  • 24) Provide a comparative 
  • 25) Retain

Why increase the average shopping cart?

A formula allows you to calculate it. However, easily find this figure with Google Analytics. Go to the “Conversions / E-commerce / Overview” tab. Get an idea of ​​your site’s numbers to bounce back and increase this data.

But, why is it so important to make it evolve? It is an effective and simple solution to increase the turnover of your e-commerce.

The turnover of your business depends on 3 criteria:

• Traffic
• Conversion rate
• Average shopping cart

To calculate the turnover of your online business = traffic to your site x conversion rate of visitors x average cart.

Work your SEO with an agency or consultant to develop traffic and visits to your site.

Regarding the conversion rate, do a complete audit of your e-commerce. You can analyse the numbers on your own if you have the skills. Otherwise, call on professionals to pinpoint the areas for improvement.

Unlike the other two data, there is no one to develop it except your strategies. It is therefore necessary to look at this notion so that it does not decline and develop your business.

Optimise this notion continuously. Evolve your strategies according to the results obtained in a progressive manner.

What is the average shopping cart for a site?

This is the average amount of an order. For example, that of the Drive of a hypermarket is around 60 €. For an e-merchant, it is easier to encourage a customer to continue shopping than to find new customers and retain them. Hence the importance for an online sales site to analyse it closely and find solutions to make it evolve.

How to increase average shopping cart?

The idea is to enhance the shopping experience by providing solutions or ideas to the customer who has just added an item to their shopping cart.

1. Inspiring confidence through elements of reinsurance

A customer who feels confident ordering from your site is a customer, if the experience has been successful, will definitely come back for another purchase. You can use many elements of reinsurance on an e-commerce site .

But it is still necessary that during his first visit, the site made him want to order. One of the essential elements of a sales site is customer reviews.

Invest in a verified shopping solution or show customer reviews on your site. The more comments there are, the more the new customer feels confident and dares to spend more or less sums on the site.

2. Encourage purchase

“Would you like an aperitif?”,”I’ll show you what this jacket looks like with this scarf”… innocuous little phrases that we have all heard in restaurants or stores and which have only one goal, to encourage us to spend more.

1. The largest e-commerce brands apply this sales technique. Amazon for example, offers you directly in the product sheet of the article you are viewing articles related to this product: volume 2 and 3 of a series of novels, the shell adapted to the smartphone you are looking at, the compatible mouse with the computer keyboard that makes you want …
2. The Leclerc brand, meanwhile, offers ham if you have bought bread, or chocolates if you have added items to your shopping cart that suggest that you have children.

The idea is clearly to tempt you by offering you articles related to those that you have added to your shopping cart or whose description you are viewing. This technique is extremely effective in increasing a customer’s order total and therefore, applied to all site visitors, it has a strong impact on the average shopping cart amount. In short, it is an ideal solution for increasing the turnover of an e-commerce site.

3. Offer advantages

Another solution to encourage consumers to add another item to their shopping cart: offer them an advantage if their order exceeds a certain amount. Often, it is the shipping costs that are offered or sometimes a discount.

Some stores take care to calculate the amount to be exceeded. This is particularly the case of the Naia brand, a lingerie site that sells its bras for € 55 and its panties for € 32. If you want free delivery, you’ll have to spend € 90 on the site while the lingerie set costs € 87. Enough to encourage consumers to add one more item, often panties. Without realising it, the customer has just increased the amount of his shopping cart by around 30%.

4. Relaunch abandoned shopping carts

Reducing the cart abandonment rate is an often neglected lever in E-commerce.

It is not uncommon for a customer to leave the site before having validated his shopping cart. Some sites do not hesitate to remind him that the shopping cart is still active. “You forgot to validate your shopping cart“, “Your Stan Smiths are waiting for you”, “Only two copies in stock“… e-commerce sites compete in ingenuity to encourage you to return to their site and validate your shopping cart. The result ? An increase in sales and a possible increase in the average shopping cart if they offer new products or have not deleted old items that were lying in that shopping cart to which a new item was recently added.

25 strategies to boost the average shopping cart in e-commerce

1) Understand the bounce rate of your e-commerce

Access your Google Analytics account information to understand user behaviour on your site. To do this, look at the bounce rate:

• Which pages bring you traffic?
• At what level are you losing potentials?
• On the product pages, which are the most popular? 
• Is the price of your offer adapted to the expectations of customers?

Analyse the traffic inside your site to understand the behaviour and desires of visitors. You will then be able to take the necessary measures to highlight the best.

For example, if after an analysis you find that your more expensive articles are not attracting enough traffic, you will have to take the right measures to remedy it.

2) Use cross-selling

This is one of the approaches to take. Easy to put into action, this web marketing technique allows customers to offer additional items to their shopping cart.

However, the objective is not to offer random ones, but to those consistent with what they like. For example, if a person selects a vanilla scent candle, highlight other vanilla elements such as creams, treatments, diffusers…

3) Have packs available

In order to motivate Internet users to buy several products, offer packs. They are generally more advantageous in terms of price and allow to discover more about your offer.

The choice is made more quickly and the price is generally lower than the items purchased individually. For example, you can create a discovery pack, an expert pack or even a complete pack with the entire range.

4) Focus on up-selling

It is similar to cross selling however the approach is different. Instead of getting users to buy multiple products, it is a strategy that aims to motivate customers to buy a more expensive product than expected.

For example, if your company offers support services, highlight all your programs with the benefits of each. You thus make the person want to be interested in the different offers and to compare them.

5) The elements of reinsurance

Some customers may be reluctant to buy online. Indeed, there is still a fear of communicating your bank details on the internet. To get around this situation, reassure customers by offering them insurance. With this technique, they will no longer be afraid to increase their shopping cart and lose their money.

Depending on your offer, offer appropriate insurance: technical insurance, warranty, replacement, service, theft, loss, etc.

6) Have good merchandising

As in a physical store, yours must appeal to Internet users. They must have a real experience through your e-commerce. To do this, think about the best possible merchandising. The first step is to analyse user behaviour on your site.

Then ask yourself the right questions:

• Where to put the bestsellers? 
• Are items with a high margin visible? 
• Do you answer all Internet users’ questions on your site?
• Do you have beautiful visuals? Would you like to use video to present your offer?

The merchandising imagined must appeal to customers and make them want to discover more about what you offer.

7) Improve the ergonomics of your site

The ergonomics of the site include cross and up selling and merchandising. Keep a web page easy to access and quick to use. The more complicated your site, the more leads you will lose along the way.

Organise these items strategically with clickable areas, information inserts, quick loading, and visuals to match.

In addition, bet on the mobile version of your e-commerce. When people shop online, they want to save time. For the most part, they don’t want to open a computer.

The approach here is to search Google and make the payment as quickly as possible. Think about their spending habits. Then, think about the dimensions of smartphones to highlight strategic products for your business.

8) Offer the shipping cost

The strategy of free shipping is found in many e-commerce sites. To encourage users to consume more, set a minimum order value to have free shipping costs.

For example, from € 85, the person does not have to pay 5, or even 7 euros, for sending their package. In this way, some will prefer to pay more and receive more products than to lose the shipping costs.

9) Showcase your most expensive products

It is essential to have a fairly large catalogue. Depending on your business strategy, increase the value of some.

For example if you only offer less than ten euros, reaching an average shopping cart of 100 € is complicated. On the contrary, if your price range extends between 100 and 500 €, it will automatically change and will increase your business.

10) gain the interest of customers with freebies

As a business owner, your goal is to increase the value of the average shopping cart, but not your costs. One of the strategies that will help you achieve your goal is to offer gifts starting from a specific amount.

It is essential to define your levels according to your margins and your industry.

For example, if a prospect buys for $ 200, promise to give them a gift worth $ 50 or $ 100.

This technique is effective for 3 reasons:

• the person will want to reach the landing to receive the gift
• Demonstrate recognition (give-and-take relationship)
• Great loyalty power

In this same idea, the technique of “2 bought, the 3rd is offered” also works.

11) Display the products already seen

If some consumers have already visited your site, it is possible that they have already viewed certain products without placing an order. This interruption in the customer journey can be explained in different ways:

• price comparison,
• an external element that interrupted it,
• doubts…

Your goal is to bring them back to the fore on a second or third visit. This is an indirect stimulus to convince customers in a subtle way.

12) Have a loyalty program

To encourage Internet users to consume more, loyalty programs are an excellent approach. Thanks to them, you motivate to spend more. However, be strategic. Operate from points and stages.

For example, between 0 and 50 €, customers will earn 1 point. For 50 to 100, offer 30 points. From 100 to 150 €, offer 150 points.

Customers will feel valued, but above all motivated to see their number of points increase. They can then take advantage of discounts, gifts …

13) Promote limited-time promotions

Urgency is a marketing technique known to drive sales. Promotions must be used. However, there is a nuance between reduction and urgency.

For this to work, respect different criteria:

• Your site shouldn’t be constantly being promoted
• Discounts must be reduced
• Don’t make offers every month
• Display the duration of the promotion
• Be in the right place at the right time

14) Organise a competition

The competition is a good way to motivate people to order. Easy to implement, indicate the minimum amount to participate in the competition.

To seduce them, still offer a gain that they appreciate. The other approach is to increase the odds of winning every additional $ 100.

15) Offer split payment

Some users may have some reservations about online payment. Depending on your business approach and the prices of your offer, highlight the split payment. By making this step easier, customers will have an easier time spending more.

16) Use live chat

Live chat is a small window within your site that allows you to instantly answer questions. You are thus closer to them and can advise them as well as possible.

This option is part of a great way of reinsurance.

17) Show suggestions

It can happen that consumers are looking for a specific product and are not interested in the other offers on your e-commerce. Faced with this scenario, some people can order one or even two products. Consequently, the amount of the average shopping cart is low.

To remedy this situation, add suggestions to all your pages. You can then present similar ones, your best sellers, those with the best opinions …

18) Up selling and cross-selling

For this strategy, instead of just showing suggestions, highlight items that can complement the products in the cart. These assumptions must be shown at the last purchasing step, i.e. before payment, so as not to create friction in the customer journey.

Indeed, the cross promotes a complementary product. On the contrary, the incentive offers a higher, therefore more expensive version of the selected product.

19) The strength of the recommendation

To highlight your expertise and the reliability of your business, do not hesitate to highlight customer reviews. When faced with customers who do not know you, you must do everything possible to reassure them.

Systems exist to highlight the evaluation through comments or stars next to your files. With the evolution of digital, one of the fundamental steps before buying on the internet is to look at the reputation of a brand.

For this reason, keep people from leaving your site and highlight all the information they need.

20) Accessible and available customer service

If your wish is to reassure, show that you have efficient and available service. In the event of a problem, you can easily be reached through an e-mail, a phone number or a chat.

21) Have free proposals

Depending on your offer and your location, it is possible to highlight certain free services. For example, if these are large orders, offer free home delivery. In addition, if the customers are in the same city as you, do not hesitate to highlight the click and collect option.

22) The purchase formula in 3 clicks

To prevent consumers from thinking before they buy, make the process easier by allowing customers to make a purchase in three clicks. With this approach, evolve the average shopping cart by increasing the share of those who are compulsive.

23) Reassure about payment methods

On your e-commerce, clearly and precisely indicate the different secure payment methods. If necessary, use logos like PayPal, Visa, MasterCard… Thanks to an image, you will prove your reliability to customers.

24) Provide a comparative

If possible, offer a price comparison on your site. With the development of digital and social networks, people tend to compare different internet offers before buying.

Customers need reassurance that they are buying the best product. For this reason, avoid them leaving your site to go to the competition. Concentrate as much information as possible, without highlighting others so as not to harm your business.

25) Retain

It is cheaper for your business to retain existing customers than to convince new customers. These are people who already know you, your brand and your offering. So they already trust you.

By creating a strategy specific to your customers, you will boost the earnings of your business.

This involves sending e-mails, creating a real relationship with these consumers, controlling the quality of your customer service and regularly presenting your new products.

All these techniques will allow you to increase the average shopping cart in e-commerce. These must be put in place on the condition that you know your target well and create a quality website. Being your storefront, your web page will be the main factor in gaining the trust of Internet users.

Finally, to help you boost the sales of your e-commerce site, ask your web agency to put in place all the technical and marketing solutions discussed in our article. Good sales!