Every business, no matter how big or small, is constantly looking for ways to increase their sales volumes.
While there are many strategies out there to sell more, you also need to consider a lot of factors, including what customers want, what’s relevant in your niche, and so on.
Ultimately, one of the most popular and successful methods of growing your sales is through promotions.
Today, we will be taking a look at some of the finest sales promotion ideas for eCommerce business.
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What Is a Sales Promotion?
A sales promotion is a marketing plan of action that is all about increasing sales through special deals and offers. The goal is to motivate customers to purchase the company’s products or services.
Apart from the cash benefits, the purpose of sales promotions can include acquiring new customers, encouraging repeat purchases, and reducing excess stock.
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Benefits of Sales Promotions
As we’ve mentioned before, sales promotions are about much more than just selling. In fact, your business can benefit in numerous ways:
- Higher Revenue. Naturally, the number one advantage is to increase sales by offering discounts, limited time offers, etc.
- New Customers. Attractive deals and offers can bring in new customers.
- Repeat Purchases. Existing customers will most likely buy from your store again.
- Insights into Customer Behavior. You can understand more about the preferences, and behavior of customers by observing their shopping habits when presented with opportunities to buy something at a lower price.
- Controllable Stock Levels. There is no better way to get rid of excess inventory than to sell it at a discount.
- Word of Mouth. People will start sharing the word about your cool promotions, and potentially bring in more business.
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13 Sales Promotion Ideas for Guaranteed Profit
- Buy One, Get One for Free
- Free Samples/Free Trial
- Flash Sales
- Seasonal Promotions
- Referral Discounts
- Product Bundles
- Branded Gifts
- Subscription Discounts
- Sign-Up Bonuses
- Limited-Time Offers
- Cashback Promotions
- Buy Now, Pay Later
- Free Shipping Promotion
1. Buy One, Get One for Free
Offering two products for the price of one is a deal that a lot of people find too attractive to pass up on. Apart from increasing sales volumes, such a promotion can also help you clear out excessive inventory items.
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2. Free Samples/Free Trial
Who doesn’t like free stuff? Be it a free sample of a product or a free trial, it is always nice to get something for free.
Of course, it’s not done out of pure philanthropy, businesses try to get you hooked in on the experience that comes with that free trial/sample, so that you can then start paying for it.
In case you are wondering how effective this type of promotion is: the conversion rate after product sampling was 25-30% for many established companies.
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3. Flash Sales
Flash sales are among the best eCommerce sales promotion ideas for those looking to target the impulse buying decision of customers.
These short (usually 24–72 hours) sales are a magnet for people shopping on a budget, since the discounts are typically quite generous. On top of that, the fear of missing out (FOMO) is often times too big of a temptation for users.
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4. Seasonal Promotions
Holidays are a great time for promotional sales, but so is the summer, when sales are typically lower.
Basically, when demand is lower than usual, a good way to increase sales is to delve into various types of promotions. There are many methods of doing so – you could choose specific seasonal products, or offer deeper discounts to customers that purchase more.
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5. Referral Discounts
Adding referral incentives is beneficial to both your business and your customers. You will not only acquire new customers but, your clients will earn a discount by referring their friends or family.
What is more, such types of discounts could also increase your brand awareness, and customer loyalty, not to mention making your existing customers feel valued through the rewards you offer.
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6. Product Bundles
What could be better than getting one item at a discounted price? Getting two products at a discount, of course.
Product bundles are particularly effective, especially when items that are typically bought together, are combined, and offered at a lower price.
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7. Branded Gifts
Another good sales promotion idea is to create bundles with branded gifts. Selling office supplies? Include a branded notebook, or pen to the order.
This strategy encourages more brand loyalty, because people will be reminded of you, and your generosity, every time they use that notebook or pen.
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8. Subscription Discounts
Do you need to motivate your customers to subscribe to your services? Look no further than applying subscription discounts.
Using this sales promotion tactic means that, for example, users who are not subscribed to your service will pay full price, while subscribers receive a special discount on the products are services they have signed up for.
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9. Sign-Up Bonuses
You might find that profiles are beneficial for your business – you can use the data provided to personalize offers, send promotional emails, and so on.
However, more often than not, registering an account, and signing up to purchase a product is a tedious process. In fact, 24% of users abandon their order during checkout, because the site wanted them to register, in order to complete the purchase.
This stat sounds shocking of course, and begs the question of what could be done to encourage clients to register?
Well, a sign-up bonus could be quite effective. Give people free shipping, a welcoming gift, or a discount, and suddenly they won’t be so hesitant to sign up.
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10. Limited-Time Offers
A guaranteed method of making quick profit for your eCommerce store is by applying scarcity.
Now, keep in mind that this strategy will not work if you apply it too often. It might even have the opposite effect, that users start associating you with a discounted brand.
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11. Cashback Promotions
You make purchases, and you get part of the cash you spend back. Sounds too good to be true? Well, it is true.
You see, cashback promotions aim to incentivize customers to make purchases, knowing that they will get a part of their money back, usually via in-store credit, gift cards, or credit card that was used to make the payment.
All in all, this is an awesome method to grab the attention of potential customers, and influence their buying decisions.
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12. Buy Now, Pay Later
We’ve all been there: you really want to buy something, but can’t afford it right now. This is where the “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) type of sales promotion comes into play.
It allows customers to pay for their products on a bi-weekly or monthly basis. This is quite an attractive option for a lot of people, since it provides them financial flexibility.
For example, you buy an item that costs $300. You pay $75 at checkout, then you agree to pay off a certain amount until the item is paid off.
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13. Free Shipping Promotion
An experienced eCommerce marketer should know that free shipping can be the difference between making and missing a sale.
The facts are that 84% of consumers specifically made a purchase, because the shipping was free.
Furthermore, the lack of free shipping, or delivery fees that are too steep, are among the most common reasons that users abandon their shopping cart, and do their shopping elsewhere.
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To Promote or Not to Promote
In a nutshell, sooner or later, every eCommerce store needs to delve into the world of sales promotion ideas and discounts.
Why? Well, first off, everyone is doing it, so you will be left behind eventually, and won’t be able to attract enough customers to keep you afloat.
But furthermore, it is a superb way to increase your sales volumes, encourage customer loyalty, and expand your customer base.
We hope you have liked our list of sales promotion ideas, and try implementing a few of them. As always, in case you need any technical or business advice for your eCommerce business, we are here to help.
Team DevriX
This article is crafted by DevriX's seasoned marketing team, boasting over four decades of collective expertise in crafting sophisticated marketing funnels, devising comprehensive content frameworks and pillars, implementing engaging email campaigns, and creating impactful social media content designed for scalability.
Our marketing experts specialize in the complete spectrum of inbound marketing strategies. As an accredited HubSpot Agency Partner and a Semrush Partner, we engage in meticulous research, blending our extensive experience with the unique insights of our highly skilled team.
We set benchmarks in content creation by incorporating cutting-edge marketing trends, leveraging in-depth industry research, and utilizing state-of-the-art AI tools for data segmentation and captivating content hooks. Our proficiency extends across a diverse range of sectors, including working with SMEs, Fortune 1000 companies, global B2B brands, major publishing entities, WooCommerce platforms, business directories, and affiliate networks.
