If you're an online retailer, you need to pay attention to one metric above all else: Average basket size. Average basket size lets you know how much your customers spend on each visit. It can help you make better decisions about product selection and marketing tactics.
In this post, we’ll explain:
A basket size (or units per transaction) is the average number of items sold during a single transaction. To get an accurate assessment, you can find this figure by dividing the total number of units sold by the total number of transactions.
The average basket size is a crucial metric that can help you determine whether your business is succeeding or failing.
If you have an online store, it's imperative to keep track of the average number of items purchased per customer visit. This will help you better understand how much money you make on each transaction.
Here are other reasons why you need to assess your average basket size:
If your average basket size is low, it means that most customers are only buying one item. If this happens often enough, it can be a sign that your prices aren’t competitive or there isn’t enough variety in your offer.
There are three critical metrics for any online retail store to calculate your ABS.
After you have determined the values of the metrics above, calculate the average basket size using the formula below:
Average basket size = the total number of units sold / total number of transactions.
For example, your online fashion store made 1,000 transactions and sold 2,000 units. Using the formula above, your average basket size will be 2,000 / 1,000 = 2 units per transaction.
There is no perfect average basket size; however, the goal is to increase your average basket size over time. Suppose you're seeing a consistent decrease in your average basket size. In that case, it may be time to reevaluate your strategy and consider adding new products or services.
Check out How to Utilize Average Order Value To Boost Sales
Here are five ways to increase your average basket size over time as an e-commerce store:
One of the easiest ways to increase your average basket size is upselling and cross-selling. Upselling is a sales technique used by store owners to encourage customers to spend more money by offering similar products that cost more than what they’re currently buying.
Cross-selling is similar, except it involves suggesting complementary products that aren’t necessarily more expensive than what you’re selling. For example, if someone visits your store looking for a new laptop computer, you might also offer them laptop bags and accessories.
Upselling and cross-selling are easy ways to increase your average basket size because they encourage customers to purchase more than one item at a time. If you have an eCommerce store, upselling and cross-selling can be done using special offers or sales on related products.
Another way to increase your average basket size is by offering customers discounts and coupons. Discounts and coupons can be used to encourage customers to purchase more than one item at a time, or they can be used to get those last few sales before the expiry date.
For example, if you’re running a summer sale on swimwear, you might offer 20% off all other items in your store. This way, customers who are looking for a new pair of sunglasses or flip-flops will see that there is also a discount available on their preferred swimsuit style.
You can offer discounts and coupons in a few ways, such as:
Creating a sense of urgency is another way to increase your average basket size. When you tell customers that there is only X number of items left, they will be more likely to purchase them immediately.
You can highlight products in high demand or put them on a unique display at the front of your online store. This will make customers feel they need to buy these items before they sell out.
Here are other ways to create a sense of urgency:
In addition, you can add a sense of exclusivity when you market your product to customers during this period. Being exclusive makes customers feel special and can lead them to buy more than they otherwise would. You can do this by offering VIP programs or cards for repeat customers.
A loyalty program is a great way to keep your customers engaged with your brand and encourage them to return. A loyalty program can be as simple as offering a discount on their next purchase. Still, it can also include things like exclusive products or gift cards.
Offer customers the opportunity to join a loyalty program. This can be done through a simple points-based system or by creating an account for them. If you offer a points-based system, ensure that people are incentivized to spend more money and buy more of your products.
Loyalty programs also help you collect valuable data on your shoppers, including their names and email addresses, so that you can send them special offers in the future.
One of the most effective ways to increase your average basket size is by retargeting ads. Retargeting is a form of online advertising that allows you to show ads to people who have visited your website but left without buying anything. You can also use retargeting to get more sales from existing customers.
You can also use marketing automation platforms like ConvertedIn to target specific audiences and create campaigns focusing on building customer loyalty.
For example, suppose you own a pet store. In that case, Convertedin can automatically set up an ad campaign that targets people who like dogs and cats but have no pets at home. These are likely to be people thinking about getting a new pet soon.
ConvertedIn AI technology will also set up retargeting campaigns so customers who visited your website but didn’t complete their purchase. The more targeted your ads, the better they make people buy more units of your product.
Here are 12 Effective Tactics You Should Use To Increase Average Basket Size
Conclusion
There are many ways to increase your average basket size, but the most important thing is to do something. Keep in mind that it can take time for your efforts to pay off, and be patient enough to see them through. If you want customers who spend more money and buy more units in your store, ensure they have a great shopping experience.