When free shipping doesn’t deliver, give away another company’s product instead

When Amazon.com began offering free shipping in 2002, it sparked an undeniable trend among countless e-commerce sites. Ever since, online retailers from Best Buy to Victoria’s Secret to JCPenney have offered free shipping as a regular incentive or as a special promotion because of its innate ability to increase sales, boost average order values and [...]

Increase E-Commerce Sales in 2009 With Purchase Incentives

A purchase incentive is exactly what it sounds like—something that motivates a customer to make a purchase. This can be anything—free shipping, a free product, a discounted price or a money-saving coupon—as long as it convinces more visitors to your site to complete their purchases and/or spend more per transaction. And this isn’t limited to [...]

Top 3 Ways to Boost E-Commerce Sales in 2009

A dismal year for retailers that closed with the lowest holiday sales numbers recorded in nearly four decades has left online merchants searching for new ways to increase sales. But the good news is that they don’t have to look far. Merchants can actually increase sales from their current traffic by following these three easy [...]

Real Life Purchase Incentives: Restaurant Gift Cards

The tightening economy has taken it’s toll on the restaurant industry this year, with the National Restaurant Association forecasting 2008 sales to fall 1.2 percent from last year. The holiday season typically gives restaurants the chance to make incremental sales through gift cards. But many establishments met the same challenges retailers faced this holiday season—shoppers [...]

Real-Life Purchase Incentives: Two Vehicles for the Price of One

With the credit-crisis predicted to cause about 2,000 new-vehicle dealerships across the country to close, one Ford dealership is hoping a compelling purchase incentive will help get buyers behind the wheel of a new car.Veracom Ford of San Mateo, CA is giving away a free scooter with the purchase of a 2009 Ford F-150. Nearly [...]

Real Life Purchase Incentives: Free Movie Tickets From Old Navy

It’s becoming more and more difficult for retailers to make sales in this economy, much less get a line to form around a store. But early tomorrow morning, hundreds of shoppers will assemble outside of Old Navy stores across the country. Why? The retail giant is offering a compelling purchase incentive: free movie tickets with [...]

The Benefits of Bundles

I recently received an e-mail promotion from H&R Block, which bundled TaxCut Premium Federal 2008 with Laplink PCsync, Laplink PCmover and Webroot Spy Sweeper—all for just $69.95. Plus they threw in a free laptop case. Had these products been purchased separately, they would have cost more than $200. TaxCut on its own costs just $34.95. [...]

Effective Purchase Incentives

Lisa’s blog entry last week about purchase incentives used by software companies inspired me to think about effective strategies that other industries use to increase sales and attract more customers—and how every online retailer can benefit by adopting a similar approach. A few months ago, Comcast used an extremely compelling purchase incentive: For three weeks, [...]

Purchase Incentives: Increase Sales and Boost Brand Loyalty

When software companies launch new products, they often undergo the painful task of offering discounts in order to generate consumer interest—which risks the chance of instant brand degradation. But a few years ago, when I handled e-commerce sales for a small software company, I offered a purchase incentive that allowed several top software companies to [...]