Everything You Need to Know About Product Bundling
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Have you ever been shopping for groceries when you get a call from your partner who informs you that the Swiss cheese is part of a buy three items for the price of two deal? And you rush back to the cheese aisle and see that, low and behold, the mozzarella is also part of the deal!
Well then you probably already have an idea about what product bundling is.
What is product bundling?
To clarify, product bundling is when multiple products are bundled together with the offer of a discount to entice buyers to spend more than they might have originally intended.
Maybe they went into the shop to buy one tube of toothpaste, but they left with three because of a three for the price of two deal. Or maybe they’re in the market for some digital products, and if they add a VoIP phone system to their basket, they get 10% off some IP handsets or noise-cancelling headsets.
Or maybe they wanted to buy a pair of boots for $40 but ended up buying socks as well, and both items were discounted by 10%. You get the idea!
What are some advantages of product bundling?
Product bundling has several advantages, but we’ll cover the main ones here.
1. Generate more sales (and expend less energy)
The biggest and most obvious advantage of product bundling is generating more sales. You can entice a customer to leave your shop with more than they’d intended to purchase, so your efforts of finding customers in the first place enjoy a bigger payoff.
Finding customers can be an expensive process to begin with, so once you have people in your shop, you want to maximize their time there. This benefits the customer as they get a better deal than paying more for each separate item over a longer period of time or from multiple shops. It also benefits the company because the AOV (average order value) is higher, which is good for company growth.
It also takes less effort on the marketing side of things to bundle several items together under one theme than to market those items individually. Customers love a cohesive story, so offering a whole outfit that gives off “cottagecore vibes”, for example, is likely to go down better than a bunch of disjointed stories or themes for each individual item.
2. Improved customer experience
Customers get to enjoy a better experience because they can get a deal with product bundling, and save some money. Even if they end up spending more than they intended to on that day, they might end up saving money in the long-run. Who doesn’t love a good deal?
It’s also practical because instead of having to go to multiple shops trying to find a good deal on each item, they can save time by getting them all in one place. While it’s nice to shop around sometimes, fatigue can quickly set in if you have to juggle too many balls.
Product bundling also takes out some of the effort of thinking about what to buy, especially when buying gifts for others. Getting three books for the price of two to give to three different people is a no-brainer. And a satisfied customer is key to a successful ecommerce business.
3. Reduced waste
There’s nothing worse than stock sitting around in storage gathering dust. Mixing less popular items with more popular ones in the same bundles is a good way to move your products off the shelves and avoid both waste and lost profits.
This also frees up space in your warehouse that you can use for this season’s items, and, by offering a nice bundle, you also stand out from your competition and increase customer retention rates.
How should I bundle my products?
So we know why bundling is a good idea, but how should we go about it?
1. Give options
The first thing to consider is giving your customers multiple options for bundling so that they don’t feel they’re being tricked into buying something of low value. Offering multiple options also gives a nice sense of choice so that they don’t feel funneled toward one product in particular.
2. Best, meet worst
You will want to look at the data behind your bestsellers and the things that seem to fall by the wayside. Some items might not seem that appealing at full price, but if they’re tacked onto a more attractive item in the form of a deal, they can suddenly gain a new glow. Maybe this is the halo effect, or maybe customers always liked the item but not the price. Either way, this seems to be a winning combination for getting stock off the shelf.
3. Be clear about savings
Make it obvious to your customers how much money they’re saving with the bundles. To maximize this strategy, it’s important that customers can see what a good deal they’re getting.
Happier, informed customers means lessened workforce management call center demands for you, too. The clearer you are up front, the less likely you are to get calls from confused customers.
4. Get the timing right
By analyzing seasonal and regional consumer trends in India, the US, or elsewhere, you can figure out the best time to offer bundles. Many companies will offer bundles around gift-giving periods because this simplifies the buyer’s mission.
By analyzing individual products, you can also figure out the best time to bundle that particular item. If an item is falling in popularity, that might be a good time to bite the bullet.
5. Make it visible
While this might seem obvious, visibly displaying bundle items next to each other on web pages and in-store helps drive a sale more than simply informing customers that the bundle exists but making them locate the items themselves. You can also have three for two categories on your website to get all matching offers in one place for customers’ ease.
If you want to go even further, you could integrate augmented reality software on your website to allow your customers to “try on” clothes online or see how a sofa looks in your living room.
Product bundling is a win-win
One of the best things about product bundling is that it’s a win-win. You make more sales, shift stock, avoid waste, and need less time for marketing. The customer saves money overall, saves time and effort, and gets to enjoy a cohesive product story.
-Grace Lau is the Director of Growth Content at Dialpad, an AI-powered cloud PBX phone system for better and easier team collaboration. She has over 10 years of experience in content writing and strategy. Currently, she is responsible for leading branded and editorial content strategies, partnering with SEO and Ops teams to build and nurture content. Here is her LinkedIn
