 Hey, welcome to the journey today. We'll be talking about how to increase your average order value on Etsy. If you have an Etsy shop or are setting one up, you've been working tirelessly on what to sell and how to sell it and are no doubt absolutely swamped with ideas about how to structure your offering. Yeah, when you have an e-commerce store, you're always looking for new ways to convert customers and increase your average order value. So AOV for short, your AOV is pretty much what it states the average order value of all the orders placed in your store. And by increasing your AOV, you will have more revenue with the same number of customers. And that's always a great thing to calculate your average order value, tally your total revenue, then divide that by the total number of orders you have received. That's right. And in this video, we're going to offer you tips and strategies to encourage your customers to buy more from your Etsy shop than they may have initially planned. So let's talk about free shipping costs and implementation. So customers are cost sensitive when it comes to shipping fees. I know I am and shipping charges are one of the primary reasons for cart abandonment. I know the last time I was going on online shopping, I had exactly what I wanted in the cart and then I got hit with an extra $10 just to ship it to my house. And now that's just an extra cost that I didn't really have planned or budgeted, which actually made me end up not buying in the first place and looking elsewhere. Or have you ever had the scenario where spend just $15 more and it's free shipping? It gets me every time with my Nespresso pods order every month. But the best approach is to offer free shipping once a certain order amount is met. This is true. And then calculate the minimum order value to qualify for free shipping or come up with a price tag for your products where free shipping doesn't eat into your profits. And this way the order amount is worth it for you to pick up the tab. And while displaying results for any search term, Etsy's algorithm considers free shipping to show results. When you bear the cost of shipping, it invariably reduces the pricing than your competitors. The reason is that their products have shipping prices embedded in it. Moreover, it works as a great promotional tool too. Now let's talk about cross sell strategies. Cross selling is when you also offer a product that is related to the product being viewed. And a great example of this is if you sell, let's say, wall art, I bought some wall art recently. You could cross sell frames or other hanging materials. And since Etsy offers sellers an option to include a hyperlink in the product descriptions, it's an excellent opportunity to provide links of similar or complementary products in the product description. And you have all the data to know what your customers are buying, including what they purchased together. So really leverage that opportunity to put the links of your most popular products or products that really belong to the same buyer persona or items they may not have thought they need, but they ended up buying in the first place. So let's talk about integrating add ons and personalization. So add ons can be as simple as offering personalized lettering on those shirts you offer. Or how about offering other features like different colors or fonts at some great personalization there so customers can make your products their own. All for an extra fee, of course. Oh, and you can create bundles in discounts. Everybody loves a nice discount. But by bundling products that have a natural synergy. And yes, I use that word. It just makes sense. If you're selling craft supplies, you can create a separate listing and bundle a canvas paint brushes at a discounted price than if they purchased it separately out of cart. And really don't forget about those quantity discounts to those ones that buy in bulk. The more they buy, the more they save. And it's just an extra incentive to want to tack on a few more items to get to that next level of savings. Speaking of savings, let's talk about developing discount codes. Discounts of course encourage customers to spend more because you're offering them the opportunity to spend less. I mean, I definitely am guilty of this during the holidays, right? I feel like everyone's trying to offer me a sale and therefore I should shop, right? Yes. No. However, the more they purchase, the more value they feel they've gotten. Just be sure to do your math to determine the minimum order value. Otherwise, you'll end up losing money. Yeah, I save so much money and I'm going broke this year. But except we have I don't want to talk about it. But let's move on. Using time sensitive offers is another great way. But at the end of each year, really look at the next year's calendar and set up your promotional dates and discount codes for all the holidays ahead. Do it early versus doing it the last minute. You can also have those flash sales and just unannounced sales just for customers, knowing that they only have so much time 24 hours, three days, 15 minutes, whatever it might be just to take advantage of the sale. Let's talk about generous return policies. Now the opportunity to return and exchange the product invariably increases the conversion rate, also a more extended window to return the products the higher the conversion rate, which makes sense and create a policy that is clear and establishes trust and takes the risk out of making additional purchases on products that customers may be on the fence about right and make your policy visible on each page shouldn't have to go hunting for it. For example, 30 day risk free return policy. The next thing you can really do is add a social cause. These are really stories that resonate with buyers that fulfill their aspiration and inspires and motivates them to contribute by donating a portion of your proceeds to a cause that you care about, but also motivates the buyer to care too. And because they're not only making a purchase or supporting your business, they're also making a contribution to that cause as well. Absolutely. I love a good social cause. However, be sure to be transparent about how, where, when proceeds will be donated and actually donate. Also, just like you did with the shipping costs and those discount codes, calculate the minimum order value to ensure you're not ending up in the red. And the number one way to increase your average order value is to really build trust and credibility. This happens with quality reviews and testimonials necessary to build that legitimacy. The fact is that customers spend more with businesses that they can trust because it proves that your products are high quality. Totally. And as the majority of the marketplaces react positively to positive reviews and their search result display algorithm, Etsy is no different. And therefore the more the number of glowing reviews, guess what? The more increased sales. Yeah, and know your customers intimately and market directly to them by virtue of visuals, verbiage, and on other platforms, you know that they hang out on. And without these final tips, all other strategies will fall flat. Alright, that's a wrap. Now you have the blueprint to increase your average order value for your e-commerce store. Be sure these strategies are visible on your site that you announce them on your social media accounts and to your mailing list. Be sure to comment below, subscribe to our channel. And while you're there, ring that bell so you get these episodes first. This is the journey. Now go make some money.