How to Use Product Bundling to Boost Sales in Your Shopify Store

Boost Shopify sales with effective product bundling. Discover strategies to increase AOV, improve customer experience, and clear inventory effortlessly.

Product bundling is one of the oldest yet most effective tricks in the book when it comes to sales. But does it apply to print-on-demand (POD) Shopify businesses too?

The answer is yes, it absolutely is. In this article, we’ll talk about product bundling, why it’s so helpful in selling more products, and how to implement it effectively.

What is Product Bundling?

Product bundling is the act of grouping multiple items together and selling them as one product, or as a bundle.

Often, the individual items in the bundle are products from separate categories (but it still makes sense to buy them together). Additionally, the bundle also typically costs less than the sum of the individual items priced together.

Product bundling can be implemented in many ways in your Shopify store:

1.   Pure Bundling

Items are only available as a bundle, and their individual products cannot be purchased separately.

2.   Mixed Bundling

Customers can buy the items individually but get a discount when they purchase them together as a bundle.

3.   Cross-Sell Bundling

When buying individual items, related products are suggested as add-ons at a discounted price.

4.   Buy-One-Get-One (BOGO) Bundling

Customers are gifted an additional product for free or at a discount when they purchase specific items or bundles.

5.   Custom Bundling

Customers are able to mix and match products, essentially creating their own bundles. These bundles are at a discounted price, costing less than the individual items combined.

Why is Product Bundling Effective at Boosting Sales?

According to McKinsey, this cross-selling technique can increase sales by up to 20% and profits by up to 30%.

But why is this? After all, since bundles typically cost less than the sum of the prices of their individual items, won’t businesses lose out on potential profit because of this?

The key lies in how customers perceive greater value when they buy bundles. Even if customers were only initially interested in a single item, seeing the discounts offered by bundles often pushes them to buy the bundles instead.

This allows you to sell more items, especially your less popular items and services (ones that you wouldn’t have sold much of otherwise—or even at all—if you didn’t bundle them with your more popular ones).

So, while you technically cut down on your profits on an item-to-item basis, you end up selling more items and thus profit more in the long run. Simply put, this approach benefits both customers and businesses alike.

Why Product Bundling Works for Print-on-Demand Stores

So, product bundling works for many industries, but does it work for POD Shopify stores?

Yes. Bundling allows for far greater flexibility, which is particularly important since product and order customization are important for POD store customers.

More specifically, here’s why bundling is a great strategy for POD stores:

1. Increases Average Order Value (AOV)

As discussed, when customers purchase a bundle instead of a single item, they spend more per transaction, leading to increased revenue.

2. Encourages Personalization and Upselling

By bundling complementary personalized products, such as a custom t-shirt and a mug with a matching design, customers are encouraged to buy more.

3. Enhances Customer Experience

Well-thought-out bundles make shopping more convenient for your customers. They don’t need to scroll through your product page to pick out individual items.

4. Clears Slow-Moving Inventory

Do you have designs, products, or services that aren’t selling well (or at all) on their own? Bundling them with your bestsellers may be your best chance at selling them and clearing out inventory.

How to Implement Product Bundling in Your Shopify POD Store

Of course, product bundling isn’t a foolproof sales strategy. Here’s how you can effectively bundle your products in a way that increases your sales.

Step 1: Identify Bundle-Worthy Products

Start by analyzing your current sales data. Determine which products sell well, sell poorly, are frequently bought together, or make sense to be paired up thematically.

With such information, you can come up with bundles that both make sense to the customer and help you sell more.

Examples of good bundle combinations include:

•     A custom t-shirt + matching mug;
•     A personalized phone case + a laptop sleeve;
•     A set of stickers + a tote bag;
•     A bundle of custom-designed posters;
•     A gym tank top + custom towel;
•     A mousepad + gaming-themed stickers.

Step 2: Decide on a Bundling Strategy

Scroll back up and refer to the list of ways you can bundle items in your Shopify store. Based on the nature of your store, your inventory, and your customers’ behavior, determine which bundling strategies might work best for you.

For example, if you have a huge inventory of poorly-performing products, it might be worth including them in BOGO bundling. Or, if you feel like your customers value flexibility a lot, mixed bundles might be best.

Step 3: Use Shopify Apps to Create Bundles

Next, use Shopify apps to easily set up bundles in your store. Some of the most popular apps include:

•     Bundler – Product Bundles;
•     ReConvert Upsell & Cross-Sell;
•     Frequently Bought Together;
•     Bold Bundles.

Step 4: Optimize Pricing and Discounts

Next, set a discount rate that is enticing but still profitable. Most commonly, bundles offer a 10-20% discount compared to buying each item separately.

The aforementioned apps also have features that can automatically calculate and apply the most optimal discounts.

If you serve customers globally or manage your Shopify store while traveling, it’s wise to download a secure VPN to help protect sensitive store data and customer information.

Step 5: Market Your Bundles

Lastly, make sure your customers are aware of your new bundles. Use high-quality images and compelling copy for your ads.

Post them on your social media accounts, page banners, email newsletters, and whatever other ad avenues you use.

Step 6: Monitor and Optimize Performance

Track the performance of your bundles using Shopify analytics and adjust based on sales trends. Experiment with different bundle types and discounts to see what works best.

Conclusion

Product bundling is an easy yet powerful way to potentially skyrocket your Shopify sales.

As long as you select the right products to bundle together and market them effectively, you can sell more and increase customer satisfaction at the same time.

If you haven’t yet, try coming up with a bundle right now. Who knows, it just might be your next bestseller!