How to make offers without lowering margins in eCommerce

In the context of electronic commerce, competing on price is the most “easy” thing. Anyone who has a good margin can do it, but it is still a decision that entails quite a lot of risk for the business in the medium and long term (especially if it becomes a habitual policy, beyond promotions or occasional campaigns).

Throughout this post, you will find a series of tips and alternative strategies to lowering the price. Specifically, 6 measures that you can apply right now, to sell better in your online store, while preserving a greater percentage of the margin.

The best thing of all is that these are tips more related to marketing than to technical matters, so you will be able to implement them without the need for external help or subcontracting services. Just you and your eCommerce platform.

First of all, an interesting reflection: if you support your pricing model with permanent discounts, your brand image is going to be harmed. Little by little, it will become eroded, until it takes you to a point of no return, because “low cost” becomes a fundamental attribute of it.

The simplest example is that of Temu or, even better, that of Aliexpress. This marketplace has directly become a meme with the famous joke about what you buy and what you receive.

You end up positioning yourself as a cheap brand, and once that is installed in the collective consciousness of the user, it is very difficult to change that perception into something more premium. Do you think that either of the two examples mentioned would have the capacity to sell top-of-the-range products with a high ticket? Probably not.

The real problem for many brands is that they have grown from volume, with lower-cost orders and a lot of recurrence in purchasing. If you are a manufacturer, it may be of interest to enter into a price war, even if you are sacrificing your brand positioning in order to win over a public “addicted to discounts”.

It is a segment of customers that exists and that, this is another potential problem, is particularly reactive to price. Which means that these people will always prioritize that variable, not hesitating to change stores whenever they pay less.

Building your project on bargain seekers is doing so on a very unstable base.

This is very old, but it is still effective. If instead of reducing the unit cost, we encourage the purchase of more units, we are going to manage to be more efficient in logistics costs, since it is always more convenient to make one shipment of two units than two individual shipments.

You can use tactics such as the discount on the second unit, the 3x2, or establish a conditional discount depending on the products purchased (10% on 2 items, 15% on 3…).

These types of promotions are sustainable over time, since they make it possible to maintain margins and even increase profitability.

In addition, this type of promotion works very well because it takes advantage of the price anchoring effect. The customer perceives that they are obtaining more value for their money and that they are “making better use” of the purchase if they add an additional unit. In many cases, the increase in the order value is greater than the cost of the applied discount.

To maximize its effectiveness, it is advisable to make the real saving very visible. Showing messages such as “Take the second one with a 50% discount” or “Save €12 by buying 3 units” helps the customer clearly perceive the benefit of increasing the quantity.

It is also good practice to apply these promotions to products with high turnover or recurrent consumption, since the customer perceives less risk in buying more units of something that they know they will need again.

Lastly, you can reinforce the strategy by combining these promotions with recommendations of related products, which makes it easier for the customer to complete the volume necessary to access the discount without feeling that they are buying too much.

Another example in which selling more is perceived as a differential advantage by the user and, at the same time, helps us keep margins under control.

Bundle packs consist of the combined sale of several products in the same package. The important thing is that they must be products that are complementary and that, individually, add value to the whole.

For example: you can sell a facial cream, but if you add a toner, a serum and an eye contour… you already have a complete routine and, in the process, a perfect bundle pack to sell in your store.

The customer, as we say, perceives greater value and we save on shipments and, in addition, we can make lower-turnover products move more, which is also profitable from the point of view of inventory and logistics.

Playing with shipping costs is something as old as eCommerce, but it is still very effective; in fact, it even converts better than a direct discount. When you communicate an offer consisting of a minimum order to save all or part of the shipping costs, you are going to get the customer to end up adding some other product to the cart in the checkout process.

To do it well, the formula is simple: calculate your average ticket and set the threshold somewhat above it, so that it covers that shipping cost and does not affect the margin.

In addition, it is important to communicate this incentive visibly throughout the whole purchase process. A small message in the cart indicating how much the customer is missing to obtain free shipping usually has a direct impact on the order value. For example: “Add €8 more to your cart and get free shipping”. These kinds of messages generate a feeling of progress that encourages the user to complete the goal.

It also works very well to suggest complementary products near the cart or during checkout. If the customer only needs to add a small amount to reach the free-shipping threshold, showing low-priced items or related products can make it easier for them to make the decision quickly.

Lastly, remember that the free-shipping threshold must be perceived as attainable. If the difference from the average ticket is too large, the customer may perceive it as something unattainable and abandon the purchase instead of increasing it.

We all adore free things, probably even more than discounts (unless we are talking about products at half price, of course).

Again, forgive me for insisting again, the important thing is not so much the real value of the gift as the value perceived by the customer who receives it. You can use anything from free samples to accessories or digital products, depending on your business model and the niche you work in.

There are a thousand examples, from samples of cosmetics related to the purchased product, an extra set of laces for sneakers, including a case with the purchase of a phone, insurance for a laptop, or an online digital photography course when buying a camera.

Of course, if you think about it a couple of times, you will get a couple of good ideas that you can apply to your online store, without compromising your margin.

Not all offers have to be public, really. It is always a good idea to have a gesture with customers who buy from us more frequently. Thinking about building loyalty or reactivating those who used to buy from us and have stopped doing so, I recommend rewarding and encouraging with:

Here you can give up a higher percentage of the margin because, after all, you are not applying a global discount to all users.

In addition, this type of strategy has a very positive impact on customer retention, one of the most important factors in the profitability of an eCommerce business. Getting a customer to buy again is usually much cheaper than acquiring a new one, which is why investing in rewarding recurrence usually offers a very interesting return in the medium and long term.

Offers and promotions are made up of two elements: price and duration. More than anything, because when an offer does not have a limited duration, it is simply a low-price policy.

Then, I propose the idea of focusing the strategy on one of these variables, combining urgency with scarcity, in a classic neuromarketing resource.

To do so, you have to propose the sale of limited units (it does not hurt to indicate how many you have in stock), flash sales expiring in 24 or 48 hours… or you can combine strategies with an added-value offer like those already mentioned, but within a maximum redemption period.

The key to this type of promotion is that it reduces the customer’s decision time. When the user perceives that they may lose an opportunity, they are much more likely to act at that moment instead of postponing the purchase. In other words, urgency reduces friction in the purchase process.

It is important to make that limitation of time or units visible. Elements such as countdown timers, notices of the type “only 7 units left” or messages such as “offer valid until midnight” help reinforce the perception of scarcity.

That said, it is advisable to use this tactic with some moderation. If all offers seem urgent or limited, the customer may perceive it as an artificial strategy and lose trust in the brand. Urgency works better when it is used occasionally and credibly.

In addition, this type of campaign is usually especially effective for activating sales peaks at specific moments, such as season changes, stock clearances or specific promotional campaigns.