Product Bundling: The Ultimate Guide for Online Sellers (2023)

While it is true that all retailers aim to boost their earnings, their methods of achieving this goal can differ. For instance, some may prioritise enhancing their customer loyalty program rewards by offering discounts and incentives, while others choose to leverage on social media marketing. The possibilities for increasing sales are virtually endless, with a myriad of tactics available to explore.

If you’re an online seller looking to increase your sales, product bundling is another great way to achieve revenue goals. However, like any other sales tactic, it requires a certain level of expertise. 

So to help you achieve success, here are some important factors to consider for product bundling.

What is product bundling

Product bundling is a pricing strategy where you offer several products together as a bundle, instead of selling them individually. This strategy is used to encourage customers to buy more products.

McDonald’s Value Meals are an example of product bundles. Instead of selling a burger, drinks, and french fries separately, they are sold together as a combination, which leads to more sales revenue than offering them separately.

At times, products may be combined and offered as an upsell or cross-sell.

• Upselling is the act of convincing a customer to upgrade their purchase, such as recommending a higher-end and pricier version of a laptop they are considering buying.
• Cross-selling refers to the promotion of related products that are grouped together, such as recommending a camera along with an extra lens.

Advantages of product bundling

• Increase Your Average Order Value: Product bundling can increase the profits and sales of individual items over time. By grouping your items together, you can make your customers buy more than one product during a single purchase which increases your average order value.

• Decreases Marketing and Distribution Costs: Bundling can decrease your marketing and distribution costs. Instead of marketing every product, you can group complementary products together and market them as a single product. By packaging different items together, you only need one warehouse bin to store them instead of different bins.
  
  Also, bundling helps you ship fewer boxes of individual items and saves your money on postage. 

Reduce Inventory Waste: Merchandise that doesn’t get sold remains in your inventory as dead stock, adding to your holding costs, and is eventually discarded as waste. You can use bundling to clear out unsold products before it becomes a problem. If you bundle a slow-moving or stagnant item with a faster-selling product, customers will see the bundle as a bargain and be more inclined to buy it.

What are the different types of product bundling

Retailers usually opt for a product bundling strategy during festive seasons because shoppers tend to be more inclined to spend money during that time. So bundling products together can be an effective way to encourage them to make more purchases.

However, product bundling is not limited to the holiday season alone. It can be implemented year-round as well. In fact, there are three distinct types of product bundling strategies that you can consider exploring.

Price bundling

Bundle pricing involves multiple products or services being offered together as a package deal at a discounted price. This bundling strategy is often used by retailers to drive more sales by encouraging customers to purchase more items.

Price bundling tactics

1. To qualify for a discount, the shopper must purchase a few specific items together.
2. Discount is offered to the purchase as long as multiple items are purchased at once
3. Buy one get one free

Offering a bundle discount on the total price or including a perceived value, such as a “free” item, can make customers feel like they are getting a good deal, even if they end up spending more than they had originally intended.

Pure bundling

A pure bundle refers to a package deal where a set of items is offered exclusively in that bundle. It creates a sense of value for both the customer and the product and incentivises them to buy the bundle just to get the exclusive item offered in the bundle.

Pure bundling tactics

Items offered in pure bundling cannot be purchased separately and are only available as part of the bundle.

However, retailers need to ensure that the bundled products are complementary and desirable to customers, as pure bundling may not be suitable for all products or services.

Mixed bundling

Unlike pure bundling and price bundling, where products are sold together as a package deal, mixed bundling allows customers to choose which items they want to purchase, while still receiving a discount when they buy a bundle of related products.

Mixed bundling tactics

Offer customers a discount or special price on a product if it’s purchased together with a related item.

For example, a retailer selling cameras might offer a discount on the camera and a related accessory, such as a camera bag, when purchased together. This encourages customers to buy the camera and related accessory at the same time, resulting in increased sales for the retailer.

Examples of product bundling

Here are some product bundling examples that can provide inspiration for your own bundling strategies. Keep in mind that the bundling approach you take will depend on your goals and the products you offer.

Related products bundle

Ningas Candle Co. is an eco-friendly candle business that offers a wide range of scents in their inventory. Introducing new scents can be a challenge as customers may be hesitant to try something unfamiliar. To encourage customers to take the chance and explore more scents, they have introduced bundle deals in their storefront.

For instance, they offer a 4-piece bundle deal that comes with a discounted price. By 

bundling the new scent with familiar ones at a discounted rate, customers may feel more inclined to experiment and discover new favourites.

Promotion bundle

Charitea is a food and beverage business that offers a diverse selection of flavoured milk tea, frappes, and smoothies. To boost sales of their food items, the company has introduced a promotion bundle that allows customers to purchase chicken wings and bubble tea at a discounted price of ₱100.

Bundled clearance sale

Stagnant items are difficult to clear. Sometimes, even discounts wouldn’t do the trick. Instead of slashing prices with steep discounts, consider putting them in a bundled set. This gives customers the impression that they’re getting more bang for their buck.

Some example includes:

• Buy two, get one free offer on selected clearance items.
• Purchase a bundle of five clearance products and get 50% off on the total bill.

Tips on product bundling strategy

As you can see there are various types of product bundling, and the selection is based largely on your online business goals. However, there are still a couple of important principles to follow no matter your selection.

Tip #1: Naming your product bundle

Naming your product bundle can have a significant impact on how you draw attention to your new offering. An effective naming strategy is to focus on the benefits that the bundle provides to the customer.

Tip #2: Calculate bundle price

To determine the bundle price, it is essential to identify the gross margin for each item included in the bundle. You can calculate the gross margin dollars of a particular product by deducting its cost of goods sold (COGS) from its total selling price.

 

After determining your cost baseline, you can select a discount that works with your business goals.

How to sell product bundles strategically

Creating the product bundle is only the initial step, you will also need to know how to push out the bundles in the most strategic manner in order to maximise its potential. And here are a few examples.

Offer bundles at checkout

Providing a bundle at the time of checkout can encourage customers to purchase multiple items, making it a savvy choice for ecommerce businesses to boost their profit margins and enhance the shopping cart experience.

Present discount prominently

If your bundle is designed to provide a discount, it is crucial to showcase this information prominently on both your product page and marketing efforts. Highlighting the discount as a significant aspect of the bundle serves as a reminder to customers that they are receiving a great deal.

Use bundle for gift guides

Advertising bundles as simple gift options is a popular approach during festive seasons. Numerous businesses create a landing page for their gift guide, which can be promoted through email, social media, and in-app marketing.

Conclusion

Bundling products is an excellent approach to enhancing the perceived value of your products and refining the customer experience in your store. It can be utilised for various purposes, such as gift-giving events, clearing dead stock, raising product awareness, and other innovative methods to stimulate in-store sales and strengthen your marketing tactics.

Start yours today if you have not done so, and if you are looking to set up an online store, be sure to check out our sell page for inspirations and guides on setting up your ecommerce store.