Striking the right balance between driving more purchases and maintaining healthy profit margins is key in eCommerce. Quantity breaks offer a smart solution, motivating customers to buy more units without significantly lowering the product’s price.
In this article, we will explore how this strategy works, its benefits, and how to implement it in Shopify to maximize your revenue without compromising profitability.
1. What are Quantity Breaks and Why Do They Work?
Quantity discounts allow you to offer tiered pricing based on the quantity purchased. Instead of offering a fixed discount, progressive discounts are applied depending on the number of units bought. For example:
- Buy 1 unit: Standard price.
- Buy 3 units: 5% discount.
- Buy 5 units: 10% discount.
This strategy leverages two key psychological principles:
Perceived Value
When customers see that they can pay less per unit simply by purchasing a little more, the offer becomes more attractive. Even if they hadn't planned on buying more units, the perceived savings motivated them to do so.
Loss Aversion
If a customer is undecided between buying one or multiple units, a tiered discount provides an additional incentive. Not taking advantage of the offer can feel like a "loss" of money, pushing them towards a larger purchase.
2. Advantages of Implementing Quantity Breaks in Your eCommerce
Implementing this strategy correctly can bring multiple benefits to your business:
- Increases average order value: Customers spend more per order by purchasing in larger quantities. This not only increases revenue but also optimizes customer acquisition costs, as you get more value from each conversion.
- Improves inventory turnover: Ideal for high-recurring products or overstocked inventory, helping you sell faster without resorting to clearance sales or aggressive discounts.
- Avoids aggressive discounts: Instead of offering widespread discounts (which can reduce your brand's perceived value), Quantity Breaks ensures that only customers who buy more receive benefits, keeping the base price intact.
- Enhances customer loyalty: If a customer buys in bulk and is satisfied with their purchase, they are more likely to return to your store rather than seek alternatives.
- Reduces logistical costs: When customers buy more in a single order, you can lower shipping logistics costs compared to processing multiple smaller purchases.
3. What Type of Products Work Best with Quantity Breaks
While this strategy can be applied to various sectors, some products particularly benefit from it:
Frequent-use or replenishable
- Skincare and personal care products.
- Food and beverages.
- Supplement and vitamins.
Fashion and accessories
- Socks, underwear, basic t-shirts.
- Jewelry and small accessories.
Stationery and office supplies
- Notebook, pens, ink cartridges.
- School supplies.
Home and cleaning products
- Detergents, toilet paper, sponges.
- Scented candles, air fresheners.
4. How to Implement Quantity Breaks in Shopify with Planet
If you want to efficiently apply this strategy in your eCommerce store, Planet is the best solution to manage tiered discounts and increase your customers' average order value. For a step-by-step guide on setting up Volume discount, check out this guide.
4.1. Setting Up Tiered Discounts
With Planet, you can define different discount levels based on the quantity purchased, ensuring that customers have clear incentives to buy more. Example configuration:
- Buy 2 and get a 5% discount
- Buy 4 and get a 10% discount
- Buy 6 and get a 15% discount
This can be easily automated in your Shopify store without manual coding.
4.2. Customizing Offer Messages
One of the keys to the success of Quantity Discounts is effectively communicating the offer. With Planet, you can add personalized messages on the product page and at checkout, such as:
- "Buy 1 more and save 10%"
- "Buy more, save more!"
This increases conversion rates by reminding customers of the benefits of buying more.
5. Success Stories: Brands That Have Leveraged Quantity Breaks with Planet
Many eCommerce brands have successfully implemented Quantity Discounts to increase their average order value and optimize inventory turnover. Thanks to Planet, businesses have effectively used this strategy to drive growth and build customer loyalty.
Carbinstore
Carbinstore, specializing in automotive accessories and products, has successfully implemented Volume discounts using Planet for its best-selling items, such as tools and spare parts. With tiered discounts like:
- Buy 4 units and save €9.00
- Buy 10 units and save €31.50
This approach has helped Carbinstore increase its average sale per customer, encourage bulk purchases, and reduce inventory faster without relying on massive discounts that could harm the brand.
Welgene
Welgene, an eCommerce store specializing in health and wellness products, has used Planet to implement Quantity Break discounts on its supplements and personal care items.
Welgene has increased sales volume and optimized inventory for recurring products like vitamins and supplements. Quantity Breaks has encouraged customers to buy more to take advantage of discounts, which has also reduced logistics costs by decreasing the number of shipments processed.
Clínica Research Dental
Clinical Research Dental, an eCommerce store focused on dental and clinical research products, has leveraged Quantity Breaks through Planet to optimize the purchase of high-demand items like teeth whitening products and dental tools.
By offering discounts such as:
- Buy 4 units, get 1 free
- Buy 10 units, get 4 free
Planet has enabled Clinical Research Dental to increase both the value of each order and the purchase frequency among its professional customers without sacrificing significant margins while also optimizing its logistics processes.
Quantity Breaks are a powerful strategy to increase purchase volume without relying on aggressive discounts. By implementing them correctly with Planet, you can:
- Increase the average order value.
- Improve inventory turnover.
- Maintain the perceived value of your product.
- Strengthen customer loyalty.
- Optimize logistics and acquisition costs.
If you want to boost your eCommerce and maximize the benefits of this strategy, Planet is the ideal tool for you.