Developing Product Bundling Offers

Discounts aren’t killing your profit margins. They’re killing your brand. Bold? Maybe! But after working with high level e-commerce clients, I’ve seen this pattern repeat far too often. Here’s why discounting is a trap and what you should do instead: One client of mine was stuck in a "discount or die" cycle Offering 20-30% off constantly. Their sales were decent, but: - Profit margins? Shrinking. - Customers? Loyal only to the discounts, not the brand. So, what did we do? We threw the discounts out the window and Implemented this no-discount blueprint: 1️⃣ Stack the Value →Instead of cutting prices, we built bundles with exclusive perks: Premium products + personalized add-ons. ↳ Result: 45% higher average order value – no discounts needed. 2️⃣ Scarcity That Matters → We launched limited-edition products Based on actual customer demand. No fake urgency, just genuine exclusivity. ↳ Impact: A 167% increase in full-price purchases. 3️⃣ Reward Loyalty, Not Bargain Hunters → We created a loyalty program focused on engagement: Early access, exclusive content, priority service. ↳ Result: 78% higher customer lifetime value. 4️⃣ Premium is a Mindset → Redesigned their brand story to scream exclusivity: - Behind-the-scenes storytelling - Expert-led masterclasses - Premium unboxing experiences ↳ Outcome in 6 months: ✅ Profit margins: +34% ✅ Customer retention: +56% ✅ Brand perception: +89% Discounts train customers to wait for sales. Value trains them to stay for the brand. P.S. - Want to escape the discount spiral? Let’s build a strategy that scales your profits and positions your brand as the premium choice. Drop a “Yes” in my DMs if you’re ready to level up. (And no, this doesn’t include a 20% off strategy.) But you can Follow me to learn more things about SEO. #EcommerceStrategy #MarketingStrategy #BrandPerception

What if your best loyalty tactic isn’t points or perks, but how you bundle your products? A lot of store owners focus on reward programs, welcome flows, and post-purchase emails when thinking about loyalty But there’s one low-effort lever that improves both first purchase experience and return rates: 👉 Smart bundles Not just "Buy 2, get 10% off" (although even that’s a solid start) I mean value-driven, problem-solving bundles that feel like a no-brainer to buy and come back for Here’s a real example from a ballet clothing brand we worked with: They launched pre-set bundles, with no complex “build your own” options Each bundle grouped customer-favorite items like leotards, skirts, and tights into easy-to-buy sets such as “Starter Pack” and “Premium Choice” Bundling: - raises AOV naturally - reduces choice paralysis - makes your brand feel curated and thoughtful - builds trust from the first order 👉 Bonus tip: Add a “Subscribe & Save” option to your bundles. You’ll increase AOV and LTV simultaneously ✔️ Test it:  Start small. Group 2-3 bestsellers around a theme or need. And frame the bundle around value, not just savings I'm curious to hear from you. Have you tried bundling as part of your loyalty strategy?

One of my favourite PMs at Google just published a piece on Lenny's Newsletter about building sustainable AI paywalls. Vikas Kansal leads product for Google AI. I work on loyalty and retention. And two sections hit differently when read through that lens. The first: gate usage intensity, not model quality. The instinct when building any premium tier -AI or loyalty is to put your best stuff behind the paywall. Better model. Better reward. Better experience. But Vikas makes the point that the free tier was already so good that "better" stopped being a reason to upgrade. What actually moved people was volume ; how much they could do, not how good the thing was. Loyalty programmes run into this constantly. A generous free tier trains users to expect value without paying for it. The upgrade has to feel like more runway, not just a shinier version of what they already have. The second: bundle with something sticky. He describes bundling Google AI with Google One cloud storage as "the masterstroke" for retention. Users rarely cancel storage — the pain of losing photos and emails is too high. So bundling AI with it meant subscribers almost automatically made it to month two. This is the insight that doesn't get talked about enough in loyalty. Points and rewards create excitement. But excitement fades. What makes people stay is when leaving becomes expensive not because you've trapped them, but because genuine value has accumulated over time. The most durable loyalty programmes aren't the ones with the best rewards. They're the ones where walking away costs you something real. Read the full article — link in comments. Worth every minute.

"The 3-in-1 bundle which includes Disney+, Hulu, and Max has the best subscriber retention rate in the industry according to a report from analytics firm Antenna, with around 80% of subscribers keeping their subscriptions after three months. ... The success of this collaboration shows how combining content libraries helps attract and keep subscribers. While Netflix continues to have a large number of subscribers thanks to its original programming, the mix of Disney’s family-friendly content, Hulu’s variety, and Max’s premium entertainment seems to appeal to viewers looking for all-in-one streaming solutions. ... This is the first time any bundled offering has shown a legitimate advantage over Netflix in a key performance metric. Netflix has long led the market by leveraging a deep content library and global reach, but this bundle shows that users may now value breadth and choice — across brands — more than just depth from one source. ... If Netflix doesn’t respond with something equally compelling — not just more content, but more value — it may find itself isolated as a premium à la carte service in a market increasingly shaped by bundled giants. In this new phase of streaming, value and retention are king. And right now, Disney and Warner Bros. are wearing the crown." #netflix #bundling #disneyplus #hulu #max #HBO #WBD #warnerbrosdiscovery #disneymaxbundle #stacking #streamingbundles #bundling #contentlibraries #libraryIP #catalogcontent

What is more important to revenue and bottom-line growth? Customer acquisition or customer retention? The answer: customer retention! Specifically, customer retention through value maximization! 🎯 In eCommerce, maximizing the value of each transaction is key - for both the brand and the customer. ⛳️ And, one of the most effective ways to maximize value, is  Product Bundling, i.e bundling complimentary or relevant products together, to be sold as one! Product bundling not only increases the Average Order Value (AOV) of a transaction but also increases the internalized relevancy of a brand to a consumer, driving repeat store visits and purchases. This is how product bundling can be effectively offered in eCommerce: 🔥 Best-Seller Bundles → Sell More of What Already Works Apple does this perfectly. The iPhone alone is great, but when it is bundled with AirPods and AppleCare, customers spend more, without much hesitation. 💡 Complementary Bundles → Pairing Products That Make Sense Skincare brands like @DrunkElephant offer routine-based bundles—cleanser, serum, and moisturizer—boosting both AOV and customer experience. 🎯 Subscription Bundles → Locking in Repeat Revenue Brands like @Huel and @AthleticGreens bundle their products into discounted subscription plans, increasing retention while ensuring customers never run out of their favorite products. I’ve seen firsthand how brands using the Appstle Bundles & Discounts app grow their AOV by 30-50%—without slashing margins! Bundling isn’t just about selling more; it’s about making buying easier for your customers. And when you do that, they buy more, stay longer, and keep coming back. 🚀 If you want to boost your eCommerce sales and AOV in 2025, start bundling your products now. #Appstle #customerretention #walletshare #subscriptions #memberships #loyalty #bundling #shopify #shopifyplus

Most ecom brands default to percentage-off discounts because they're easy. They're also the least effective offer type you can run. After testing offers across dozens of DTC brands, here's how the six core offer types actually stack up, ranked by effectiveness: 1. Bundle offers AOV lift of 15-35%. Curated bundles outperform build-your-own by roughly 20%. Bundle buyers purchase 1.4-1.7x worth of product. This is the single highest-leverage offer type for most brands. 2. Free gift with purchase Converts 28% higher than an equivalent-value discount. Reciprocity is real. For beauty brands, sample-to-full-size GWP is a cheat code for second purchases. 3. Tiered spend thresholds AOV lift of 12-18% when you set the threshold at 1.3x your current AOV. Simple to implement, hard to lose money on. 4. BOGO 2-3x unit volume compared to percentage discounts. Best for consumables where you want trial and habit formation. 5. Percentage off 10% rarely changes behavior. The sweet spot is 15-25%. Above 30% and you're eroding margin faster than you're gaining volume. 6. Dollar off Outperforms percentage on products over $100 AOV. Worse on low-AOV. "$50 off" hits harder than "15% off" when the price is high enough. Best offers by DTC category: → Supplements: subscribe-and-save + BOGO. Subscription LTV runs 2.5-4x one-time buyers. → Skincare/beauty: GWP travel sizes + bundle kits. → Apparel: tiered spend thresholds + seasonal bundles. → Food/bev: BOGO + subscribe-and-save + free shipping threshold at 1.3x AOV. → Home/furniture: dollar-off ($50 off $300+) + accessory bundles. How to actually test offers without wrecking your data: → Stabilize your account first. If you're making bid, budget, or audience changes at the same time, you won't know what moved the needle. → Run your control for 7+ days before launching the test. → The offer should be the only variable. Keep creative, audience, and budget structure the same so the offer is the thing you're actually reading. → Measure full funnel. CTR and CPA don't tell the whole story, so track AOV, contribution margin, and repeat rate alongside them. → Give it 7-14 days minimum because offers need real volume before you can read them. → Test structures, not numbers. "Bundle vs. BOGO" teaches you more than "20% off vs. 25% off" ever will. Offer structure is one of the few levers that lifts AOV, conversion rate, and LTV at the same time. Most brands never test past percentage off. That's where the gap is.

Aging inventory is one of the biggest bottlenecks for retail brands. Here's how we solved this problem and made $10M+ on clearance items... The reality of retail is that every brand struggles with aging inventory. Most companies just slash prices, damaging their brand and sacrificing margins. At Culture Kings, we pioneered the concept of the mystery box instead. Here's how it worked: Every year, we'd make a killing on the slowest month in retail, February. We'd run our Mystery Box promotion: 3 items for $50. Seems simple, but there was serious psychology behind it. The key was to avoid bundling clearance items. Here's what we did instead: We engineered the Mystery Box with a specific formula: 2 items specifically created for the promotion + 1 clearance item we needed to move This is where 99% of retailers got it wrong. Most brands just bundle unsold items and hope for the best. But the fact is, clearance items didn't sell for a reason. Instead, you need to find a way to keep trust, but also maintain your margins. We deliberately created products just for these promotions. Items that: • Had high perceived value • Matched our brand aesthetic • But were inexpensive to produce The math was simple: Clearance item: Cost $5 (Retail $30) Engineered item #1: Cost $5 (Perceived value $30) Engineered item #2: Cost $5 (Perceived value $30) Total cost: $15 Selling price: $50 Customer perceived value: $90+ This approach solved multiple problems: • Cleared aging inventory without brand damage • Generated healthy margins even during clearance • Customers felt they got a great deal • Built anticipation and excitement around our "sale" events The Mystery Box concept became so popular, that customers would line up for them. We turned a traditional loss-leader (clearance) into a profit center AND a marketing tool. The big lesson: Don't just discount when clearing inventory. Engineer a customer experience where they feel they're getting tremendous value, while you achieve your inventory goals. This strategy scaled to millions in revenue during traditionally slow retail months. PS: Founders, I broke down the 5 biggest mistakes that kept my business from scaling to 8, then 9 figures. If you want to learn how to avoid them, sign up here: https://lnkd.in/eCY_2KQx

Having spent years building and reviewing customer-first businesses, I typically refrain from publicly calling out individual experiences. However, certain patterns warrant discussion without naming the brand. During a recent vehicle purchase journey with a leading online player, several practices stood out that merit reflection: 1. Financial penalty for independent choice: Opting not to take the platform’s loan resulted in an additional charge of approximately 2% on the full vehicle value, not just the loan value. In customer experience terms, this isn’t an incentive; it’s a deterrent. 2. “Optional” packages that behave as mandatory: An extended package, priced around ₹20,000, was positioned as default, with limited clarity on how to opt out. Defaults matter as they shape behavior and trust, especially when presented as optional without a real choice. 3. Loan insurance bundled at disproportionately high cost: Insurance was effectively compulsory, with pricing that didn’t align with comparable market options. 4. Differential pricing based on product bundling: The underlying message was clear: accept the full bundle (loan, insurance, packages) or face higher costs elsewhere. While this may optimize short-term revenue, it erodes long-term confidence. Why is this worth mentioning? This is not a fringe player; it is a category shaper. When leaders normalize forced bundling and opt-out penalties, the ecosystem follows, and customers ultimately pay for it. As users, we should be asking: - Are customers truly free to choose? - Are defaults serving convenience or extraction? - Would we be comfortable explaining these practices in plain language? Growth built on opacity rarely compounds. This isn’t a takedown; it’s an invitation to introspect. Trust, once discounted, is expensive to regain. Feedback has been shared with their CX heads and founders, and I am open to sharing detailed insights. This is a product-building and category trust post, not a vent, so please refrain from complaints, but I welcome discussions if someone has a counter view.

Stop guessing your way to a higher AOV.   𝗕𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 = 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝘁 𝘂𝗽, 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻. 👇 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵:  Most brands 𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗽 𝗯𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝗴𝗲 and expect magic.   But random pairings ≠ real revenue. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀?   → 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮-𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗯𝗼𝘀: Use your purchase data to see what customers *actually* buy together.   → 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲: Show the savings/upside front and center—don't hide it in fine print.   → 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲: One click to add the bundle, zero confusion. We rolled this out for a client.   𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁: 77% of customers chose the bundle. Tens of thousands in extra monthly revenue—see image for the real numbers. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘂𝗹𝗮:   ✅ Know what your customers want.   ✅ Make it simple.   ✅ Communicate the benefit. Bundles aren’t “set and forget”—they’re a conversion machine if you get the details right. Are you still bundling by guesswork?   Drop a “💰” if you want to see the data-led approach that works. #eCommerce #AOV #CRO #ProductStrategy

How the bundler we built for emma & noah boosted AOV by 61% Increasing Average Order Value (AOV) without feeling pushy is a real struggle. But what if customers actually wanted to add more items to their cart? We made it work with a "Mix & Match" bundle builder - a custom Shopify app that allowed shoppers to create personalized product bundles with tiered discounts. The results? A 61% increase in AOV within the first month. Let’s break down why it worked so well: The bundler didn’t just offer discounts - it leveraged psychological triggers to make adding more items feel rewarding: FOMO and progress bar  shoppers saw “Add 2 more items for 45% off!” motivating them to reach the next reward tier. Loss Aversion The idea of losing a discount was more powerful than the idea of saving money. Commitment Bias Once customers started building a bundle, they wanted to finish it. Guided Shopping Flow Instead of sifting through a full catalog, customers were seamlessly guided through relevant product categories. Why this approach is better than traditional upsells? Unlike а static "Frequently Bought Together" suggestions or pre-set bundles, the mix-and-match bundler gives customers full control over their selections while rewarding them for adding more. It’s not a sales gimmick but a win-win situation for both the merchant and the shopper. What can ecom brands learn from it? Offer tiered incentives  Gradual discounts drive larger orders. Make It customer-centric Let shoppers mix & match what they actually need. Leverage real-time progress Show how close customers are to the next reward. Smart bundling isn’t about pushing products - it’s about guiding and rewarding customers.