According to industry estimates, there are currently over 26 million eCommerce sites across the globe. With such fierce competition in the market, how do you stand out? Running the right promotions can make all the difference! In this comprehensive guide, we’ll reveal a solid list of ecommerce promotion ideas to help you attract, engage, and keep customers coming back.
Along the way, we’ll also introduce you to powerful tools to help you run these creative promotion ideas with ease. Ready to learn? Then let’s dive in!
What Are E-Commerce Promotions?
Ecommerce promotions are strategic marketing tactics online store owners use to encourage customers to take action–whether it’s a purchase, newsletter sign-up, or engaging with your brand in other ways. These promotions can take many forms, depending on your unique goals. Common examples include discounts, free gifts, limited-time sales, or loyalty programs. The goal is to craft an offer that customers can’t resist!
Key Benefits Of Running E-Commerce Promotions
When done right, ecommerce promotions can offer several key benefits for your store. Let’s walk through some of them below:
1. Great tool for customer acquisition
One of the most challenging aspects of running a successful business is acquiring new customers. Running welcome promotions for first-time shoppers can help nudge them to make that first purchase.
By offering a a welcome discount or special perk, you make your offers more enticing to first-time buyers. In fact, according to an industry study, 80% of customers reveal that they’re more encouraged to make a first-time purchase with a brand if they find an offer or discount.
It’s also a great way to make a positive first impression, increasing your chances of building a long-term relationship with new customers.
2. Helps boost sales
We can’t miss out on mentioning this benefit! Promotions are a surefire way to give your sales a quick boost, as they encourage customers to take immediate action. This is especially true for promotions that create a sense of urgency, such as limited-time offers, flash sales, or limited buy-one-get-one promotions. The fear of missing out (FOMO) element can encourage customers to complete their purchases before the offer expires.
Additionally, online promotions provide opportunities to upsell or cross-sell your offerings. For example, you can bundle complementary products together and offer them at a discounted price. This can help you increase average order values and provide your customers with more value.
3. Improve brand visibility
Online promotions are also amazing tools to create buzz around your brand, thereby increasing your reach and impact. Referral programs or partnerships with influencers, for instance, can help expose your brand to relevant audiences in your niche. This exposure can improve your brand’s visibility and drive traffic to your website, introducing your business to potential customers!
With better reach comes the chance to build your brand’s credibility and recognition, both of which are important factors for long-term success.
12 Creative Promotion Ideas For ECommerce Store Owners
Now that we’ve explored some of the benefits of running promotions for your online store, it’s time to look through your options. We’ve got your back! In this section, we’ll dive into a solid list of ecommerce promotion ideas that will help you attract customers and drive growth for your business.
1. Offer limited-time discounts
Limited-time offers can come in many different forms, including percentage-off discounts, dollar-off deals, or even product category discounts. They’re one of the most versatile types of offers you can run, and you can tweak them depending on your business goals. For example, you might offer a limited-time 20% off exclusively for slow-moving products, allowing you to move inventory faster.
What makes limited-time discounts so effective is that they tap into customers’ fear of missing out. The sense of urgency can drive them to make quicker purchase decisions. This brings us to our next strategy…
2. Run flash sales to create a sense of urgency
Flash sales take the urgency of limited-time offers to the next level by offering them on incredibly short windows–like for a few hours or for just one day! Typically, these promotions offer deeper discounts. For example, if you typically offer a 15% discount on regular promotions, you might want to raise it to 20% during a flash sale.
These sales are designed to create a frenzy, enticing customers to shop before the time runs out. The thrill of getting an unbeatable offer in such a short period of time creates a gamified experience, encouraging shoppers to act quickly to grab the deal.
PRO TIP: Leverage visuals like countdown timers or stock quantities left to create a sense of urgency. You can also use plugins like Advanced Coupons to create coupons that activate only during a particular date and time to automate your flash sale.
3. Offer store credits instead of discounts
If you’re looking for creative promotion ideas apart from the usual percent-off discounts, consider offering store credits! Store credit is a virtual balance shoppers can use to make purchases in your store.
Here’s a quick example: Instead of saying “Get 10% off,” try something like “You have $20.11 in store credit expiring soon!” The psychology behind this is powerful. By framing it as their credit, shoppers feel like it’s their own money and are more likely to use it before it disappears.
Store credit also opens up new ways to re-engage customers and get people back to your site. For example, you can send follow-up emails with messages like “Your credit expires in 48 hours!” or offer store credits as a reward for actions like writing a product review or making a repeat purchase.
Advanced Coupons lets WooCommerce store owners add a store credit system to their store for free. With this powerful plugin, you can easily grant store credits to shoppers and send timely email reminders when their credit is about to expire. Learn more here. 👉
4. Provide a free shipping incentive
Offering a free shipping incentive is a powerful incentive in the ecommerce world. Shipping costs are one of the top reasons for cart abandonment, and easing this burden for customers can encourage them to complete their orders.
According to industry insights, 84% of customers have specifically made a purchase because of free shipping. What’s more, 30% of shoppers are willing to increase their order size if it qualifies them for free shipping. To avoid hurting your margins, you can set minimum order requirements before customers can qualify for free shipping.
Alternatively, you can offer shipping discounts rather than offer free shipping. With plugins like Advanced Coupons, you can create shipping discount coupons that apply a percentage or dollar amount off shipping costs. This provides your customers value while helping you manage your business’s shipping expenses.
5. Set up BOGO (Buy One Take One) deals
BOGO (Buy One Get One) promotions are a classic customer favorite–and for good reason! Giving a product for free (or with a discounted price) creates immediate value for customers, enticing them to add items to their carts. They’re also highly versatile and can be tweaked to match your current business goals.
For instance, you can run the usual “Buy One Get One Free” deals or opt for variations like “Buy One Get One 50% Off”, or “Buy Two Get One Free”. These are excellent ways to promote slow-moving inventory or encourage customers to try something new in your store.
PRO TIP: Use plugins like Advanced Coupons to easily craft Buy One Get One deals. With this plugin, you can create any variant of BOGO deals and set specific cart conditions to control when it applies. For instance, you can set a minimum spend or limit the deal to certain product categories.
6. Give cashback on orders
Instead of offering a product discount, cashback rewards customers with a percentage of their order amount back, usually in store credits. This is another smart way to reward shoppers without slashing prices upfront while also encouraging them to come back and spend again.
What’s great about offering cashback is its flexibility. You can choose to reward cashback only for specific products or specific categories or require a minimum spend. This is great if you want to highlight only specific collections or increase average order values.
With Advanced Coupons, you can create cashback coupons that trigger only when certain cart conditions are met, such as a specific product, category, or subtotal. You can also set a specific cashback waiting period to ensure the order isn’t refunded or canceled before the reward is applied:
7. Sweeten the deal with a free gift
A simple yet effective way to win a customer’s heart is to give them something for free. It makes the shopping experience fun and rewarding. There’s a lot of room to get creative here, especially during seasonal promotions or anniversaries. What’s more, you don’t have to go overboard. Even a small bonus item can leave a big impression!
Take a look at this example from the skincare brand Innisfree:
Image Source Innisfree
This is a great example of how to tie a free gift to a specific product category. It encourages shoppers to explore their cleanser range while adding extra perceived value to the order. It’s also a smart way to introduce new products to shoppers without discounting.
PRO TIP: WooCommerce store owners can use Advanced Coupons’ Add Products feature to automatically add free products to a shopper’s cart. You can set specific cart conditions (such as requiring a certain product category or order amount) so the gift only appears when shoppers qualify.
8. Reward repeat purchases with loyalty points
We can’t miss mentioning loyalty programs in our list of the best ecommerce promotion ideas! These programs work by rewarding your customers for every purchase, giving them reasons to keep coming back to your store. Like most of the strategies in this guide, loyalty programs can be customized to suit your unique business goals.
For example, you can create a loyalty program that offers shoppers points for every purchase, which they can redeem as discounts for future purchases. Plugins like WooCommerce Loyalty Program make setting this up a breeze. With this plugin, you can reward customers with loyalty points, define which actions earn points, and track customer points using an intuitive dashboard.
Alternatively, you can set up a tiered loyalty rewards system, where customers can unlock better perks as they purchase more.
9. Allow shoppers to build their own bundles
Effective creative promotion ideas leverage gamification, making shopping more fun, engaging, and rewarding. One way to do this is by allowing customers to mix and match bundles. Instead of giving them a curated set, allow them to choose which products they can add to their bundle.
This strategy will work particularly well if your store sells similar types of products—like snacks, accessories, or beauty products. It creates a sense of play, especially when you show how much customers are saving as they build their bundle!
Take this example from The Cravory:
Image Source The Cravory
PRO TIP: If you’re letting customers build their own bundles, it helps to make product details super easy to digest. With StoreAgent, you can add AI-powered tools like product summaries, instant Q&A, and review highlights to your WooCommerce store. These features help shoppers compare items faster and feel more confident in their choices!
10. Give loyal customers a renewal discount
This strategy is golden if you’re offering subscription products: give loyal subscribers a reason to renew by offering an exclusive discount. For example, you could offer 10% off when a customer renews their subscription for another year. This not only gives them an extra nudge to renew their plan but also helps you show appreciation for your most loyal subscribers.
Here are other creative promotion ideas for renewals you can explore:
- Stack perks with the renewal: Include exclusive guides, bonus downloads, or a webinar.
- Offer flash discounts for early renewals: Give customers a short window to renew early at a lower rate to add a sense of urgency.
- Add a bonus product or free gift: Offer a simple thank you gift for staying subscribed.
11. Drive sales with digital gift cards
Gift cards not only provide your online store with an additional revenue stream–they’re also amazing for customer acquisition and retention!
Selling gift cards allows your existing customer base to introduce your business to friends and family in a way that’s thoughtful and personal. Recipients of the gift cards are likely to visit your store to use the card, giving you an opportunity to capture new customers. What’s more, they’re incredibly popular during peak shopping seasons like holidays, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and other special occasions.
A smart example of this comes from Apple. Instead of offering a traditional discount during Black Friday, they give customers a high-value gift card with purchase. This keeps the premium feel of the brand while still offering value!
Image Source Apple
PRO TIP: WooCommerce store owners can use plugins like Advanced Gift Cards to easily sell and manage digital gift cards in their stores.
12. Build buzz with contests and giveaways
Running contests and giveaways gamifies the customer experience–it attracts attention, encourages engagement, and improves brand awareness. This is why it’s on our list of ecommerce promotion ideas!
You can run contests or giveaways that encourage shoppers to tag, share, or follow your social media accounts. Likewise, you can collaborate with influencers in your niche to reach the most relevant audience.
Aside from improving your brand’s reach, these types of promotions are also excellent ways to gain valuable customer data. When customers enter your contests, you can collect useful information like email addresses, helping you grow your email list. Check out the example below:
PRO TIP: You can use plugins like RafflePress for WooCommerce store owners to easily set up and manage customer giveaways.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best way to market my small business?
Use a mix of online and offline marketing efforts to gain initial exposure and traction for your store. Building a strong online presence is key, so make sure you set up a professional website that is SEO-optimized for your industry. Then, you can expand your reach through social media, email marketing, and collaborating with influencers. Running promotions such as flash sales, limited-time discounts, or contests can help attract customer attention and encourage them to purchase.
What are the basic promotion ideas for new startup?
You can boost initial sales by offering exclusive discounts for new buyers. For example, you can offer percentage off coupons or free shipping deals to encourage those first purchases. BOGO (buy one get one) deals are another effective option. To create buzz and generate excitement, you can run contests and giveaways that encourage customers to share, like, and tag others.
What are some digital marketing ideas?
Email marketing is a powerful digital marketing tool, as it provides a direct and personal way to communicate with customers. You can run giveaways and contests to build an email list, where you can send tailored promotions and product updates to keep buyers engaged.
To attract organic traffic and improve your brand’s reach, it’s also crucial to invest in content marketing. Share helpful blog posts, videos, or guides to build trust and educate your audience. Make sure that your content is SEO-optimized to improve search engine rankings and allow customers to find you.
Lastly, you can leverage social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok to connect with your audience and share relevant updates. These platforms allow you to engage with customers, creating meaningful interactions that build trust with your brand.
Conclusion
Running strategic promotions can help you stand out in today’s competitive marketplace. With the right promotions, you can engage customers, encourage purchases, and keep them coming back. In this comprehensive guide, we covered seven effective ecommerce promotion ideas for your business. Let’s quickly recap them below:
- Offer limited-time discounts
- Run flash sales to create a sense of urgency
- Use store credits instead of traditional discounts
- Provide a free shipping incentive
- Set up BOGO (Buy One Take One) deals
- Give cashback on qualified orders
- Add a free gift to sweeten the deal
- Reward repeat purchases with loyalty points
- Let shoppers build their own bundles
- Create renewal offers for subscribers
- Drive sales with digital gift cards
- Build buzz with contests and giveaways
Tools like Advanced Coupons make setting up these promotions a breeze in WooCommerce. With this powerful plugin, you can extend the default WooCommerce coupon functionality and craft advanced deals like BOGO, shipping discounts, URL coupons, and more!
We hope this list of ecommerce promotion ideas helped you out! Do you have questions for us? Let us know in the comments.
