Shipfusion Blog

How To Create Irresistible Product Bundles

In the innovative world of ecommerce, standing out isn’t just a choice – it’s a necessity. As the digital marketplace booms, with projections pointing to an annual growth rate of 11.17% from now through 2027, businesses must tap into fresh, inventive strategies to capture audience attention. One such strategy that resonates deeply with consumers is product bundling.

Remember the thrill of opening a gift set or discovering a curated box of your favorite things? That’s the allure of product bundles.

Yet, there’s an art to creating product bundles. It’s more than just grouping products together; it’s about understanding your customer’s desires and crafting combinations they can’t resist. When done right, product bundles can lead to an increase in average order value and brand loyalty with your consumers.

This article will guide you through creating product bundles that not only amplify sales but also solidify your brand’s positioning. Read below to unwrap the potential that product bundling can bring to your ecommerce business.

What are the different types of product bundles?

There isn’t just one type of product bundle – there are many different options your business can try, depending on the products you sell and your target market. Here are some of the product bundle types available to consider for your business:

Subscription boxes

Subscription boxes are a form of product bundling that has enjoyed huge popularity in recent years. Subscription boxes are usually sent out on a monthly basis and contain a curated selection of products. From beauty products, books, gourmet foods, to exclusive merchandise, subscription boxes cater to a vast array of niches. 

Subscription boxes not only provide consumers with a consistent supply of their favorite items, but they also introduce new products they might not have discovered otherwise. Research also shows that offering subscription boxes is an effective way to increase customer spending. For ecommerce businesses, it’s a golden opportunity to foster loyalty, gather feedback, and establish a predictable revenue stream.

Custom bundles

Custom bundles allow your customers the interactive opportunity to create their own product bundles. You could offer a selection of products for your customers to mix and match their bundles, potentially guiding them with quizzes or surveys to suggest products based on their preferences or needs. Offering this level of customization allows your customers to see themselves in the products they choose, creating a tailor-made shopping story just for them.

Gift bundles

Gift-giving, while thoughtful, can often lead to more stress than enjoyment. Gift bundles simplify this process, providing a curated selection tailored to varied preferences. Consider the appeal of a skincare and cosmetics set for beauty enthusiasts, a gourmet coffee assortment for caffeine lovers, or a tech accessory pack for the gadget-obsessed.

These bundles not only offer customers a comprehensive gift solution but also save them the time and effort of individual item selection. In essence, gift bundles are a thoughtful way to cater to the needs of shoppers looking for the ideal present.

Seasonal bundles

As the seasons change, so do consumer preferences. Seasonal bundles cater to these shifts, offering products that are relevant to each time of the year, whether it’s cozy items for winter or necessities for summer. The packaging, often reflecting the particular season, can enhance the overall appeal of the bundle and make it feel both relevant and limited edition.

One way to create an appealing seasonal bundle is to use customized, themed dunnage. Not only will it add flair to your product bundles, but dunnage also ensures that your orders arrive to your customer in perfect condition. Of course, you’ll need to partner with the best logistics provider that can ensure your product bundle orders are fulfilled and delivered safely.  Ensuring proper delivery is crucial for periods such as the upcoming holiday season.

Occasion bundles

Life is punctuated by events – and certain events, like weddings and graduations, call for gift-giving. Occasion bundles provide a chance for your ecommerce business to be part of these milestones. Curating products that align with specific life moments secures not just a sale, but an entry into your customer’s cherished memories. As easy solutions for shoppers, these bundles take the guesswork out of event shopping, offering a seamless blend of relevance and convenience.            

What are the Benefits of Product Bundles?

You’ve probably already guessed that introducing product bundles to your ecommerce store can deliver a host of benefits. Here are some of the reasons your business will want to start working on its product bundling strategy:

Increases average order value (AOV)

Increasing the average order value for every transaction is an excellent way to help your profits soar. Offering product bundles allows you to tempt customers planning to buy a single item to upgrade their purchase to a product bundle. Your customer feels they are getting a great deal, while your business benefits from a higher average order value. Win-win!

Ideal for upselling

When a customer heads to the checkout, upselling becomes your aim. Creating product bundles that are filled with related products is a great place to begin. For example, if a customer is buying a bottle of shampoo from your site, you could cross-sell with a product bundle of related items. This could include a conditioner and styling products that complement the shampoo. 

Attempting to cross-sell is something that you see every day on ecommerce sites. Most online stores use prompts such as ‘you may also like’ to attempt to cross-sell. What makes a product bundle different is the convenience and value for money it offers!

Introduce customers to new products 

Persuading visitors to your site to try a new product is not always easy. People like to stick with their tried-and-tested favorites. Adding a new product to a product bundle, where it can sit alongside some of your best-selling products, is a great way to combat this. Customers who purchase these bundles are introduced to your new product, even though they weren’t willing to order it as a standalone item.

Helps build brand loyalty

Consumers love getting more for their money – so when they feel like they’re unlocking exceptional value with a purchase, it’s a big win for your brand. Through product bundling, you’re not just offering a cost-effective deal, you’re crafting an experience that keeps them coming back. Making sure your customers feel like they’re getting value from you helps encourage brand loyalty. 

Valuable opportunities for regular sales

Product bundles provide you with a clever way to secure regular sales. Offering subscription boxes ensures that you have a regular income stream coming into your business. This is an excellent way to get repeat sales year after year.

Eases overstock issues

Having large amounts of overstock can impact your business’s cash flow. Overstock not only occupies valuable warehouse space, but it also ties money up in products that aren’t moving. Adding these products to a product bundle can help your business clear the overstock. It can also help generate more individual sales of the overstocked products since customers are more likely to buy an item again once they’ve given it a try.

Saves processing costs

Another advantage of introducing product bundles is that it helps save on packaging and processing costs. You’ll need far less packaging to create your product bundles, and bundling can simplify your ecommerce fulfillment service provider’s picking and packing process. Instead of picking five separate items from different locations in a warehouse, a pre-assembled bundle is just one pick, reducing labor time and the potential for errors.

Perfect for increasing seasonal sales

The holidays are fast on their way! Now is the time to get your Christmas sales strategies perfected and ready for the busiest time of the year. Putting together ‘seasonal special’ product bundles is an excellent way to maximize your revenue over the holidays. 

Customers will be on the lookout for easy gift-buying ideas and opportunities to save money. Your product bundles should be offering them both!

Irresistible Product Bundle Ideas

A properly put-together product bundle can have customers clicking “add to card” in an instant. Here’s some inspiration to get you started:

Limited edition bundles

Create a sense of urgency and encourage customers to buy your product bundles fast by making them limited edition. Consider launching bundles for specific holidays or events that are available for a limited time only. You could even throw in limited extras, like free samples of other products!

Exclusive product bundles

Including products that are not available to buy separately and advertising them as exclusive to the product bundle can generate extra interest in your bundles.

Value bundles

Everyone loves to save money while getting great value. Offering product bundles at a reduced price compared to purchasing the items individually will help make your bundles irresistible.

You might also consider offering different types of bundles at various price points. This could range from a basic bundle to a premium bundle, catering to different customer budgets.

Themed bundles

A theme can transform a simple bundle into a narrative. Consider packaging that complements the theme and creates a cohesive visual experience. If you offer culinary products, a “Taste of Italy” bundle might include gourmet pasta, artisanal tomato sauce, and a bottle of Italian olive oil, all packaged in a rustic, Italian countryside-inspired box. This isn’t just shopping; it’s embarking on a delightful journey from the comfort of home.

Trial or sample bundles

For businesses with a variety of products, consider offering smaller sizes in a bundle. This allows customers to try multiple products before committing to full-sized versions.

With these strategies, not only are you selling products, but you’re also offering experiences, stories, and values that resonate deeply with your audience.

How to introduce product bundles to your business

Are you ready to introduce product bundles to your business? Here’s how you can do it:

Understand the needs of your customers

To effectively introduce product bundles, you must have an understanding of your customers’ purchase behaviors. Which products do they frequently buy together? Are there any complementary products in their shopping carts? 

By analyzing these patterns, you get a clear blueprint not only of their purchasing habits but of their unspoken needs and desires. This allows you to craft bundles that offer combinations that they might not have even realized they wanted but now can’t resist.

Select your packaging carefully

Packaging serves two primary purposes: protection and presentation. It’s crucial that your packaging effectively safeguards the products during shipping. Equally important is its appearance. The design and material should be consistent with your brand’s image and reflect the bundle’s theme.

Think of your packaging as the first physical interaction with your customer; it sets the tone for the product inside. Aim for it to be sturdy and visually appealing, making a positive first impression.

Find the perfect fulfillment partner

Your commitment to the customer doesn’t end at checkout. The final and most important step in the product bundling process is ensuring that the order reaches your customers seamlessly. 

To achieve this, partner Third-Party Logistics (3PL) provider that understands the intricacies of product bundling. Shipfusion is the highest-rated 3PL that offers customizable, turnkey fulfillment solutions, with the technical expertise needed for efficient product bundle fulfillment.

With Shipfusion, clients can create their own product bundles via the Portal client interface in real-time. It’s as easy as creating a new bundle and specifying which SKUs are included to start selling and fulfilling them in minutes – a seamless process unique to Shipfusion.

Partnering with Shipfusion for your subscription box fulfillment needs gives you the freedom to concentrate on scaling your ecommerce business. Contact our fulfillment specialists today and find out how we can transform your order fulfillment.