Consumer financing enables you to serve more customers, move more products, and enjoy greater profit than any other business growth strategy. When you offer financing, you enable your customers to purchase the goods or services they want through affordable monthly payments that work with their budget.
Consumer financing brings many benefits to your customers, yes, but your business benefits as well. When customers have access to financing options, your average order value increases. Larger average order values enable you to grow your profits and make the most out of your current marketing (and other) budgets. In this article, we’ll show you why consumer financing is the key to increasing your average order value.
What is AOV and Why is Increasing It Important?
Your AOV (average order value) is one of several metrics you can use to evaluate your business success. AOV measures the average monetary amount of each order over a certain period of time. Business owners can determine their AOV by dividing their revenue by the total number of sales.
Your AOV gives you an idea of how your business makes its profits and how you can shape your marketing and sales techniques to move more products. By increasing your AOV, you’re also increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of your marketing efforts. When you can boost your AOV without increasing your marketing budgets, you bring in more revenue.
Regardless of your company’s age, size or industry, you want to increase your AOV. And consumer financing provides multiple ways for you to do so. Through consumer financing, you can grow your AOV and improve other areas of your business as well, providing a better customer experience while growing your company. Below we outline a few ways consumer financing will help you increase your AOV.
How to Increase AOV with Consumer Financing
If you’re ready to increase your average order value, it’s time to offer easy, convenient consumer financing. By partnering with a financing firm like United Consumer Financial Services, you provide your customers with a simple, affordable way to purchase the products or services they want without compromising their monthly budgets.
Consumer financing allows consumers to purchase upgrades or include additional products or services because they’re able to break down their payments into affordable monthly installments. Financing empowers your clientele to buy more from you today, which means your AOV increases. Here are a few ways consumer financing helps increase your AOV.
1. Cross-Sell and Upsell
Upselling and cross-selling grow your AOV. Both sales techniques compel customers to increase the amount they spend with you, and you can introduce both upselling and cross-selling techniques at various points in the sales process.
Upselling happens when you show customers products similar to those they’re interested in, but the showcased products are of higher quality, higher value or are newer models. Cross-selling to your customer is when you recommend products that complement what they’re considering buying. Both techniques show your customer you care about their purchase and their experience and help you increase AOVs.
When a customer comes to your store or site, they’re in a position to make a purchase, and they likely have a budget they want to honor. When you give shoppers consumer financing options, you give them the freedom to add more to their cart, choose upgrades, or buy complimentary items or services that improve their purchase.
By introducing consumer financing options, you give your clientele purchasing power that they might not have had before. The upfront cost of certain upgrades or complimentary items might deter some shoppers from making purchases. But thanks to payment plans from United Consumer Financial Services, you can present affordable payments to your customers, enabling them to buy more and increasing your AOV.
2. Introduce Financing Early
To reap the benefits of consumer financing, you must inform your customers of their financing options. Working with a professional financing firm like United Consumer Financial Services opens up a world of possibilities for your customers—and your business!
Introduce consumer financing early in the sales conversation. Presenting a low monthly payment to your customers shows them that they can afford the items they want. In fact, knowing they have a financing option increases the likelihood that they’ll more seriously consider their purchase. In one survey, nearly a third of shoppers said consumer financing was the deciding factor in making a big purchase.
By making customers aware of your financing options, you reduce sticker shock and empower them to buy more of what they need or want. Increasing your AOV can be as simple as sharing financing options with your customer from the start of their shopping experience.
3. Offer Discounts at Minimum Order Value
Shoppers want to get the most bang for their buck. So when you offer discounts at a minimum order value, you’re going to compel your customers to increase the dollar value of their purchase. However, some shoppers might come into your store with a strict budget lower than your minimum order value. That’s where consumer financing serves you both!
Consumer financing enables your customers to increase the value of their orders to meet your discount threshold. When they have the option to break one larger payment into smaller monthly payments, they can make the purchase and earn your discount.
As the customer is checking out, remind them of the discount threshold and offer your consumer financing option. Partnering with United Consumer Financial Services makes point-of-sale financing simple: customers apply for financing and receive a notice of approval within minutes. Fast approval times mean shoppers can complete the purchase with confidence. And thanks to consumer financing, you’ve increased the order value!
Conclusion
Your average order value plays a significant role in your profit margins and in the energy spent running and growing your business. Consumer financing provides multiple ways for you to increase your AOV while better serving your customer base. If you’re ready to provide consumer financing that lifts your AOV, contact the team at United Consumer Financial Services. With decades of experience, they will ensure you and your clientele enjoy a smooth, easy consumer financing experience.