Intelligent offers - How to drive more revenue while protecting your brand

This is a summary of a presentation delivered at Savant Amsterdam on April 3rd, 2025.

The first retail promotion wasn't an email or popup - it was a metal token you could exchange for products or discounts. That was 150 years ago.

Since then, the mechanisms have changed, but the approach hasn't. Most retailers still use broad promotions to boost sales and clear stock, accepting brand damage and margin erosion as necessary evils.

But there's a better way.

The promotion paradox

Promotions are a double-edged sword. They drive more than half of eCommerce revenue and power nearly half of all items sold. The average price of discounted products is £14 higher than non-discounted items.

Yet they also train customers to wait for sales and erode your profit margins with every transaction.

This creates the central challenge: how do you get the benefits without the downsides?

Enter intelligent offers

Intelligent offers solve this dilemma through two key innovations.

First, intelligent targeting - who sees an offer and in what context. Standard promotions are like using a fire hose to water a garden. Intelligent targeting is more like precision irrigation.

You can target by traffic source, showing different offers based on where visitors come from. This has improved retailers' results from PPC campaigns.

You can distinguish between new and returning visitors. This targets email signups at new visitors only, capturing more email addresses.

You can target by funnel stage. Is someone browsing? Do they have items in their basket? Are they at checkout?

You can target by product interest. Show offers only for specific products with better margins or items you want in more baskets.

You can target by location. Some retailers have products for occasions in specific locations like Paris Fashion Week or Spring Break in Florida.

You can target by basket composition. Are the products in certain categories? Are they worth more or less than a certain amount?

And most powerfully, you can predict intent. By analyzing visitor behavior patterns, we can predict who needs that extra push and who would buy anyway - saving your margins where they don't need erosion.

The second innovation is optimization through testing. Test different discount levels systematically. Measure not just conversion rates but AOV and incremental revenue. Determine price sensitivity and promotional effectiveness. Find the minimum effective discount for each segment.

Campaigns that actually work

Here are real examples that delivered measurable results.

Exit intent campaigns target visitors showing signs of leaving. This includes browse abandonment campaigns, Ctrl+C campaigns when someone copies a product name, and invalid code campaigns when visitors enter non-working promo codes.

Radley London increased conversion rates by 15% and revenue per user by 28% with these tactics. By excluding visitors with a high purchase prediction, they saved 8% on promotion costs compared to showing offers to everyone.

Stretch & save campaigns encourage larger purchases with tiered incentives. Spend X to get Y% off. Add one more item for free shipping. Reach a threshold for a free gift.

Rowen Homes increased revenue per user by 16% with this approach.

The Offers Wallet acts as a container for multiple promotions. Seasonal sales, flash sales, delivery cutoffs, product drops, and personalized recommendations all in one place.

Nasty Gal and Club L increased AOV by 16% and 15% respectively using this centralized approach.

The bottom line

Promotions aren't going away - they're too effective as conversion tools. But they don't have to be blunt instruments that damage your brand and margins.

Intelligent targeting and optimization let you show offers only to those who need them. You provide the minimum effective incentive. You measure true incremental value. You protect your margins while driving growth.

That's the difference between discounting and intelligent offers - one trains customers to wait for sales, the other drives sustainable growth.