The report explores discounts, vouchers, and repeat purchases. It is based on a senior retail survey that gathered insights into the discounting strategies of 35 household-named retailers between May 2022 and April 2024.
The report can be downloaded on the IMRG website.
For the report, RevLifter VP of Marketing Dan Bond commented:
"Promotions are one of the biggest levers retailers can pull to improve their performance. Few things have the impact of a special offer, whether it's driving first purchases, higher spending, specific product sales, or repeat purchases.
But there are trade-offs to using them, and overuse can be a real problem. A more strategic approach is necessary. The insights in this report should help retailers understand how the wider industry uses promotions and loyalty programs and inform their approach to these powerful tools."
RevLifter's 5 key takeaways
The research and report support RevLifter's position on using promotions and the benefits of a simplified approach to loyalty programs for most retailers. These were Team RevLifter's five key takeaways from the findings:
Strategic use of promotions
Retailers should approach promotions strategically to avoid the pitfalls of overuse, which can lead to inconsistency in sales performance. Intelligent targeting and optimisation can help break the boom-bust cycle.
Maximising AOV during peak times
During peak periods, the goal is often to maximise the Average Order Value (AOV). Outside of peak times, the focus should shift to improving conversion rates through targeted promotions.
Testing for optimal performance
Running tests with clear hypotheses on promotional offers can accelerate performance by identifying the optimal discount levels that drive sales without excessively reducing margins.
Careful use of discounts
Discounts should not be treated as a default strategy. Instead, they should be carefully targeted to address specific performance challenges to avoid relying too heavily on them.
Purposeful loyalty programs
Loyalty schemes must be thoughtfully designed with clear goals. Whether the aim is to drive repeat purchases or engage customers in content and product development, the strategy must align with the desired outcomes and operational efficiency.
About IMRG
IMRG helps its members understand and improve their online retail performance through a busy programme of performance benchmarking, data analysis, insight, best practice sharing, and events. They have been tracking online sales since 2000 and now measure over 120 individual metrics in a series of indexes, providing in-depth intelligence on online and mobile sales, delivery trends, marketing ROI, and channel performance.
Find out more at imrg.org.
