The blog outlines various types of discounts that can be utilized in SMS marketing campaigns for Shopify stores to drive more sales. It discusses strategies like abandoned cart recovery, free gifts, free shipping, rewarding loyal shoppers, referral discounts, BOGO offers, and more, explaining how each can entice customers and improve conversion rates.
An average person receives around 10 to 15 marketing SMSs every day. Those who’ve signed up to many brands receive much more.
So you see, as a business sending SMSs to your customers, you’re competing with many other brands. And to get your subscribers to open and convert through every text message you send, you need to stand out from the crowd.
How about you add one of the greatest sales strategies in your SMSs – discounts.
Sure. Discounts aren’t the only way to entice your customers to buy from you. But they do play a big role.
77% of consumers say discounts influence where they shop.
But discounts don’t have to be boring, predictable, or cliche.
In this blog, we’ll share the different types of discounts that you can use in your SMS marketing campaigns to convert subscribers into buyers and buyers into repeat customers.
Different types of discounts to use in your SMS Marketing Campaigns
1. Abandoned cart recovery discount
The fact that shoppers added items to their carts means they liked them. But almost 70% of these shoppers abandon carts. Why? Either they’re looking for more options or the cart total is too high or some other reason.
But point to note here is: if you’re not trying to bring back these shoppers, you’re missing out on potential sales.
Enter SMS.
Take this opportunity to reach out to shoppers via SMS to entice them through a discount.
Like this:
‘Hey Sam, don’t forget your Mod black shirt! It’s still available and at 20% off. Complete your checkout now at StyleShop.com.’
2. A free gift
Who doesn’t like free gifts? In a world where we’re constantly analyzing cost benefits, the mention of ‘free’ implies no costs.
The good news: the human brain is designed to like that.
For example: ‘Buy at 50% off’ vs. ‘Buy one get one free’ – which one sounds more profitable? The second option that gives one free. Isn’t it? It makes you feel like you’re getting something without paying for it.
You could use this strategy of giving away freebies in your SMS marketing campaigns to attract consumers to your store.
Here’s an SMS example:
‘Hey John, have you picked out your favorites from our last collection? We’re giving any one free on the purchase of one. Buy today! styleshop.com’
Also Read: 10 Innovative SMS Marketing Ideas for Valentine’s (and After) to Get More Sales
3. Free shipping
Did you know 61% of shoppers leave their carts without buying because of shipping costs.
Let’s understand how shipping costs affect human psychology. Say an item costs $10. At checkout, you see $5 added for shipping. Damn! That’s expensive and unexpected. Isn’t it?
Now, if the same item was $15 without shipping costs, it would have seemed right to you. Agree?
What’s the reason for that?
Free shipping has been used, for decades, as a marketing and sales strategy. So much so that it has become something that shoppers expect. Because a lot of online stores offer it.
And so, if one store doesn’t offer it, shoppers might feel like they’re having to pay more and would rather buy it from a store that offers free shipping.
You can use SMS to make the free shipping aspect loud and clear to your subscribers. It will help you be upfront about your prices and shipping.
Here’s an example:
‘Hi Bob, explore our latest Fall Winter collection. Take your pick. Be the first one to buy it. And just a reminder, shipping’s on us. styleshop.com.’
Also Read: Generative AI for SMS Marketing
4. Reward loyal shoppers
Studies show that returning customers spend 120% more annually compared to new customers. What is this statistic saying to you?
Keep your loyal customers with you!
And one way of doing this is by making them feel special by offering them incentives, discounts, deals, and gifts.
How do you do that?
Now, in your SMS list, you’ll have old customers and new. It’s a best practice to segment your customers. One category for segmentation could be – subscribers who have bought from you previously.
Once you have this segment in your list, you could run an SMS campaign exclusively for them, offering them a discount, a gift voucher, etc. This will bring them back to your store to buy again. You could run these SMS campaigns every few months for all your new customers.
Here’s an example:
“Hey John, long time no see. We’re thrilled to offer a 10% discount on your next purchase from our store styleshop.com. Offer lasts through this month.
Or you could use something like this to let them know you’re acknowledging their trust:
“Hey John, thank you for being our loyal customer. We love having you and would like to offer a 15% off on your next purchase. Exclusive coupon JOHN15 valid for 30 days!”
5. Evangelize your customers
Make your customers your biggest ambassadors. You can run an SMS campaign to invite subscribers to refer their friends and family in return for a discount.
But before you do this, there are a few things to understand.
Instead of targeting your entire subscriber list, focus on customers with whom you have a good relationship. These would be customers who regularly buy from you and who have been with you for a couple years.
They’ll be more likely to refer your brand to their friends and family. And when you offer them something in return, make sure it’s of value to them. Personalize it if possible.
Let’s look at an SMS example:
‘Hey Bob, we’re running a referral program. Refer a friend and you can avail a 25% off on your next purchase. Use the code FRND1.’
6. BOGO (buy one get one)
You might be running BOGO offers on your online store. Why not send it to your subscribers on SMS? As we briefly discussed earlier, it’s a deal that appeals to customers the most.
Go to any supermarket and you’ll surely find a BOGO offer. But here, the wording plays an important role.
Instead of saying, ‘buy 2 soaps for $3’, if you say ‘buy one soap and get 1 free’, it gives a sense that shoppers are getting something for free. This is because the human brain is wired to look for loss aversion. We don’t want to lose anything. Do we?
And this works brilliantly when you want to promote sales. You could make this a part of your SMS strategy too. Share BOGO offers with your SMS subscribers to nudge them to buy more from your store.
Check out this example:
‘Hey Melissa, don’t miss out on this weekend’s buy one get one offer across beverages and condiments on our site: grocer.com.’
7. Dollar value discount
Another kind of discount is dollar value discount. Offer discount of a fixed amount on the purchase of a specific amount. For example, get $50 off on purchase of items worth $1000. Promote this offer via SMS.
However, your offer should sound like a good deal. Imagine offering a $5 discount on a purchase of $1000. Not exciting, is it?
Hence, you’ll have to do some math, figure out what you offer based on the product value, your customers, and their perception of valuable offers.
Here’s an example:
‘Hey Ruby, we’re running an exciting offer you wouldn’t want to miss: get $50 off on the purchase of any 1 item worth $500 or more. Grab it: styleshop.com.’
8. Percentage discount
Similar to the dollar value discount (fixed amount discount) is percentage discount. The only difference is, here, you’ll be offering a percentage off.
For example, 5% or 10% off. Experts say percentage discounts produce the highest conversions for discount promotions.
Here’s an example you can use:
‘Woohoo! We have an offer too good to miss, John! Get 10% off across our store. Only today. Head to stylestore.com.”
9. Volume discounts
According to a study backed by McKinsey, 60% of consumers say discounts are more important to them. Discounts can improve your conversion rate, but of course, it will lower the returns for your store.
But think of it in terms of volume. You’ll be able to sell more quantity and earn more during the discount period compared to if you don’t give any discount.
Now think from the customers’ perception. Their perception of savings is something like this: when they’re shown comparison prices, they’re more inclined to make purchases. For example, instead of saying ‘buy 5 packs at 5% discount’, say ‘buy a pack of 5 worth $20 now at $15’.
This makes them feel like they’re saving $5. And you can easily share volume discounts through SMS campaigns. Your chances of conversions are higher as your subscribers will receive the offer on their mobile from where they can make instant purchases simply by clicking the link in the text message.
Here’s an SMS example:
‘Hi Leena, we’re running great offers on your favorite lipstick shades. Buy any 5 for $50 instead of $60. Visit stylestore.com.’
10. Limited period discount
Ever heard of FOMO (fear of missing out)? Consumers don’t like to miss out on deals. Think of Blcak Friday, Christmas, Diwali and End of Season sales. What’s common to all these? They’re all for a limited period.
Limited period discounts work well for online stores because shoppers don’t want to miss out on discounted items as they don’t know when they’ll get those offers next.
Here’s how you can offer a limited period discount through SMS:
‘Hey Bob, buy your favorite shoes at a 10% discount only today. Hurry! The clock’s ticking. Offer closes in 5 hours. Stylestore.com.’
11. Early bird discount
As an online store, you’ll keep introducing new items to your store. But how do you let shoppers know about it? Displaying it on your website homepage is one way. How about you try an SMS campaign?
Offer a discount on your new collections to the early birds. For example, the first 10 buyers get a 15% off, the next 20 buyers get a 5% off. You can think creatively and make your offers more exciting for shoppers.
Here’s an example:
‘It’s here! Our new Summer collection at 10% off. But there’s a catch. Only the first 50 customers get the discount. Hurry! Buy from styleshop.com.’
12. Personalized discounts
Another way to give out discounts is to first seek what kind of discount someone is looking for. This is where two-way SMS marketing campaigns come in.
For instance, when a shopper abandons a cart, reach out to them seeking the reason why they didn’t make a purchase.
Based on their answer, you could give out a discount code accordingly; appealing to their personal motivations to make the purchase!
You can do this easily with a Shopify SMS marketing app like TxtCart.
Do you need SMS campaigns for discounts?
The answer is a definitive yes! Why not?
When there are so many benefits of using SMS to promote your brand and products. Add different kinds of deals and discounts, and it’s a cherry on the cake.
However, before you hit send on your automated SMS campaign, make sure you have discounted the right items, at the right prices, and for the right shoppers.
To help you make your SMS campaigns easy, use automation tools that’ll do all the tedious tasks, so you can focus on the bigger strategic aspects of your discount + SMS campaigns.
Ready to make your SMS marketing campaigns more powerful?
