A customer doesn’t always know what he wants. You have to push the sales of a few items so that your customers get to know about them and demand them in the future.
That’s why selling the products that your customers didn’t even demand is a special art. Product bundling is one of the most effective tools to do it.
Let’s discuss some of the most successful product bundling examples so that you can learn from them and implement them similarly in your business to boost your sales.
Let’s start.
What Is Product Bundling?
As the name suggests, product bundling refers to combining different products into a bundle and selling them together as a single package. The bundled items may or may not be related to each other.
One of the simplest examples of product bundling is a set of colored pencils.
Product bundling helps both seller and buyer. The seller sells more products and the buyer receives more by paying less.
Sometimes, there is only one product in a bundle that is valuable for the customer. So, most customers unconsciously buy the whole bundle just because of that single product.
For example, a customer might like the bag of the shaving kit which is not sold individually. So, he prefers to buy the whole shaving kit that comes in his favorite bag.
Had it been not about the bag, he may have bought those shaving items from somewhere else. Or he might have ordered one or two items from that kit. But the shaving kit forced him to buy all the items.
Let’s discuss the benefits of product bundling.
Benefits of Product Bundling
The most important benefits of product bundling have been listed below.
Boosts Sales
It helps increase sales of your running items to manifolds. You can also use the bundling technique to sell your items that do not have much demand just by offering a special bundling promotion.
Helps Cross-Selling
You can cross-sell multiple items by bundling the right products with each other.
Introduces New Products to Customers
Bundled sales with your hot products can promote new products.
Liquidates Dead Stock
You can get rid of your dead stock using product bundling. You just have to make a plan and include dead items in the bundles that come with a special promotion.
Reduces Marketing Costs
Selling individual items requires more marketing and operational costs. If you use the bundling techniques, you can sell more items by paying fewer costs.
Product Bundling Examples
Following are the most successful product bundling examples with their key takeaways.
Meal Box
A meal box refers to combining certain eatables into one box that is sold as a complete set. McDonald’s Happy Meal is a very pertinent example of product bundling. It generally contains a burger, fries, and drink. In some countries, it also contains a toy for kids.
This package attracts most customers because if we add the individual prices of each item in a happy meal, it will be very high as compared to the price of a happy meal.
The toys solely included in the happy meal are also exclusively present at McDonald’s. That’s why kids who are fond of those toys often ask their parents to get them a happy meal.
What We Can Learn from Happy Meal
- Give your customers a complete package
- Let them try what they would not have ordered otherwise
- Monopolize with an exclusive item
Mystery Box
The mystery box is another great technique for bundling multiple items together. This practice is more common in e-commerce.
This box contains a few known items that surely have some value for the customers. The rest of the items are kept secret from the customers.
This increases the curiosity of the buyers and drives them to buy the mystery boxes.
In most cases, the price of the box is a little more than the prices of shown items.
Customers feel that they are getting more items for less price and the sellers include their slow-moving goods in the mystery boxes. So, it’s a win-win situation for both.
What We Can Learn from Mystery Box
- Only show some valuable products
- Leverage the element of surprise
- Bundle small and loosely-related items
Frequently Bought Together
Most customers tend to follow what others are doing. This example of product bundling makes use of this behavior.
Many e-commerce websites use this feature to sell more items in combination with the one that a visitor is about to buy.
The products are shown under the product page and description with a hint that customers can buy them together.
These suggestions are sometimes so perfect that a customer immediately places an order for the whole bundle.
What We Can Learn from Frequently Bought Together
- Utilize your product page to show more items
- Show related and valuable products
- Offer a discounted price for more items
Buy One Get One
This is another great technique of product bundling. Instead of offering a 50% sale on its items, companies give an extra item free of cost in addition to the one purchased.
This offer attracts the customers as they are getting two products for the price of one.
Whether or not the customers want extra items, this offer entices them to quickly take action as most of such offers are valid within a limited timeframe.
The customers usually think of buying the extra item free of cost so that they can either gift it to someone or use it in the future.
What We Can Learn from Buy One Get One
- A more productive way of sale announcement
- You can bundle a low-selling item with high selling one.
- Your customer base increases if a buyer gifts the additional items to someone else
Additional Pairs
This is another great example of product bundling, especially done in selling pairs.
Some companies only sell a specific number of pairs in a single order.
You can say that those companies are only willing to offer a product against a certain MOQ.
The above example is the #1 Best Seller on Amazon in dog boots. You have to buy four of them at once..
In this bundling strategy, the minimum number of pairs must not exceed 2 to 3 per order.
The retail customers can afford to buy 2 pairs. You may lose orders if you increase the minimum number of pairs.
Another factor is the price of a pair. If a single pair costs more than $30, you should not increase the minimum number of pairs.
What We Can Learn from Additional Pairs
- Bundle an additional pair of low-selling variants (less demanding color, etc) with a high-selling one.
- Give a little discount per pair to keep the deal attractive.
- Convince your customers to buy an additional pair in advance at a discounted rate.
Sold as Sets
You must have used the stationery sets in schools or cutlery sets in homes. Such products are sold as sets.
This has been a very successful product bundling strategy since its inception. It applies to almost every niche.
Using this strategy, the low-selling products can also be mixed in these sets to boost their sales.
The items in these sets may also be available as individual pieces. But again, the individual items would cost much higher as compared to the per product cost in the set.
That’s why many people end up buying some items in the sets that they would seldom use.
What We Can Learn from Sold as Sets
- Bundle similar items together to pose as natural sets.
- Show your customers that every product in the set is interlinked.
- Make them realize that individual products would cost them a fortune.
Niche Bundling
Some niches have a very passionate audience. You can combine their products in bundles to sell many items in a single package.
Their audience is more likely to buy the whole bundle just because of their interest even if they already have those items in general forms.
The screenshot shows the product bundling of items related to superheroes. As kids are very passionate about their favorite superheroes, they may buy these bundles without much thought.
What We Can Learn from Niche Bundling
- Simple items are redesigned into a passionate niche
- The products are of everyday use
- Low-cost products that can gain high volume sales
Gift Bundling
People often send a gift basket to their loved ones on their birthdays, anniversaries, or any other special occasion. Gift bundling refers to making a bundle of gift items.
This gives you an opportunity to combine a lot of items in one basket or a box to be sold as a single item.
If the presentation is nice, it will leave a positive image of your company. You can get inspiration from custom packaging ideas.
What We Can Learn from Gift Bundling
- Delivery timing is crucial
- Run aggressive campaigns during the gifting season – Q4
- Win the orders on the basis of your presentation
Product Bundling Examples of Brands
Now that we have discussed general examples of product bundling, let’s discuss some examples from famous brands for a better understanding.
Beast Kits
Beast is a brand that sells multiple items related to personal care. This brand utilizes the idea of product bundling quite effectively.
It has given many options by bundling different items together. Due to its different price range, you will find a bundling offer for almost every type of customer.
What We Can Learn from Beast
- Attractive bundle packaging
- Multiple bundles for travel, bathroom, gift set, etc.
- A perfect bundle for every need.
Sephora Makeup Kit
Sephora is a famous brand that sells a lot of jewelry items. They offer kinds of makeup kits that include various items for specific purposes.
Their multipurpose kits make it convenient for women to choose. That’s why their bundling ideas are very well-received.
Their multiple kit options are targeted toward every kind of customer.
What We Can Learn from Sephora
- Different bundling options to choose from
- Simple packaging to look decent and remain cost-effective
- Each item in the bundle is well described for easy selection
Kea Kit – Outdoor & Survival
There are many outdoor and survival kits available in the market but Kea Kit seems to have nailed it on Kickstarter. Their way of bundling and product selection has gathered good funding already.
They have three more kits inside the main kit that are meant for shelter, tools, and medical.
Their product bundling idea gives the confidence to the buyers that it contains all they need. In addition to that, they have stressed not including anything unnecessary.
Their smart kit contains over 30 tools and a first aid kit. This entices all passionate outdoor travelers to buy the kit without much research.
That’s why it has gained decent funding on Kickstarter.
What We Can Learn from Kea Kit
- Good organization of products (sub-kits) inside the bundle (main kit)
- Attractive and cool kit design
- Excellent presentation of the products
Manbox
Manbox is a renowned Canadian brand that is specialized in gifts in the men’s category. They also offer a customized Manbox in which you can include the products of your choice.
In addition to the customized box, they also offer multiple bundles on their website that are related to the kitchen, bbq, snacks, etc.
Their idea of selling special items related to men gives them a unique identity. They have earned a good reputation in Canada by their made-in-Canada products.
What We Can Learn from Manbox
- Unique identity in men’s products
- Cool wooden box for product bundling
- Liberty of choosing the products
Product Bundling Ideas
Let’s discuss some of the great and innovative product bundling ideas that you can implement for better results.
Buy More Pay Less
You can start an offer on your online shop that your company will reduce a certain percentage from every product as long as the customer will increase the number of orders.
You don’t need to make a special bundle packaging for this offer. You can just ask your warehouse staff to pack everything in a decent bag and dispatch it to the customer.
Best Sellers Bundling
If you run a general store, you can bundle your best-selling items together and offer them as a special package.
Although those items may already be having a great sale, this will further boost your sales.
Subscription Box
This is a popular idea in e-commerce where customers subscribe to your products. It can be on a monthly or a weekly basis.
If you haven’t yet introduced subscription bundling in your business, you can do it by announcing a special promotion on your website.
Complementary Bundling
If some items in your stock are not selling well, you can bundle them with your high-selling items as complementary products.
This will liquidate your slow-moving stock along with earning a good customer experience.
Lucky Spin
Some websites have installed lucky spin. It is a technique to hook your customers compelling them to stay on the website and keep shopping.
This technique is one step ahead of retargeting methods. Instead of losing a sale, it is advisable to earn a less profit margin.
You can use the lucky spin to give them a bundling offer of your choice so that they buy something from your website to be eligible for a bundling offer.
Customized Bundling
In this bundling idea, you can leave everything to your customers. You can ask them to make the bundle of their choice.
Let them select the products and enjoy a discounted rate on each item. You can also ask them to choose the custom packaging that they like.
You can charge for the packaging separately but this will be a fun exercise for your customers.
They may also want to do it during peak seasons when people shop online to send gifts to each other.
Seasonal Bundling
If you sell seasonal items, you can bundle the summer or winter essentials and market them as a discounted package. Everyone needs basic seasonal accessories.
You can make multiple seasonal bundles to attract every type of customer. This will also allow you to include your slow-moving items in those bundles.
FAQs about Product Bundling
Let’s read the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about product bundling.
Why Is Product Bundle Pricing Effective?
Bundle pricing is always effective because it saves a lot of costs. As you don’t have to pack and ship every item individually, you can pass this benefit to your customers.
Moreover, as many products are being sold in one package, you also save on marketing and handling costs.
That’s why product bundle pricing is always effective and attracts a huge audience.
What Are the Most Common Types of Product Bundling in E-commerce?
There are 5 types of product bundling that are mostly used in e-commerce. They are mentioned below.
- Group Bundles – Add multiple products to the cart with a single button
- Upsell Bundles – Selling a related item with a product
- BOGO – Buy One Get One
- Mix & Match – Buy one thing from one collection and anything from another
- Frequently Bought Together – Suggested products to be bought together
How to Make Bundles in Shopify?
The easiest way to create bundles in Shopify is using a bundle’s app. Thre are many such apps on Shopify within a matter of a few clicks.
You just have to select the type of bundle and the products you want to include in that bundle and add it to your store.
Most bundles are added just like you add a product to your Shopify store.
Final Words
Product bundling is an excellent technique to increase your average order value. You can sell more products with small efforts and reduced costs. But it may not be as simple as it sounds.
Just creating a random bundle on your online stores will not guarantee that it will sell too. That’s why you need to learn from the successful product bundling examples shared in this article so that you can make effective marketing strategies for your bundles.
Do you want to source products at the most affordable prices to be included in your bundles? Ask for a free quote today and let our expert guide you about everything.
