Putting a few products together doesn't seem to require much effort, but there's more to product bundling than simply grouping random items.
Product bundling is actually one of the easiest ways to increase your average order value, clear out inventory, and provide added value to your customers. When done correctly, it gives customers a better shopping experience and helps set your shop apart from the competition.
In this guide, you'll learn the essentials of effective product bundling on Etsy, explore different types of bundles that make sense, and discover how you can easily implement product bundling on Etsy.
Let’s get started.
Product bundling involves selling two or more complementary items together as a single package. The key to successful bundling is creating combinations that make sense together and offer genuine value to your customers. It's not just about putting random products together. The items should improve the overall appeal of the bundle as a whole and fulfil a specific need or desire.
For example, pairing a handmade soap with a matching lotion and bath sponge creates a cohesive spa experience. Such a bundle makes sense because the products are related and offer the customer a complete solution - An at-home spa experience with one simple purchase.
Bundles are almost always offered at a discount compared to buying the items individually. Usually you’re looking at a 10%-40% discount in most cases. We will look at more details of how to implement this on Etsy later.
Product bundling can increase the average order value of your Etsy shop as customers are likely to buy more items than they otherwise would.
Providing product bundles also helps you expand your Etsy shop listings. You are able to create more listings and target more long-tail keywords to bring traffic to your Etsy shop. For example, if you put your shop’s bracelet and necklace together, you can target keywords like ‘jewelry set’ that you otherwise wouldn’t able to.
Bundling also helps with your inventory management. Bundling best selling products with other less popular items can help you clear out the stock of the less popular items, given that they make sense in a bundle (we’ll look at bundle ideas later in this guide).
Etsy has made it easier than ever to offer product bundles through their new marketing feature. You can find the new feature under the "Marketing" > "Sales and discounts" section from your Etsy shop dashboard. You should be able to find this feature here:
This “Offer listings together for less” feature allows you to quickly create bundles without having to make new listings. You can select up to three items to include in a bundle and choose a percentage discount ranging from 5% to 60%. For example, here I've included 3 of my best selling coffee label templates in this bundle:
On the listing pages of the included items, the bundle offer will show up next to the 'add to basket' button (Keep in mind that the offer will only show up if you're not already running a sale on that listing). They have the option to add all the items in their shopping cart with one click.
On the shopping cart page, shoppers will see the discount applied automatically to all the items in the bundle like this:
However, creating new listings for your bundles has its advantages. Although it requires extra work, it allows you to target additional long-tail keywords, which can bring in more traffic to your shop. New listings also let you showcase the bundle with tailored photos and descriptions which can improve conversion rate.
Now let's look at some ideas for what products you can put together to create bundles that make sense.
Bundling complementary products together provides customers with a complete solution. These products naturally go together and bundling them can make them more appealing and save time for customers.
Bundling products of the same theme, interest, occasion, etc. can make it more more appealing to a particular group of target customer, as they feel like the bundle is ‘made for them’.
Consumable products are items customers regularly need to replace. Bundling them encourages bulk purchasing and can foster brand loyalty. It also makes it more convenience for the customers.
Allowing customers to choose their own bundle provides flexibility and a personalised experience. It also makes your bundle highly gift-able.
Product bundling is just one of the many strategies Etsy sellers can use to boost sales and profit. Check out the Growing Your Craft blog to see other Etsy marketing strategies that you can implement today.
