Business
6 min readFor many eCommerce businesses, promotions are often seen as a necessary evil - a way to drive sales…at the expense of margins. The truth is that promotions don’t have to eat into your profits. When used strategically, promotions can increase average order value, strengthen customer loyalty, and improve inventory management.
Here is a breakdown of six strategies to turn your promotions into profit-boosters and how platforms with extensive offers and promotions features like Broadleaf Commerce can make it easy.
Sounds simple, right? Promotions should be more than just a “spray and pray” situation. Instead of sending the same discount to everyone you can, you will probably see better profits when you offer personalized offers to reward loyal customers or to covert hesitant buyers. The right promotions, sent at the right time to the right people, will significantly boost your ROI.
How to do it:
Stacking discounts can be a double-edged sword; they can drive larger orders or cost you even more in profits if you aren’t precise. The trick here is to create stackable rules that complement each other without overlapping in a way that customers receive unintended discounts. Stacking can make customers feel like they’re “getting a deal” without giving away too much. I know when I find offers that stack, I get a slot-machine type of rush and head to checkout with a vengeance.
How to do it:
When customers can layer discounts, they feel like they have found a cheat code. It creates excitement and drives higher spending without putting your margins in the red.
Not all products need to be part of your promotions! Offering discounts on your bestsellers can do more harm than good, especially if customers were wiling to pay full price anyway. Instead, focus on bundling slower-moving items with popular products to move more inventory, or use product-specific offers to upsell and cross sell.
How to do it:
By being selective, you ensure your promotions create value without sacrificing the integrity of your most profitable items.
Promotions aren’t just about driving revenue, they can also improve operational efficiency by reducing overstock and consolidating small orders into larger ones. A thoughtful promotion strategy ensures that fulfillment costs don’t spiral out of control wile keeping inventory moving smoothly.
How to do it:
When promotions align with your inventory and logistics strategies, they not only boost revenue, they help you streamline operations and reduce excess costs.
Even the best-planned promotions need the ability to pivot. Whether it’s a competitor sale, changing customer preferences, or trending products, having real-time control over your promotions allows you to seize opportunities and correct underperforming campaigns.
How to do it:
Having the tools to create and update promotions quickly—without IT dependencies—allows your team to respond to market trends at the speed of customer demand.
Promotions don’t have to stop after checkout. Post-purchase offers can build stronger customer relationships and encourage repeat purchases. These promotions can take many forms—whether it’s a discount on the next order, a loyalty points boost, or early access to an upcoming sale.
How to do it:
By continuing the conversation after the initial purchase, you strengthen the relationship and create additional touchpoints that drive long-term value.
When evaluating promotions, it’s important to look beyond direct conversions. Many customers may interact with your promotion but convert later through a different channel, like your Amazon listing or brick-and-mortar store. A successful promotional strategy considers the entire customer journey and captures indirect conversions.
Metrics to track:
By looking at the bigger picture, you can determine whether your promotions are truly driving growth and how they contribute to your overall sales strategy.
Promotions don’t have to hurt your bottom line—they can be one of your strongest growth levers when done strategically. With the right tools and insights, you can create targeted, intentional offers that boost average order value, build customer loyalty, and improve operational efficiency.
By taking a thoughtful approach and leveraging platforms with a well built Offers & Promotions offering, like Broadleaf Commerce, you can make data-driven decisions and pivot in real time to respond to changing market trends. The key takeaway: When your promotions are smart, flexible, and measurable, they become a profit-boosting powerhouse—not a margin killer.