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How to increase the average check? Typically, this question is asked by the heads of companies that already have a stable flow of customers, or have reached the maximum possible market size. The topic of increasing revenue is very extensive, there are many options for how to increase the average bill and earn more from one client. We will discuss these methods in this article.

To increase the average check, it must be correctly calculated

For a business owner or company manager, the average check is a convenient tool to assess the state of the business and the process of its development. By tracking the dynamics of changes in the average check, the manager can understand at what stage his business is.

The calculation of the average check depends on the range of goods and services provided by the company. For each type of business, this parameter will have its own characteristics. For example, if the assortment matrix of products is small, then the calculation will be simple, but if there are a lot of goods, then the formula for calculating the average bill will become more complicated.

There is a myth that it is not possible to calculate the average check for any company, but this is an erroneous statement. Focusing on the basic formula, you can roughly calculate the average amount of one purchase: we take the entire sales volume for a certain period of time and divide it by the number of completed transactions. As a result, we get the average check.

But not everything is so simple, there are moments that can spoil and distort such a seemingly simple calculation. We are talking about a number of the following circumstances.

1. seasonality. If your business has different indicators depending on seasonal demand, then when calculating it is worth taking short periods: the greater the demand jumps, the higher the volatility and volatility of the market, the shorter the time period for which the calculation is made should be.
2. Range. If your company provides consumers with a wide range of goods and services, then when calculating the average bill, you need to divide your products into certain groups. It is necessary to perform calculations separately for each of the groups of goods and services.
3. Clients. If your clients are representatives of different income groups of people, then consider the average check for each of them, at least it is worth dividing buyers into two categories - economy and VIP.

As a rule, the calculation of the average check does not cause difficulties, and in most cases a basic formula is sufficient, which can be adjusted according to the specifics of the business.

2 strategies to increase the average check in the store

1. Increase the depth of the check, that is, the number of units of goods sold in one check.

Thus, we will increase the turnover - with the same number of transactions, the amount of the sale will be greater. This is a commonplace and often used method to increase the average check. Traditionally, they try to increase revenue in this way by selling related positions.

But in general, it is worth understanding the depth of the check as an increase in the number of any sold goods in one transaction, and it does not matter if these goods are accompanying the main purchase or simply an increase in the amount of the same product.

1. Increase the cost of goods in the receipt while maintaining the number of positions.

We sell the same quantity of goods, but at a higher price, thus increasing the average bill.

9 ways to increase the average check in retail

Attracting cheap goods, and selling expensive

It is very important for the company to create a line of the same type of goods in various price categories - from economy class to expensive branded brands. At the same time, care must be taken that sellers can interest the buyer in purchasing goods of the highest price category.

To do this, you can develop and apply a system of bonuses and incentives that motivate sellers. It is also necessary to use techniques that remind specialists of the need to sell more expensive goods.

For example, when selling items for sports, sellers may interest the client in purchasing more expensive, but at the same time multifunctional training equipment or offer to buy another model instead of a cheap tourist backpack at a higher price, but allowing more comfortable travel due to ergonomic design.

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As a rule, having heard arguments in favor of expensive items from a sales assistant, buyers are ready to purchase them, despite the overpayment and the fact that they initially came to the store for a low-cost product. As a result, the sale of goods at a higher price brings an increase in the average bill.

Additional sales

As practice shows, people who come to the store for one specific product often immediately buy related products. The simplest example of this is the sale of paint, in which the consultant may suggest that the buyer immediately purchase brushes and trays suitable for him for further work.

Another way to sell related products is to place frequently needed items near the checkout. For example, a person who stopped by on the way to the dacha for paint can buy not only brushes as an accompanying product, but also take a lighter, a felt-tip pen, and chewing gum at the checkout.

In addition, arranging attractive little things at the checkout stimulates a person to make impulsive purchases: he may like the beautiful design of the lighter and he will buy it, despite the fact that he already has a couple of previously purchased lighters in his pocket and, in principle, does not need a new one.

Selling more items

This method is not always possible, since a person in any case will not acquire certain groups of goods in quantities he does not need. But often the average check can be increased by offering the customer more goods than he was going to buy initially.

For example, in a flower shop, you can be advised to buy not five roses, but a bouquet of nine, or when selling an air conditioner, draw the consumer's attention to the advantages of installing two at once - separately for each room.

Sales

When conducting sales or providing promotional discounts, the buyer is inclined to compare the new price with the old one. At the same time, he has little understanding of how much the cost was initially increased, and it seems to him that purchasing goods at a discount is profitable.

Comparing the old amount on the price tag and the new amount, taking into account the discount, the client subconsciously feels the benefit and is inclined to purchase the product. Discounts and markdowns on products provoke a person to make a purchase.

Sets

Very often, having come to the store, the buyer, along with the main product, also purchases related ones. By forming sets and providing a discount on them, we can encourage a person to make a deal.

Buying sets is beneficial, since when purchasing each item separately, the buyer will pay a larger amount than for a ready-made set. We, having sold several goods to him at once instead of one, albeit with a small discount for everything, will receive an increase in the average check due to the amount of goods sold at a time.

A classic example is the sale of shaving kits on the eve of February 23, when women buy them as a gift.

Big Pack

Selling products in large packages can increase the average bill. Many take goods in such containers when buying household chemicals, pet products, building materials. In addition, for some social groups, such as families with many children, the issue of buying goods in large packages and saving money is very relevant.

For the seller, the sale of goods in large containers will increase the amount of the average bill.

Additional options

Many firms provide almost identical sets of goods and services, but at the same time they can offer their customers various additional services, guarantees, programs and conditions that add value to the purchase of the main product.

So, when buying large household appliances, the client can order the delivery and lifting of items to high floors up to the apartment. At the same time, consumers are willing to pay for the urgency and convenience of delivery. You can offer customers an additional guarantee, which will cost separately, but people will be sure exactly what they are giving money for.

Offering different payment methods

In addition to complex ways to increase the average check, there are also simpler ones. Practice shows that working with financial instruments, you can end up with a good increase in the average bill.

• Credit

If you trade in expensive goods, then it makes sense to negotiate with banks to issue loans to your customers on favorable terms. Having the opportunity to immediately purchase goods on credit for a small part of the cost, many will agree to purchase without hesitation.

At the same time, transaction and loan support must be carried out from beginning to end: the buyer must feel secure, understand the essence of the loan. You must give the client confidence that by purchasing an expensive product from you on credit, he does not make a mistake, but, on the contrary, even wins in something, getting what he wants right away, instead of saving up for it.

• Cashless payments

Despite the ubiquity of bank cards, many business owners are in no hurry to provide a credit card payment service. But what if a person wants to buy a product, but he only has a card with him, but there is not enough cash and the terminal is far away? He will simply refuse to purchase the goods or postpone it until later.

It is very important that the buyer has the opportunity to pay for the goods by all means, including with the help of bank cards. In order for the payment by credit card to be beneficial to both the seller and the bank, it is necessary in each case to conclude agreements that suit both parties.

• Installment plan

Interest-free installments are increasingly in demand among buyers, while sellers began to offer it instead of bank loans more and more often. But, despite the benefits, many companies are still hesitant to offer customers interest-free installments, fearing non-payments, and as a result, loss of money.

Although statistics show that only 10-15% of buyers do not pay debts by installments. At the same time, in order to compensate for the losses, it is enough to make the price 5-10% higher with this method of calculation. Thus, when providing installments, even despite the risks of non-payment, you will still remain in the black.

Goods / services of different pricing policies

If there are goods from only one price category in the assortment of a store, it is extremely difficult to achieve an increase in the average check - today the buyer is already used to choosing goods from different price ranges, so if you do not give him the opportunity to choose, you will most likely not only not increase the average check, but you will lose most of your customers.

Therefore, for the successful implementation of sales, it is necessary to have products of various pricing policies.

In addition to increasing the average check, creating a number of value groups and product lines will bring you additional bonuses:

• A customer who has already made a purchase with you is likely to come to the store again, as they trust you.
• Against the background of expensive goods, cheaper analogues will look more affordable, and the buyer will be more willing to purchase them.

Having a line of both expensive and cheap goods in stock is also beneficial because there is a certain category of people who think by price, believing that the higher it is, the better the quality of the goods. Such people are more willing to buy an expensive item than its cheap counterpart, despite the fact that both products will be comparable in characteristics and quality and equally.

How to increase the average check in a cafe or restaurant

Waiter phrases

If your waiters use only standard, on-duty phrases when communicating with customers, then most likely you will not be able to increase the average bill. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct special trainings for the staff, in which people will have the opportunity to learn what words can stimulate the visitor to place an order.

In order to make it easier for the waiter, it is necessary to draw up a table of main and additional dishes. Waiters must memorize this table and on the fly offer the client to try other suitable dishes for the main order. It is also necessary to prepare templates for phrases that the service staff will use to advise the client on dishes and drinks.

• Offer a clear, concrete alternative. Instead of the phrase: "Any more drinks?" say: “Tea, coffee, lemonade, or maybe beer?”
• Forget the negative. Particles "not" in your speech should not be.
• Be persistent, make affirmative sentences, using the words: advise, recommend, try.
• Offer specific positions: "Try our new product - a signature cocktail from the best bartender of the capital!"

Avoid being overbearing

The management of any cafe or restaurant is afraid that customers will find the staff too intrusive. In order to avoid such an assessment from visitors, you can prohibit waiters from offering dishes that are not in addition to the main ones and are not intended to expand the order.

Add words to the list of rules for the waiter, after which he must stop offering additional positions to the client. If the visitor said “that's it”, “thank you, that's enough”, “nothing else”, the waiter needs to stop the recommendations for ordering dishes.

Use a feedback system that allows you to evaluate the work of your staff. Find out from your visitors whether the waiter was too intrusive, whether he performed his duties well, whether his offer was useful when choosing an additional order.

The experience of Russian restaurants shows that waiters are often not active on their own, so it is very difficult to find an obsessive waiter, most often they do not at all try to tell customers about the additional features of the establishment.

Waiter motivation

Staff motivation is very important for increasing the average bill: the percentage of sales, which affects the salary, perfectly stimulates waiters to sell more.

Tipping also depends on the average check, despite the fact that waiters often do not believe that additional sales can increase this type of their income. Practice shows that the average tip is about 16% of the order amount.

It will be useful to organize competitions on the average check among waiters, counting their results for a month. At the same time, it is very important not to skimp on the prize reward, because the subordinate who showed the best result has already brought you considerable profit.

Some restaurateurs are sure that the policy of separating tables with different average check indicators is beneficial for the establishment, because it makes no sense to keep tables where the check is obviously high for a weak waiter, since the establishment loses money.

When holding competitions, it must be remembered that they must be honest: it is necessary to create such conditions under which it will be unprofitable for waiters to cheat and they will not be able to fraudulently raise the amount of the average check, for example, by reducing the number of customers relative to their real number.

But often competitions among waiters are perceived by them bleakly and even negatively, as they force them to leave their comfort zone, start working more actively, and offer additional dishes and drinks. It is necessary to ensure that competition between waiters does not take on an unhealthy look.

In order for the service staff to more adequately perceive the management's attempts to increase the average bill, it is necessary to work not only with the waiters, but also with the management staff, teaching them modern management techniques.

How to increase the average check in an online store

Increasing the average check in online commerce is not much different from a regular store, but it has its own characteristics.

• Recommend other products.

Sometimes it is difficult for customers of an online store to understand the entire range of goods, and they focus only on buying the one they are going to purchase. But perhaps they would like to order other items in addition - show them the most suitable ones from your assortment in the special offers block.

This can be done, for example, on the "cart" page, where the buyer will complete the final steps to place an order. Perhaps, having seen a suitable offer, the client of the online store will put a few more products in the basket, thereby increasing the average bill.

• Related products.

In addition to popular goods or products from different categories, in the advertising block you can offer the buyer to choose related items, accessories for the main order. For example, for a mobile phone, you can recommend cases, spare batteries, or a connection service to favorable tariffs of mobile operators.

• Minimum order amount.

Many online stores set a minimum purchase amount, for example, with a free shipping service. Thus, the client is encouraged to place an order for a larger amount than the item he needs.

By purchasing additional goods and accessories, a person spends more money to cross the minimum price threshold, thereby increasing the average check of an online store. It is also possible to offer a discount on subsequent purchases, provided that the client makes the current order for an amount equal to or greater than the minimum.

• Together is cheaper.

If you want to increase the average check of an online store, try holding special offers when a visitor, having selected and ordered two or more items at the same time, receives a certain discount, for example, buying a set of clothes from two skirts and a sweater will cost the client 15% cheaper.

Or prepare collections, for example, of books by one author: it will be convenient for a person to purchase all the books at once with a 10% discount. Thus, when buying sets or sets of things, the client receives a favorable discount, and you increase the average check.

• Loyalty program.

If an online store sells consumer goods of daily demand, such as household chemicals, then you can develop a loyalty program in which the client receives bonus points on his special account or accumulates a discount. The next time the person comes back to your store and makes another purchase using points or a discount.

Loyalty programs are aimed at strengthening cooperation with customers. Loyal customers give online stores up to 70% of all profits and increase the average bill.

8 more ways to increase the average check on the Internet

1. SMS mailing. Make a newsletter with great offers to those who have already made a purchase in your store once. But do not use such alerts all the time, annoying customers.
2. Purchase gift. Make an inexpensive but pleasant gift for the buyer. Present a beautiful or useful thing when a certain purchase amount is reached. Everyone loves to receive gifts.
3. Joint action. For example, start working with a good aspiring photographer and give your customers coupons for a free photo session. So you can increase sales, and the photographer will develop his client base.
4. Increase or give an additional guarantee. Practice shows that customers are more willing to make a purchase if an additional guarantee is attached to it, even though the customer himself pays for it in a small increase in the price of the goods.
5. Price optimization. Today it is very easy for a customer of an online store to compare prices with competitors, so look at their sites and make your price match the current market situation.
6. Certificate for future purchases. A profitable offer - to pay a part of the amount with a certificate at the next transaction attracts customers and allows the online store to bind the customer to itself, and it is beneficial for the person to make another purchase.
7. Be sure to adapt your online store website for various mobile devices: today, a third of all traffic comes from mobile devices, and this number will only grow, so the interface of your online store should be convenient both on a regular computer and on mobile devices.
8. Limited offer. Make a reminder that every day on the site will offer to buy something at a bargain price with a limited number of products participating in the promotion.

What NOT to do in pursuit of an increase in the average check in an online store

• Don't put rubbish. When selling a stale product, remember: it must be free of defects and useful to the user. Don't make this offer to everyone.
• Don't offer too many products, the visitor will simply get confused in them and, as a result, will not buy anything.
• Do not forget about profits, make discounts and great offers so that sales do not go to zero or even negative.
• Don't break the "Rule 25", that is, do not sell additional and related products for an amount greater than 25% of the main order. Each buyer has a spending bar, which he is psychologically unable to overcome.
• Don't be afraid to downsell. If a customer has added an expensive product to the cart, spent a lot of time on the site, but has not made a purchase, offer him a similar product at a lower cost, but with the same functionality. At the same time, show the person that a cheap product is no worse, and sometimes even better than an expensive counterpart.

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When working on this book, all the wishes and recommendations from specialists and pharmacy managers who managed to evaluate the first issue of this guide were taken into account. The publication contains more than 30 topics that reveal methods for increasing the average pharmacy check.

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