E-commerce may not come naturally to you, and that’s perfectly fine. However, selling merch online to your fans is a crucial. To succeed, you must understand the do’s and don’ts, or blueprints, that can make a huge difference to your merch sales. Understanding why your fans buy (or don’t buy) your merch is the key to unlocking potential for growth. In this article, we will explore effective strategies to increase your merch revenue and achieve a higher Average Order Value (AOV).
Studies have found that 70%+ of baskets are abandoned online due to ‘unexpected costs’. In many cases, these unexpected costs are shipping.
The Decoy Effect.
Option A – T-Shirt – $25 + Shipping – $5 = $30.
Option B – T-Shirt – $30 = Free Shipping.
Studies have shown that 90% of fans will choose Option B.
58% of fans will add more merch items to their basket to qualify for free shipping.“Spend $60 Today Get Free Shipping” makes you feel like you’re going something free. Making it more likely your fans will try to hit $60 to get free shipping and complete their checkout. This is due to the fact they know what they’ll be paying upfront with not surprises at checkout.
85% of fans will go for free or low-cost shipping over expensive faster shipping. Here at Fanbace, we’ll always print and ship from the closest of our facilities to your fan, leveraging local shipping carriers, removing the need for an expensive shipping option.
Knowing your fans’ demographics is vital for tailoring your merch. Analyze data to determine:
#1. Know your audience age to offer age appropriate products. There’s no point offering a coffee mug to fans that aren’t of an age that drink coffee!
#2. Gender, know the split of male vs female fans will guide you in your apparel offering.
#3. Where your fans at? Knowing your fans live means you can offer sessional products. Tees in summer and hoodies in winter.
Tracking purchasing behavior or Cluster Analysis to gain insights into your fans’ behavior to identify trends and the most popular merch. Using this data to optimize your merch offering. Sell more of what your fans want, and stop selling what they don’t want.
Your product detail page (PDP), is your opportunity to provide all relevant information a fan needs to make a decision whether or not to buy your merch. Remember, you’ve spent time, and maybe money, getting your fans from your email or socials to this page. So you need to make sure they don’t level due to lack of information.
PDP CHECKLIST
Great Product Images – You buy with your eyes. Make sure your product images are good quality and are authentic to you and your fans. Although we provide product mockups, these are basic at best. Fans need to imagine themself how your merch would look on them, so show them people that look like them wearing your merch. Order samples and create your own product images. These will be authentic to your band and resonate with your fans.
Your product detail page (PDP), is your opportunity to provide all relevant information a fan needs to make a decision whether or not to buy your merch. Remember, you’ve spent time, and maybe money, getting your fans from your email or socials to this page. So you need to make sure they don’t level due to lack of information.
PDP CHECKLIST
Great Product Images – You buy with your eyes. Make sure your product images are good quality and are authentic to you and your fans. Although we provide product mockups, these are basic at best. Fans need to see themselves in your merch, so show them people that look like them wearing your merch. Order samples, and create your own product images. These will be authentic to your brand and resonate with your fans.
Description – Your product descriptions need to answer any and all of your fans questions about your merch. Here’s an example.
XYZ 2023 TOUR UNISEX TEE
Get your hands on our 2023 tour shirt and wear to the show. Only available online and while we’re still on the road. So don’t hang about!
All our merch is printed on demand and as local to you as possible. We use 100% organic cotton shirts. All merch available in x colours and sizes XS-3XL. Spend $60 and get free shipping.
I would provide a tech spec which we provide for all products. Not to bombard your fans with information, but to give the answers they need to buy with confidence. Also reduces returns and exchanges.
Consistency is key for indie musicians when building a merch business or fanbase. By focusing on: establishing your brand identity, engaging your superfans and building a sustainable revenue stream.
Leverage Fanbace free merch on demand solution to try new products, designs and figure out what works for our fanbace.
