How a dessert increased AOV by 87%

The other day, I was at a coffee shop getting some work done.

It was hot as hell outside and they had gelato —- so I got up to buy some.

They had 3 options for me.

1 scoop for $6.75
2 scoops for $7.25
3 scoops for $7.75

Stop and ask yourself for second which one you would buy?

To me, it felt stupid choosing anything less than 3 scoops.

So I got 3 scoops.

And it made something click in my head about offers that I had to test out…

And after testing it out, it helped a client get an 87% increase in AOV….

So you already know I had to send this to you.

Here’s what it made me realize after buying that gelato the other day…

in comparison to everything else, the 3 scoops for 7.75 was the best DEAL…

It had had the most value.

it was a no-brainer…

Was I thinking about a money-back guarantee?

No.

I was comparing the price and value of each offer and went with the one that gave me the most value, not the cheapest option.

But the people running that shop used a buyer psychology trick that most people overlook.

Decoy offers.

Because when you think about it, the 2 scoop option —- the one for $7.25 —- will NEVER get purchased.

You’d be stupid to buy that one…

and the shop owners know that.

It’s a decoy…

it’s only there to make the most profitable option —- 3 for $7.75 —- a no brainer offer.

Value isn’t something that is set In stone.

Value is determined by what something is being compared to.

Our minds constantly compare things to come to a buying decision

We always want to get the most for our cash. Nobody likes to feel like they’re getting cheated.

So, in that moment with the gelato, I could’ve gotten the lowest value offer — $6.75 for 1 scoop —- but who wants the least amount of value?

And for only $1 more, I could get 3x the amount of value.

Crazy how that works, huh?

Everything about value, pricing, and offers is relative to what it’s being compared to at that moment.

When I bought that gelato, did I consider the 50 other places around me that sold ice cream?

No

Was I thinking about the prices and offers of the other spots?

No.

The offer was only important for the time being —- right now.

So when creating an offer, if you want someone to buy a higher AOV product, make a decoy that is stupid to buy but makes the higher-priced offer seem like a deal.

This helped a client increase their AOV by 87% by making a simple offer change to their landing page.

That’s what makes something valuable, “affordable,” and makes people want to buy…

But I really want you to understand this point so that you can use this RIGHT NOW.

Look at the following image and ask yourself which black circle is bigger.

Your brain will tell you that the one on the left is bigger…

But the truth is that they’re the exact same size.

Based on what something is being compared to, it makes it bigger or smaller.

And from a marketing standpoint, more valuable or less valuable…

Or more expensive and less expensive.

Use decoy offers to increase sales.

Humans want the best value NOT the cheapest price.

Include more than one price and allow them to decide the best value.

Make the lowest cost item a flat price and unattractive (only give them enough here to fulfill your promise —- barely.)

Make the middle offer stupid to buy and slightly cheaper than the highest offer…

and make the offer you want to sell them so much more valuable that they feel like they’re getting cheated If they buy anything else.

All metrics will handle themselves when you know the psychology behind why people buy…

Another example of this:

A study at MIT tested 200 students.

They had 200 students purchase a refundable newsletter subscription.

In the test, they gave 100 of them this offer:

Digital newsletter —- $59 —- 68 students purchased
Digital and print newsletter —- $125 —- 32 students purchased

In this test 68 students bought the cheapest option…

Not good for profit margins.

but here’s where it gets interesting…

The next group’s offer was different.

They were offered:

Digital newsletter —- $59 —— 16 students purchased
Print only newsletter—- $125 —— 0 students purchases
Digital and print newsletter —- $125 —- 84 students purchased

The decoy price made the $125 seem like a no brainer…

because they had something to compare the pricing to.


TLDR: People compare Offers & Value —not pricing.

If your want to increase AOV, use decoy offers to make your main offers look more attractive and become no-brainer in comparison to the other options.

This not only allows you to get a higher AOV, but now you also have multiple ways to collect money from someone ( this concept applies to every industry —- Services, Info, Saas, And Ecom. )