Email Marketing and AOV

If you don't think you play a role in how a customer purchases, think again.

Here's a common outcome.

• All Other Channels
• Items per Order = 2.0
• Price per Item Purchased = $40.00.
• AOV = 2.0 * $40.00 = $80.00.
• Email Marketing
• Items per Order = 2.3.
• Price per Item Purchased = $33.00.
• AOV = 2.3 * $33.00 =  $75.90.

It's a smaller AOV for email orders ... but how we get to the smaller AOV is more interesting! Those shopping via email marketing are buying more items at significant discounts.

In other words, the marketer either changes customer behavior or attracts a customer with different behavior.

I realize many of you view email marketing as a "throw away channel". I received an email from an e-commerce brand offering 60% off on Cyber Monday (Last Chance for 60% Off), then they offered 60% off on Tuesday ... and they then offered 70% off on Wednesday. So yeah, they were just lying. This brand views email marketing as a "throw away channel".

Email marketing metrics are the outcome of the tactics you use. If you constantly promote discounts via email marketing, it should not surprise you that email buyers purchase more items at lower prices, resulting in a lower AOV and presumably less profit.