When an e-commerce brand wants to grow, the default move is to spend more on acquisition. More ad budget, more channels, more creative testing. More cost for more customers.
There is another lever that gets less attention: making more from the customers already coming through.
Average order value is the measure of how much each transaction is worth. For a single-product brand, that number is effectively fixed. For a brand with a considered product range, it is a variable that compounds across every order.
The difference between a $35 transaction and a $55 transaction, at the same acquisition cost and the same conversion rate, changes the economics of the entire business. It shifts what you can afford to spend on acquiring customers. It changes which channels become viable. It affects how quickly you can scale.
The brands with the best unit economics in e-commerce are not necessarily the ones spending the most efficiently on ads. They are the ones who built product ranges that give customers reasons to spend more per visit. The way they do that is with support products and cart fillers.
That starts with understanding what your customers want to buy alongside what you already sell. Which is a product development question as much as it is a marketing one.
Support products
A support product solves a related problem the hero does not. It is bought by the same customer, often at the same time, and it extends what they can do with what they already bought. It raises average order value without raising acquisition cost.
Cart fillers
A cart filler is lower cost and lower friction. It sits below $25 and rounds out the purchase. Think about the case for a device, the brush for a tool, the refill for a kit. The customer adds it because it makes obvious sense. These tend to carry strong margins.
The question to ask about your own range
Is there something your customer already buys elsewhere to use alongside your product? If yes, that product belongs in your range. The data to answer that question is usually already sitting in your order history and your reviews.
We help e-commerce brands identify, design, and manufacture support products and cart fillers.