I noticed that only about 10-20% of players would order more than one game at the time of purchase. So I decided to see if we could improve that figure by offering a 20% discount off the purchase of any 2 or more games. So far the results have been very encouraging. The sale has been going for almost 24 hours, and about 50-60% of the orders during that time are for multiple games.

Previously we had been selling a couple different bundles, such as Dweep Gold and Fitznik together for $5 off. But this new approach lets players create their own combos. So any two $20 games can be gotten for $32, or any three $20 games for $48.

What I've found most interesting is the different combos players are buying -- games I never would have intentionally bundled together. For instance, a couple of today's purchases were Pharaohs' Curse with JumpStar and Ploing 2 with Logication.

We'll continue this sale at least through Sunday, Oct 6, and if it works well, we may extend it indefinitely.

Our Dweep Gold / Fitznik bundle also sold decently well in the past ($39.95 for both games), so just as a general suggestion, consider offering players a discount for buying multiple products at the same time if you don't already do so.

I don't think that these results are so surprising.
when I go to buy myself games to play, i never
buy two games of the same genere.

after playing an amount of time in one game,
you want to go to another expecting a different
experience.

also, i learned know people "game-moods".
there are times when you just want to hack/slash
and there are times when you seek some
challange for your brain.

therefore i expect people to buy different games
as they go to a store and buy different merchandise

Good point. I guess I was previously thinking more in terms of which games would be most appropriate to bundle together. For instance, you might see a "war chest" bundle of different war games or a "puzzle pack" of different puzzle games. At least now players can choose for themselves.

It's good to see you're keeping things fresh with the discount on any two purchases. Great idea!

NOOOOOOOO...please no discount !!!!! :( ....no wait...discount is great !!!! :D hehe....

I have been running a similar promotion for quite some time and it does work. However, I was thinking about this:

I was at the supermarket with my wife, and I was observing how the store attempts to make people buy certain products or buy more of them. They never say "Buy 2 or more and get 20% off".

But what they do often say is: "Buy 2, Get One Free" or "2 for $4.99". And it always makes me want to buy two. I think simple wording changes will improve this method even more. I plan to change mine to "Buy 2, get 1 free" next week.

Cheers,
Mike

I had thought about that, but since the customer wouldn't be buying multiple copies of the same product (as you would at a supermarket), I decided not to use that approach. All the games are different prices for one thing, and 1/3 off is a bigger discount than I wanted to offer initially. I don't want to erode prices to the point that players perceive the games as bargain-bin quality. I also want to keep the discount equal for all games. With a buy 2 get 1 free offer, players don't get the same percentage discount if they buy a $25 game, a $20 game, and a $15 game vs. if they buy three $20 games. They both get $60 of games, but one gets $15 off, while the other gets $20 off.

I think a buy 2 get 1 free offer works best if the games are similar and all at the same price. I know that www.dq.com (DreamQuest) offers this type of discount for their $25 card games (Hearts, Spades, Euchre).

I've tried this too and it does sell, but my fear is that I might lose some impusle purchases while doing it. For instance. Suppose you'd already decided to buy aargon and you click the link and the online purchase page offers a bundle of aargon and droptarget. Now some users might abandon their purchase to check out droptarget and then later forget about it. What do you think of that possibility vs the benefit of offering the discounted bundle pack?

I tested both alternatives quite a bit, as mentioned in my longer post in the order forms thread:
http://www.dexterity.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=60

Hmmmm. That's good to know. I guess I'll put some of the multi-game bundles back on the specific store pages then.

I was thinking I would try to go to a coupon system. For instance when you order 1 game your order comes with a coupon to buy another game and get a discounted (time limited) -- Has anyone tried somehting like that? How effective was it?

Originally posted by svero
I was thinking I would try to go to a coupon system. For instance when you order 1 game your order comes with a coupon to buy another game and get a discounted (time limited) -- Has anyone tried somehting like that? How effective was it?

I don't have any coupons, but when I published my second application (close related to first one) I emailed all customers of first app with nice offer if they buy second app in a next 15 days. Some 10% ordered in a few first days. I think customers like when you 'care' about them (best 'care' is to have them save some money, but that 'save' means a sale for you ;) )

Nedzad Orman
http://www.lottohat.com
http://www.p34lotto.com
http://www.yupgames.com