This “lazy” way to boost ecommerce AOV/LTV (recurring)

Happy 2025!

At Funnel of the Week we continue to crank out a new DTC & Direct Response full funnel breakdown, each and every week, inside the Funnel of the Week Members Area.

(Go here to see what it’s all about)

A few recent Funnel Breakdowns included offers like...

...A mega-scale VSL funnel with a post-VSL, pre-purchase Quiz funnel (seeing this more and more...)

...A high ticket info/coaching offer with incredible positioning, doing big volume on Meta

...A revolutionary beauty product that's scaling like crazy (and with more DR savvy imitators knocking them off as we speak)

Go ahead and take a peek inside the Funnel of the Week Members Area to see more on all the full funnel breakdowns we’ve done (with a new one added each and every week).

Today let’s talk today about “lazy” ways to boost ecommerce revenue, without adding a new product sku to your inventory.

“Lazy” ecommerce AOV boost (recurring revenue with zero inventory)

We did a breakdown recently on lung device Medilisk inside the Funnel of the Week Members Area.

They use brilliant advertorial-based campaigns to sell a $19 front end product.

But - they do such a good job giving you opportunities to buy more highly relevant items / offers, that it’s easy to end up with a $146 cart value like we did:

The way Medilisk positions each of their 4-step upsells is a thing of beauty…

Now here’s the thing…

It’s a great goal to be like Medilisk and have a fat stack of highly relevant physical product offers on the back-end of your front end offer.

…But it’s no easy task.

So start with something easier - a “lazy” way to add AOV (without selling additional physical products).

Here’s one simple way to approach it: one of Medilisk’s many “tripwire” / bumps that add margin to the front end…

A $9.95 order bump for Priority + Insured Shipping:

Key Point: Services like expedited shipping and “insurance” / warranty extensions cost less to deliver than the perceived value they provide, making them ideal for increasing revenue without additional physical product costs.

And the offer we covered this week takes this “zero inventory AOV boost” concept to the next level with their upsell #1.

We’re talking about skincare/beauty device company Solawave.

Solawave sells a variety of products, but the offer we focused on this week inside the Funnel of the Week Members Area has been one of the best-performing top-of-funnel products for Q4 2024.

And off that front-end offer, we’re going to take a look at their very interesting upsell #1: a $19/year “VIP Membership”

Let's dissect what makes this membership upsell so effective, starting with the obvious stuff and moving quickly to the more interesting strategies they use…

Urgency

Let’s start at the top of the upsell page. We have our standard countdown timer emphasizing the limited time nature of this offer.

But notice how they position it: "before you go" and "exclusive invitation." This creates a sense of privileged access rather than feeling like just another upsell attempt.

Price Anchoring

The price anchoring here is strong. They show the $49 crossed out, with a $19 first-year offer that "saves $30!" This isn't just about the discount - it's about making the membership feel like a premium offering that they're getting at a special rate.

Pretty standard stuff so far. But let’s look at where this upsell offer really starts to get very interesting…

Let’s look at how they stack the perceived value:

Store Credit for LTV Boost

The 15% store credit is genius because it works on multiple levels.

1) It feels like instant cash back on the current purchase (reducing buyer's remorse)

2) And it also creates a psychological hook for future purchases. 

You're essentially pre-loading customer lifetime value.

Lifetime Warranty: Low Margin, High Perceived Value 

The "Lifetime Warranty" extension is particularly clever. Remember what we discussed about warranty extensions being high-margin? This takes it further by tying it to ongoing membership, creating a retention hook that feels valuable to customers but costs very little to provide.

Free Gifts: New Entry Points into Your Funnel

The "2 Free Gifts Every Year" element is brilliant for three reasons:

#1 - It gives a concrete, tangible benefit that's easy to understand

#2 - It creates anticipation and ongoing engagement (notice they specify "every 6 months" - this keeps members actively engaged)

#3 - Most important, each Free Gift you give your VIP members the opportunity to claim, is another opportunity to sell MORE products.

These free offers are an excuse to also bundle in for-sale but “special deal” additional products. (like maybe some product that’s been particularly hard to sell)

It’s like Justin Goff’s upsell framing: "while we've got the box here ready to ship your offer, we can also add these products for a special discount"

(More on that in this video from Justin here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzFDJhMUhTk)

How Solawave Turned "Insurance" Into a Profit Center

This is my favorite one:

The One Time Loss/Theft Coverage is especially fascinating when we dig into the unit economics. 

With a 35% deductible, Solawave has engineered a clever balance between customer value and staying “out of the red.”

Here's why this is brilliant:

Let's say their device retails around $149. The customer pays a 35% deductible ($52.15) for a replacement if lost or stolen. Based on typical consumer electronics manufacturing costs (components, assembly, packaging, and shipping), their COGS likely lands between $25-40 per unit. Even with additional fulfillment costs, they're hovering around breakeven on replacement units.

But here's where it gets interesting for us marketers - this isn't just about the replacement economics.

It's about creating what you might call a "safety net multiplier effect":

1. It removes a major purchase barrier ("What if I lose it?")

2. It adds perceived premium value to the membership

3. It creates another touchpoint for customer retention

4. Most importantly - like all insurance-style offerings, many customers never use it

The genius is in how this feeds into their broader retention strategy. When a customer does need a replacement, they:

• Reactivate engagement with the brand

• Are likely to purchase complementary products

• Have another reason to maintain their membership

• Become even more loyal due to the positive experience

Remember - in the rare case when customers do need replacements, that 35% deductible combined with their likely COGS means Solawave isn't taking a significant hit. Plus, the membership fees and increased purchase frequency more than offset any occasional replacement costs.

For those of us selling physical products, especially in the $100+ range, Solawave creates an interesting template to follow. The key is finding that sweet spot where:

• The deductible covers your basic costs

• The benefit feels premium to customers

• The actual usage rate remains low enough to maintain profitability

Now it’s your turn to try it out for yourself…

Check out all the funnel details inside the Funnel of the Week Members Area.

More on What’s Inside Funnel of the Week Members Area

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The Funnel of the Week Team

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