If you’ve ever purchased a set or pair of products for a lower unit price than you would have paid if you bought the items individually, you’ve participated in what marketers call the kitting and bundling process. Kitting and bundling is a highly successful tactic that businesses use to sell more of their stock. By “kitting” or “bundling” complementary products together and selling them as a discounted unit, businesses help consumers feel like they’re getting more overall value for their dollar.
If one of your inventory management goals is to increase your sales, a good place to start is by assessing how you sell your products. If you can show your customers that buying sets or pairs of products will provide more value for them in the long term, you should adopt the practice of kitting and bundling your products.
What Are Kitting and Bundling?
Kitting and bundling is essentially the practice of selling multiple complementary products or units as a whole, usually at a lower price than what consumers would pay buying the same items individually.
Because kitting and bundling create a higher perceived value for the consumer, companies that adopt this selling technique typically see higher sales than those that don’t. For example, a cookware company may bundle a three- or four-piece baking set. They may still sell the same items in the baking set individually, but each product would be lower cost purchased as a bundle.
How Do You Kit and Bundle Products?
Kitting and bundling products successfully begins with pairing options that make sense together. For instance, pairing items in cooking sets, towel sets, toolkits, luggage sets and similar bundles with themed items that one would logically purchase together. If you’re looking to change your sales strategy to increase your profits, kitting and bundling may prove to be the best route.
Another way you can kit and bundle products is to combine high-selling products with those you want to sell more of. Keeping the above tip in mind, many companies combat lower sales for certain products by bundling them with higher-selling items in an effort to get them off the shelves faster. But remember — this strategy will only work if the kitted or bundled unit can maintain a high perceived value.
It’s also a good idea to put kitted products front and center both online and in stores to make sure these higher-priced units are visible to customers.
Benefits of Kitting and Bundling
Kitting and bundling offers a handful of major benefits for businesses when it’s done right. These benefits include:
- A lower fulfillment cost for businesses due to simpler packaging practices
- A higher order value for shipments
- Reduced shipping costs for businesses (and customers!)
- Reduced potential for human error in the packaging and shipping process
When it comes to kitting and bundling, always remember to combine items that complement one another. And most importantly, manage your kitting and bundling processes with an inventory management system tailored to your needs.
How Finale Inventory Can Help You Kit and Bundle Products
Finale Inventory can help you manage your bundling and kitting processes through our innovative cloud-based inventory management software. Download your free trial today!
