By Dan Bond, VP of Marketing at RevLifter
The constant battle between conversion rates and brand perception for premium retailers creates a genuine dilemma.
Push too hard on discounts, and you become another promotion-dependent brand. Resist discounting, and you might watch visitors leave without purchasing.
Radley London faced this exact challenge when they approached RevLifter. As a premium British brand known for luxury handbags and accessories, they needed to increase conversions and average order value without relying on blanket discounts that could damage their brand equity.
Their approach offers valuable lessons for any retailer looking to break the discount dependency cycle.
The challenge: Growth without brand dilution
Radley London needed to:
- Increase conversion rates across their UK and US sites
- Grow average order value (AOV)
- Maintain their premium brand positioning
- Reduce reliance on sitewide discounting
This balancing act is challenging in a market where consumers have been trained to expect discounts. RevLifter and IMRG’s Promotions & Loyalty Schemes: Market insights and best practices report from last year shows that around 50% of all transactions involve a discount.
The strategy: Targeted interventions instead of blanket discounts
Rather than following the standard approach of periodic sales and generic discounts, Radley implemented a series of targeted interventions at specific points in the customer journey.
Each intervention was designed to address a particular customer behaviour or pain point.
1. Exit intent campaigns with targeting based on predicted intent
When visitor behaviour indicated they were about to leave the site, Radley deployed exit campaigns. Profits were maximised by suppressing offers for high-intent shoppers likely to convert without added incentives.
This approach converted abandoning visitors without training them to expect discounts.
2. Text selection targeting for price-comparing shoppers
Price comparison is a typical behaviour in eCommerce. When visitors selected and copied product names (a behaviour that often indicates intent to search elsewhere for better prices), Radley deployed promotions to stop people from leaving.
This tactic directly addressed a specific abandonment trigger when it occurred.
3. Invalid code recovery
Most retailers display an error message when customers enter expired or invalid promotion codes. Radley transformed this moment of disappointment into an opportunity by offering alternative valid codes.
This approach not only recovered potential lost sales but turned a negative customer experience into a positive one.
4. Premium-positioned threshold promotions
If someone spends £200 on a handbag, you’re unlikely to get them to buy a second. Radley used targeted Stretch & Save offers to encourage customers to spend more with complimentary product recommendations for additional purchases like purses and umbrellas.
These threshold incentives increased AOV while enhancing the premium shopping experience rather than discounting it.
5. Contextually relevant cross-selling
Rather than generic “customers also bought” recommendations, Radley implemented cross-sell suggestions based on actual product relationships:
- Matching wallet and purse combinations
- Complementary care products for purchased items
- Complete collection offers with bundle savings
This approach increased items per order while reinforcing the brand’s design cohesion.
6. Centralised personal offers experience
Radley created a personalised offers hub that consolidated available incentives without screaming “discount”:
- Flexible payment options
- Event-specific promotions
- New product launches
- Collaboration highlights
This provided a destination for value-seeking customers without plastering discounts across the primary shopping experience.
Implementation considerations
The success of Radley’s approach depended on several key implementation factors:
- Technical integration: Each intervention required precise triggering based on specific user behaviors
- Messaging consistency: All offers maintained Radley’s premium tone and visual language
- Testing methodology: Each tactic was tested and optimised to maximise performance
- Inventory alignment: Offers were coordinated with Radley’s stock levels to drive sales when needed
- Seasonal adaptability: The intervention mix shifted throughout the year to align with seasonal shopping behaviours
Measured impact
The key metrics showed significant improvement:
- 15% increase in conversion rate
- 23% increase in AOV
- 8% saving in promotion costs
Applying these lessons to your business
Premium and mid-market retailers can adapt Radley’s approach by:
- Auditing abandonment points: Identify precisely where and why customers leave your site.
- Mapping behavioural signals: Recognise specific behaviours (text copying, rapid scrolling, multiple tab browsing) that indicate comparison shopping.
- Creating targeted interventions: Design specific responses for each identified behaviour.
- Maintaining brand consistency: Ensure all interventions reinforce rather than undermine your brand positioning.
- Testing incrementality: Implement proper control groups to measure the true impact of each tactic.
Key takeaways
- Blanket discounting isn’t the only way to improve conversion rates
- Behavioural signals can identify precisely when intervention is needed
- Premium-positioned offers can increase AOV without diluting brand value
- Different customer segments respond to different types of incentives
- Proper testing is essential to measure true incrementality
Radley London’s campaigns demonstrate that premium brands can improve eCommerce performance metrics without resorting to the discount addiction cycle that plagues many retailers. By targeting specific behaviours with appropriate interventions, retailers can increase conversions while protecting or enhancing their brand value.
Published 09/04/25
