How Buy It Direct drove a 57% conversion uplift by replacing flat discounts with intent-led sequenced promotions
The Challenge
Buy It Direct operates multiple retail brands including Appliances Direct, selling everything from dehumidifiers to dishwashers. Like many in the category, the team used promotional discounts to incentivise new customers. The approach was simple: one discount, shown to all new users, regardless of where they were in the buying journey.
The logic felt reasonable, new visitors need encouragement, and a percentage off should help them convert. But not all new visitors are equal. Some are casually browsing with no real purchase intent. Others are deep into product research, comparing specs and reading reviews. And some are ready to buy but showing signs of walking away.
Offering the same discount to all three groups creates waste at every level. The casual browser doesn't care about 5% off - they're not buying today regardless. The high-intent visitor might have converted without any incentive at all. And the visitor who genuinely needs a nudge to stay gets the same generic offer as everyone else.
Without a way to distinguish between these audiences, every discount was either too much or too little. Margins were eroded on customers who didn't need the incentive, while the visitors who needed the most persuasion received nothing tailored to their situation.
The Hypothesis
By replacing a single flat discount with a layered sequence of promotions targeted by intent and abandonment signals, Buy It Direct could increase conversion among visitors who genuinely need the incentive while protecting margin on those who don't.
In the Closing the èƵ Gap report, 83% of shoppers use discounts when they’d have paid full price, and discounting with intent can deliver an average 42% margin saving. The report also found that 2.95× more visitors are “ready to buy” than those who actually end up buying.
A discount is information. When it's too early, it's ignored. When it's unnecessary, it's wasted margin. When it arrives at exactly the moment a visitor is wavering, it's the thing that tips the balance. As Jay Shufflebottom, Trading Manager at Buy It Direct Group, put it: "Our discount strategy is reliant on Made With èƵ and we've seen margin enhancement improvements of over 10% as a result." Sequencing the incentive to match the visitor's state turns a blunt instrument into a precise one.
The Solution
Buy It Direct used Made With èƵ to replace their single new-user discount with a layered, sequenced promotion strategy on Appliances Direct. Instead of one offer for everyone, the team built three tiers based on the visitor's intent level and abandonment signals.
The structure was simple but deliberate. Visitors with low intent showing abandonment signals received no discount at all - a 0% offer. The data showed that discounting this group didn't move the needle; they weren't ready to buy regardless of incentive. Offering them a code would only train them to expect one on return.
Visitors with building intent and abandonment signals received a modest 5% discount. Enough to acknowledge their interest and keep them engaged, but calibrated to the likelihood of conversion.
Visitors with high intent and abandonment signals; those closest to purchase but showing signs of walking away, received the strongest incentive at 10% off. This was the group where a discount genuinely changed the outcome, applied at the moment it could make the biggest difference.
The brand affinity layer added further precision. Each tier factored in the visitor's affinity to the Electriq own-brand range, ensuring promotions were relevant to the products they were actually considering.
The Impact
Without èƵ, every new visitor received the same flat discount. There was no way to distinguish between a casual browser and a high-intent visitor about to abandon. Margins were lost on customers who would have converted anyway, while the visitors who needed the most help received nothing tailored to their situation.
With èƵ, discounts were sequenced across three tiers - 0%, 5%, and 10% - based on real-time intent and abandonment signals. The right incentive reached the right visitor at the right moment.
Key Results: 57% increase in expected conversion (xC)
This play proved that the problem with discounting isn't discounting itself. It's the lack of graduation. A single flat offer treats every visitor as equally persuadable, which they aren't. By layering incentives to match where each visitor actually sits in the buying journey, Buy It Direct turned their most margin-destructive tactic into one of their most efficient.
The 0% tier is equally important to the story. Recognising that some visitors shouldn't receive a discount at all - that it won't change their behaviour - is the insight that protects margin. The 57% uplift didn't come from offering more. It came from offering smarter.
Discounting doesn't have to be all or nothing. The biggest gains come not from the size of the incentive, but from the precision of who receives it and when. This play shows that a sequenced approach - matching the offer to the moment - outperforms a blanket one every time.
Ready to make your promotions work harder? Explore more about Discounting with èƵ.
