Is there any difference between "to drive sales" and "to boost sales"?

Question

I feel the former falls more into the idea of conducting the customers towards sales opportunities, while the latter relates more to multiplying sales.

I wonder if this perception would make any sense within both marketing jargon and general usage.

Thanks!

Answer 1

Is there any difference between “to drive sales” and “to boost sales”?

There are very, very few true synonyms in English. The guidance is, "If it is a different word, it has a different meaning. Each word and phrase carries its own nuance."

To drive = to propel, and describes a motive force behind something that pushes it in a reasonably consistent manner in a given direction - positive or negative. "Health fears drove down the sale of cigarettes." / "Stories of a madman with a gun drove people from the area."

A boost (and hence the verb) is something that is additional. It is solely concerned with increasing a force - often suddenly and forcefully. "Sales had been going well, but well-placed advertising boosted them to record levels."

The clearest idea of "boost" is probably in aeronautics where supplementary rockets are attached to a plane boost the speed.

Answer 2

The verb drive often refers to the force/reason behind/pushing sales in one direction or the other. We find boost used for stimulate/make something increase, for instance, in "What can we do to boost sales?" Drive is often used with up or down, whereas boost can be used with up (boost up something/boost something up) but not down— you can only boost upwards.

drive (v.)

to press or force into an activity, course, or direction
The drug habit drives addicts to steal.

To give shape or impulse to
factors that drive the business cycle m-w

The original meaning of drive was move by force hence impel:

To force (people or animals) to move on before one, or flee away from one, by blows or intimidation; to urge on or impel with violence (OED)

boost (v.)

INCREASE, RAISE

plans to boost production
an extra holiday to boost morale m-w

Drive up can be used with the meaning of increase/raise/boost, but drive alone usually can't.

---

But there is obviously little competition involved when both buyer and sellers have every incentive to drive prices upward. "Oil Prices and Phase II"

The storing of corn in the short - crop areas would drive prices higher than they would have been if the high loan had not been in effect, so that ... G. S. Shepard; Controlling Corn and Hog Supplies and Prices

Farm prices for corn fell to $ 57 a ton in September as a record - high corn crop in 1986 and poor export prospects continued to drive prices lower. ref [See this search for examples with "drive lower"]
See ref. for "drive down."

This essential guide will teach you how to use voice over effectively to connect with your target audience, boost sales and give your brand a personality S. Brogden; Boost Your Sales With a Professional Voice Over

The permanent clerks had, through an informal understanding, agreed not to boost up sales. V.S.P. Rao and V Hari Krishna; Management: Text and Cases

Answer 3

Something is said to drive sales in English.

For example:
Higher demand for sneakers due to good weather is driving sales steeply upward.

Driving in business usually means pushing.

Whereas boost is less strong and just means strengthening.

For example:
Although higher demand for sneakers is boosting [causing them to rise a bit more] our sales in Asia, our worldwide sales are being driven by the very high numbers of teens starting to buy their own footwear.

sales driver = what makes sales have the level they have
sales booster = what is causing sales to rise a bit more

drive, driving is like a motorized vehicle carrying a load.
boost, boosting is like a device that strengthens an existing force or causes an X to rise or move forward.

[I have not provided dictionary definitions.]

Answer 4

The difference is subtle. It is the difference between causing something to happen (sometimes in a negative sense) and helping something to increase.

drive
4 [with object] (of a fact or feeling) compel (someone) to act in a particular way, especially one that is considered undesirable or inappropriate.
    4.3 Cause (something abstract) to happen or develop.
            _{‘the consumer has been driving the economy for a number of years’
            ‘we need to allow market forces to drive growth in the telecommunications sector’
Source: Lexico — drive}

boost
1 Help or encourage (something) to increase or improve.
      _{‘a range of measures to boost tourism’
      ‘A recent study in Costa Rica found that preserving forest fragments around coffee plantations could boost crop yields and increase income.’
Source: Lexico — boost}

Here are some examples from the Corpus of Contemporary American English:

Drive (swap in cause for drive):

Additional 5G phones, coupled with more carrier coverage, could drive sales a bit as well in future quarters.
_{MAG TechCrunch}

It was just one part of the massive effort by the pharmaceutical industry to drive sales of antidepressants, antipsychotics and other psychotropic drugs to treat poor children, often for uses never approved by federal regulators.
_{NEWS Denver Post}

It suggested they did expect that they could count on this conspicuous conservation effect to drive sales.
_{WEB Freakonomics}

_{More examples}

Boost (swap in help increase for boost):

I thought some extra holiday cheer might boost sales.
_{FIC Analog Science Fiction & Fact}

It’s that kind of enthusiasm retailers hope will boost sales in what is sure to be a tough holiday shopping season.
_{SPOK CBS News}

I agree that ebooks and mp3s have helped boost sales for a lot of writers and musicians, but it is also easy for that source of income to end up online for free as illegal downloads (much to our dismay).
_{BLOG David Gaughran}

_{More examples}