Chandler Olson
July 26, 2023
.svg)
If you’ve ever thought, “I really want to implement some upselling and cross-selling strategies on my Shopify store, but I don’t know where to start,” this article is for you.
In case you need a refresher on eCommerce vocab, upselling is when you sell an upgraded version of an existing product to a customer. For example, it’s like suggesting a customer upgrade to a computer with more storage for a higher price, or suggesting they add insurance to their existing purchase. Cross-selling, on the other hand, is when you suggest a complementary product to a customer. It’s like adding a case to a laptop or suggesting that a customer also buy a mouse.
Upselling and cross-selling are super common sales tactics, and they’re surefire ways to increase customer satisfaction, average order value (AOV), overall sales, and revenue. If you’re looking to add some of these strategies to your site as easily and quickly as possible, keep reading for some easy-to-implement ideas by industry.
If you’re an eCommerce jeweler, upsell and cross-sell opportunities are plenty. Take, for example, a customer looking for necklace charms. If a customer adds a new pendant to their cart, they can’t wear said pendant without a matching chain. Maybe they have a chain at home, but maybe they don’t! Either way, to be safe, you should cover your bases and suggest a matching chain as a cross-sell to their existing purchase.
If you’re a jeweler selling pricier pieces—i.e., diamond-adorned rings that are perfect for a proposal—adding an insurance upsell would make a lot of sense. Customers are paying a lot for this purchase (a sentimental purchase, at that) and probably want to protect it, if they can. Offering insurance is an easy revenue layup if you want to increase cart value and AOV.
If you run an online pet supply store, there are a lot of upsell and cross-sell opportunities that you can take advantage of. First, let’s say a customer is shopping for a new collar. The perfect companion cross-sell in this instance? A matching leash. Similarly, you could also suggest a matching charm to link to the collar.
In a different instance, let’s say a customer is browsing for a new poop bag holder. It’s a pretty safe guess that this customer will need some new poop bags to fill this dispenser, too. So, a no-brainer cross-sell in this instance? Poop bags. Similarly, if a customer is browsing for a new dog food bowl, they also might need some dog food to fill it with.
Let’s say you’re an eCommerce retailer selling shoes, and let’s say a customer is searching for white sneakers. The perfect cross-sell opportunity for this product? Shoe cleaner, which just makes sense to purchase with those soon-to-be dirty white sneakers.
If your online store sells more than shoes—say, shirts, tops, dresses, and more—your store is prime for a “complete the look” type cross-sell. That means suggesting a shirt to pair with a pair of jeans, or a light jacket to wear over a dress. Think: if a customer is searching for a particular pair of pants, what items might pair well with it to “complete the outfit?”
Shopify merchants selling home goods also have tons of potential upsell and cross-sell opportunities to take advantage of, too. Take, for example, candles. Someone buying a candle will surely need to trim the wick of their candle at some point. Thus, suggesting a wick trimmer as a cross-sell makes sense. Candles are products that also can burn out—literally—quite quickly. Thus, suggesting multiple candles for a discounted price might be a smart upsell.
Now, let’s say a customer is searching for new bed linens and adds a duvet cover to their cart. This duvet cover can’t really be used, though, without a duvet filler. Thus, you should probably suggest that they add a duvet filler. Similarly, let’s say a customer is searching for a new pillowcase. This pillowcase also can’t be used without a pillow insert. Thus, you should probably suggest that the customer add one.
For the sake of one final example, let’s say a customer is buying a new vase for their dining room table. It might make sense to suggest some fake flowers to fill this vase with, in case the customer doesn’t yet have any or doesn’t want to fill it with real ones.
Makeup and skincare products are ripe for upsell and cross-sell opportunities, since these products often function best when used with other complementary products.
For example, let’s say a customer is buying a new face cleanser. In the world of skincare, face cleanser isn’t meant to be used as a standalone product—rather, it’s meant to be paired with various serums, lotions, masks, creams, and more. Thus, there are many complementary products available to cross-sell with a simple skin cleanser.
Makeup is very much the same. For example, a customer searching for eyeshadow probably isn’t planning to wear that eyeshadow on its own. They’re probably planning to complete their eye look with mascara, eyeliner, primer, and more. Thus, it makes sense to suggest these products either at or before checkout.
In case your industry was left out (#SorryNotSorry), the trick to coming up with all of these ideas? Getting into the customer’s head. No matter your industry, imagine their journey and any blockers they may run into as they’re buying certain items. This will lead to potential items to suggest as upsells and cross-sells across your store.
Looking at customer data, too—particularly seeing which things customers typically purchase together – can also help to inform which items you should be upselling and cross-selling.
Want to start adding all of these upselling and cross-selling strategies to your eCommerce store? Lucky for you, implementing them is easy with the InCart Upsell app.
The InCart Upsell & Cross-Sell app, which uses AI to recommend products that your customers are most likely to buy, makes upselling and cross-selling on product pages during checkout easy.
Try it out for free today and start seeing improvements to your AOV and site conversions tomorrow.
