Mastering Upsell & Cross-Sell Techniques with In Cart Upsell

The Psychology Behind Upselling and Cross-Selling

Upselling and cross-selling offer convenience to customers, and it makes their lives easier. McDonalds' classic, "Do you want fries with that?" is a prime example of a cross sell that most customers always want. What's a burger without fries? Similarly, what's a product that goes with yours someone wouldn't want to go without? Think of vacuum bags for a new vacuum cleaner, or a new pair of sunglasses to go with a bathing suit someone just purchased.

Upselling and cross-selling also helps people feel as though they're taking advantage of a good deal. If they don't take the chance to buy something "better" or add something to their purchase, they might feel as though they're missing out. Leveraging FOMO ultimately helps ecommerce stores convert closer to check-out.

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Upselling Strategies for Ecommerce

Upselling is offering someone a better (and usually more expensive) version of something they're buying. Take a pair of underwear. You could offer people the chance to purchase a bundle and get three pairs for a slightly lower price than buying three separate pairs.
The most common way to upsell is to offer people the chance to upgrade a product in their cart. You can show them a "You Might Like" or "Why Not Try" product recommendation. You can also have product recommendations underneath a product, listed under headings such as "Most Popular" or "Customers Also Buy."

Cross-Selling Tactics That Work

Since cross-selling is all about offering complementary products, you want to make sure that you offer it at the right moment. For example, if someone just placed a purse in their cart and is headed to check out, now is the perfect time to show them a matching wallet.
Cross-selling can also work well when you show "Similar Products" and "Frequently Bought Together" product categories. Amazon makes this easy by showing common product combinations and giving shoppers the option to add all of the items to their cart with a single click.

Combining Upsell and Cross-Sell Strategies for Enhanced Profitability

The easiest way to integrate cross-selling and upselling strategies at the right times. This requires knowing your customers' unique journeys and understanding the basic principles of consumer psychology.
Once people have added an item to their cart, they are more likely to add other items too, especially once that go with their purchase and enhance its utility. For example, if someone just bought a frying pan, having a new spatula to go with it could be ideal. But when do you present this option?
Timing is key. Upselling and cross-selling strategies are most often presented in a cart, but they can be done on your site, too. Pop-ups after someone makes a purchase or showing them popular bundles directly beneath an item, they just added to their cart are common approaches.

Meet In Cart Upsell: A Tool to Automate Your Sales Strategy

Mastering the art of upselling and cross-selling techniques may feel difficult, but there is a tool that can make it extremely easy. With In Cart Upsell, you can automate the process by using built-in personalized recommendations and triggers to convert more customers at check-out.
This plug-in takes all the guesswork out of offering upgrades or complementary products to your customers. Thanks to its automated approach, you can boost your average order value and achieve a higher revenue per visitor (RPV).
With various options to choose from, you can promote upgrades and supportive products to your audience at just the right time. Every recommendation is customized based on a user's unique shopping experience.
For example, a user may receive an upselling suggestion for a discount when they place an item in their cart or before they checkout. The ability to take advantage of a discount they can only acquire through making a purchase is more likely to drive sales.
In another case, users may be given a prompt to purchase a bundle of products to complement their current order. In either case, you don't have to worry about creating recommendations. Instead, you can customize the plugin to perform how you'd like and let automation handle the rest.

Best Practices for Upsell and Cross-Sell Success

By learning to sell more products to customers, ecommerce owners can boost their revenue and earn more without working harder or expanding their product catalog. Mastering the ability to effectively time when you recommend upgrades or more products can even help increase revenue without increasing marketing efforts.
To get started, begin reviewing customer trends. Historical ecommerce data can let you know what products were most frequently purchased together, so you can suggest them on future sales.
With upselling, you can implement automatic recommendations in cart for people to make their purchase even better, whether it's by purchasing a greater quantity at a discount or adding additional features.
Other helpful tips include segmenting your audience to understand which customers are most likely to make higher purchases and creating individual customer journeys based on factors like where they are in the sales cycle.

It's also important to make sure your product suggestions aren't forced. Your goal isn't to make a customer feel pressured into buying more; you should be offering them something that benefits them. The best way to do this is by understanding their pain points, needs and desires.