Chandler Olson
May 11, 2023
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An easy way to increase AOV (average order value) and revenue for your eCommerce store? Upselling and cross-selling. Another easy way to increase AOV and revenue for your eCommerce store? Building and selling bundles. Now using all these methods in tandem? Call it a match made in eCommerce heaven.
To prove our point: Upselling and cross-selling can drive up to 30% of revenue in some instances, while one DTC brand saw a 15% increase in AOV from bundling alone. Now think about how much that could drive revenue for your Shopify store.
Still not convinced? Keep reading to learn more about why you should start upselling and cross-selling bundles in your eCommerce store if you’re not already.
Bundling is when you group multiple items together at a set price. Typically, the bundle price is cheaper than the cost of buying all products individually, but more expensive than the cost of any single item. Bundles are often composed of multiple of the same item (i.e. a 3 pack of shampoo) or multiple items that are related or complementary (i.e. shampoo and conditioner).
Bundling is a great (and sneaky) way to raise your AOV while simultaneously making your customers feel like they got a good deal, improving their satisfaction. It’s also a great way to help push slow-moving products off your eShelf and into consumers’ hands.
Upselling is when you recommend an upgrade, enhancement, or more premium option to a customer’s existing purchase. Cross-selling, on the flip side, is when you suggest an additional product that’s complementary or related to a customer’s existing purchase. While these two selling techniques are slightly different, they have the same lucrative impacts on your business.
In general, upselling and cross-selling are surefire ways to increase AOV, since they encourage customers to buy more with every purchase. They also result in increased customer satisfaction, which in turn results in higher retention rates and higher customer LTV. And all this together? Higher revenue for your eCommerce business.
Call it a match made in heaven. It’s basic math: upselling or cross-selling a bundle = higher sales than upselling or cross-selling individual items. This means even higher revenue for your Shopify business. And no, this isn’t to say that you shouldn’t upsell or cross-sell individual items; we’re just saying that you should throw some bundles into the mix, if and when relevant.
Now you might be wondering: how do I know if and when it’s relevant? We’ll help you out with a few examples.
Example #1: eCommerce store Sebastian Says. Sebastian Says is a boutique retailer selling an assortment of dog apparel and accessories. Now let’s say you’re searching for a new poop bag holder and stumble across their stylish Curly Poop Bag. You love it, and immediately add it to your cart. Upon adding it, you’re prompted with two cross-sell offers: World’s Best Poop Bags x 1 roll for $4, or World’s Best Poop Bags x 3 rolls for $10. This is an example of cross-selling a bundle.
In this instance, both the general cross-sell and the specific bundle cross-sell make sense. If someone is buying a poop bag holder, it’s safe to say they probably need some poop bags to keep inside of it. And if someone is buying poop bags for their daily dogs walks, it probably makes sense to stock up while they can — particularly at a discounted rate (3 rolls for $10 is $3.33, aka less than buying 3 rolls individually for $4 a piece).
In this example, the individual cross-sell on its own would increase the customer’s cart value buy $4. However, this no brainer bundle cross-sell would increase the customer’s cart value by $12. This difference might not seem a lot at this scale, but multiply that by 100 customers and it’s a $400 vs. a $1,200 increase on sales
Now let’s look at another example: Alton of Sweden, a retailer selling premium bracelets. Say you’re looking for something simple and delicate, like their silver cuff. You add it to your cart and are prompted with a suggestion: BUY 2 FOR 15% OFF. In other words, bundle your silver cuff with another bracelet for 15% off.
This bundle upsell suggestion is savvy because it offers a 15% discount with a catch: you have to buy two, or bundle the bracelet, in order to unlock the discount. In this instance, suggesting a bundle of bracelets makes sense for the specific product because people often layer and wear bracelets together. Adding a second one to your jewlery rotation wouldn’t be too far fetched of an assumption. Even more, you’ll FEEL like you’re saving (15%!!) when actually you’re spending more, which in the end is good for Alton of Sweden.
The easiest way to implement bundled upsells and bundled cross-sells in your eCommerce store? Using the In Cart Upsell & Cross-Sell Shopify app.
This app, which uses AI to recommend products that your customers are most likely to buy, makes upselling on product pages during checkout easy.
Try out In Cart Upsell today with a 30-day free trial. With a 30-second setup and immediate results, your eCommerce you’ll be reaping the rewards of upselling and cross-selling bundles in no time.
