How to Upsell on Shopify – 8 Proven Tips

Do you ever feel like your Shopify store isn’t meeting the income you planned? You have engaged customers that are ready to buy with the potential to spend more, but there’s a slightly stagnant average order value (AOV)? Well, in this article we’ll transform your Shopify store to a force of powerful suggestion through upselling. We’ll equip you with 8 tips of proven Shopify upsell strategies to grow your online store.

What is Upselling?

Upselling is a technique to encourage a customer to purchase a related, upgrade or add on to their original desired purchase. The aim is to increase the value of each sale and overall business value. Research shows that it’s 68% more expensive to convert someone into a new customer than to upsell to existing customers. Not just that, but 27% of customers are likely to return, which can grow to 54% after the third purchase. An effective upsell can help your customer choose the right product and continue a positive engagement with your store.

Key Benefits of Upselling

There are numerous advantages to using upselling for your business. Aside from the additional income you would be receiving, some of the key benefits are:

• Elevated customer experience and service – by using upselling strategies, you can promote products that customers genuinely require based on their original selection. This adds a sense of confidence and loyalty to your store’s reputation. 
• Word of mouth marketing – providing a positive experience and service to your customer increases your chances of expanding to future customers by referral or word of mouth. This can also increase your customer lifetime value (CLV).
• Business growth – increasing conversion rates through customer loyalty, word of mouth and referrals, this will all help grow your business. Data shows that implementing upselling to your store grows your income an average of 10-30%.

8 Tips to Upsell on Shopify

Now that we have learnt all about upselling and its benefits, here are the top 8 tips to successfully upsell on Shopify.

1. Offer Compelling Product Bundles

People love a good deal! Product bundling is a pricing strategy combining multiple products and selling them at a lower price than if they were sold separately. To do this, you need to create product bundles that are related to each other or of the same product; mixed bundles and pure bundles. A strategy to bundling is to combine low-volume, low-priced items with premium ones. This not only helps you with inventory, but helps your customers experience a wider range of products. 

The concept of product bundles work so well because by providing a smaller number of choices, it decreases the pressure of the buyer. If the savings of buying a bundle is tempting enough, and makes sense, the customer will see the value and add it to cart.

2. Upselling on the Product Page

Upselling on a product page lets you place targeted deals based on what products your customer is viewing. Usually these upsells are very relevant to the desired product. This is a helpful reminder to the customer that your store offers products of value to your customer base, and in addition, a powerful tool to increase your AOV.

3. Personalized Product Recommendations

Personalization is key to creating a positive customer experience and encouraging upsells, and Shopify helps that by extracting customer data to be used in order for you to personalize the upsell items. To take it one step further, using personalized language in your upsell offer from previous purchases to add in details like their name or relevant products to their previous item will help too. Surveys have shown that 86% of customers believed personalization affected what they purchased, proving just how important the strategy is. 

4. Upsell with Add-ons

An upsell add-on is an option that is extra to the original product. This strategy allows customers to include additional quantities, an upgrade of the product (for example, size), a discounted add-on, or an accessory product to complement the original items.

5. Shopify Upselling at Checkout (Shopify Plus)

Upselling at a checkout is providing the customer at checkout a variety of related options to compliment their purchase. To use this strategy on your Shopify store, upgrade to Shopify Plus and use its many features to enhance the upsell experience. This plan is ideal for extensive customization options with dedicated support and enhanced security. 

6. One-Click Upsells Post Purchase

A one-click upsell is an offer made to a customer once they have made a purchase from your store. The customer can add the upsell into their purchase information without going through the hassle of re-entering credit card details or added shipments. This strategy will increase your store’s AOV and improve customer satisfaction.

7. Thank You Page Upsell

Once a customer purchases an item, a Thank You page will appear to show gratitude to the customer. However, this page can be used for almost any call to action, such as; a survey, registration, event sign up or account creation. It can also be to let a customer preview other related items or discounted items for future purchases.

8. A/B Test and Analyze

Upselling is an ongoing process. Experiment with different upselling strategies and track your results. Continually refine your approach to maximize the effectiveness of your upsell.

By implementing these 8 proven strategies, your Shopify store can significantly increase in AOV and run successful upsell campaigns. Remember, upselling is about offering value, not pressure. Providing relevant recommendations and value, you can encourage customers to spend more with confidence.