How to Upsell and Cross-Sell in eCommerce

Getting sales in eCommerce is always exciting, and there are plenty of ways to further enhance the amount of money you make. The best way to do this is by upselling and cross-selling. Compared to trying to sell to cold customers, you often have a much better chance of converting in these instances. 

That said, knowing how to upsell and cross-sell is no walk in the park. You need to know what does and doesn’t work, and understanding the different strategies you can use is also a good idea. Once you have this information, you will find it much easier to generate a reliable income and increase customer lifetime value (CLV). 

In this complete guide, you’ll learn a number of ways to cross-sell and upsell effectively in eCommerce. You will also find out what else you can do to give yourself the best of succeeding in the long run. 

What’s the Difference Between Upselling and Cross-Selling?

Before we go any further, understanding the difference between upselling and cross-selling is essential. While they’re often grouped together, the two terms are actually quite different. 

Generally speaking, we can determine upselling and cross-selling in the following ways: 

• Upselling: Offering a new product or service to someone who has already purchased from you before. 

• Cross-Selling: Providing new opportunities for someone to buy before they check out. 

Knowing when to upsell and cross-sell is also important. Upselling is generally used for loyal customers who already have a purchasing history, or those who have shown the intention to make big purchases. Cross-selling, on the other hand, is more generally used when a customer is ready to check out. 

First Thing’s First: Get Your Infrastructure Right 

Another important thing to remember when upselling and cross-selling is that your infrastructure must be right. Without this, you will struggle to create lasting success. Moreover, getting started in the first place will be a needless uphill task. 

Above all else, you must have the right hosting provider. You need to pick a service that can handle significant traffic in one go; without this, your site will crash at important times. As a result, you’ll needlessly miss out on revenue. 

When you select a hosting provider, be sure to also pick one with backups and good levels of security. That way, your website – and your customers’ data – will always be safe. Verpex offers all of these, and you can even get a free domain when you sign up. So, if you’re just starting out, this is perfect for streamlining your costs as you get your business up and running. 

Now that you know the basics of upselling and cross-selling, along with how to effectively build the right infrastructure, we’ll cover the specific methods you can use to increase your revenue in this respect. 

Use Related Product Windows

One of the easiest ways to cross-sell in eCommerce is by showing your audience related products. More often than not, people know what they want – and what they might want that’s similar – but they just don’t want to do the extra research. Putting this right in front of them makes it much easier for someone to make a buying decision. 

You will see related product windows on most eCommerce sites. Amazon is really good at this; when you’re looking at one book, for example, you’ll also see a number of titles about similar topics. Through this method, the customer might then purchase a few extra books to read once they’ve finished the one they originally aimed to buy. 

In fashion, related products can also work really well. For example, if someone is purchasing socks, they are probably also going to be interested in underwear. Similarly, someone buying a shirt might be interested in bottoms or even other shirts of the same color. 

When using related product windows, consider eCommerce seasonality. During the holiday season, someone might be interested in purchasing multiple gifts for different people. Similarly, you may also want to think about the main demographic that uses your site in general. Leveraging data to do this is wise. 

You can show related products in multiple places. For example, you can get really good results if you put these on the checkout page. Making them visible on product pages is also wise. Test different positioning and products, and see what does and does not work for you. 

Create Subscription-Based Packages

If you sell one-off products, you might think that there’s little you can do to encourage repeat purchases. This, however, is not necessarily true. Some products will need replacing within specific time periods, regardless of how well the customer looks after them. 

Shavers and razors are a really good example of this. You could offer refill packages where the user signs up and gets new heads shipped directly to them every three months or so. When this happens, you can automatically bill them. 

Supplements also do this sometimes. For example, AG1 offers subscriptions for their green powder. When someone signs up for this, they can get these supplements delivered to their address without them needing to think about it. 

While this won’t work with all products, you should definitely think of ways you can upsell via subscriptions for your eCommerce store. If you go down this approach, knowing how to set up recurring payments in WooCommerce is wise, too. 

Understand Pricing Hierarchies

Starting with one offering as a new eCommerce store can help with eliminating confusion, which is ideal for increasing conversion rates. But to take your business to the next level, you should consider pricing hierarchies. Implementing this correctly can significantly boost your revenue. 

Generally, it’s wise to go with a “good - better - best” hierarchy. The “good” product is your cheapest, but it should still be of the highest quality. Better offers more advantages, and “best” is your flagship product. 

You can see this strategy often used in sportswear. For example, Nike creates more recreational versions of soccer cleats before then selling the official version that professional players use. The “good” ones are fine for casual players, while those who want to up their game will likely buy the more expensive ones. 

You’ll likely need to experiment with this, and it’s important to ensure that all the products you offer in your hierarchy are logically aligned. 

Offer Free Shipping and Discounts

One of the most common ways to upsell in eCommerce is by offering discounts. You can do this with a subscription model, but this isn’t the only way in which to achieve such a strategy. 

When selling products, consider offering free shipping when users spend beyond a certain amount. If a buyer is close to the free shipping limit, they may add another product to their cart to get the free shipping. This works well with all kinds of eCommerce stores, from clothing to supplements. 

Besides offering free shipping, you can achieve something similar by offering discounts when someone buys the same product or another one like it. The customer still saves money compared to purchasing both separately, while you generate more revenue than would otherwise have been the case.

Try Post-Purchase Offers

Once someone has bought from you, they’re more likely to purchase from you again if they had a good experience. For this reason, nurturing them and trying to increase their lifetime spend with you is a good idea. 

Consider sending emails to people who’ve purchased from you in the past within good time. For example, you may want to remind them of a new launch six months after they’ve initially bought from you. Personalize these emails with custom offers and recommendations for better effectiveness. 

You can also try to upsell something that may complement a recent purchase. By doing this, you can enhance your chances of generating more money than would otherwise have been the case. 

Use Pop-Ups on Your Website

Pop-ups often get a bad reputation, but more often than not, this is not because pop-ups are bad in and of themselves. Instead, it’s because many websites don’t know how to use these effectively. eCommerce sites are no different; you’ll find some that do so excellently, but this sadly is not universal. 

When using pop-ups, make sure these aren’t overly intrusive and can easily be closed. Consider setting these as triggers on occasions when it makes sense to do so, such as when a customer is about to check out. These should also be personal to what the customer is buying for better effectiveness. 

You can use several tools to generate pop-ups. For example, if you have a WooCommerce site, consider using the Kadence Pro theme. This has a Shop Kit add-on for more customization, along with a conversion tool to display pop-ups that match your site’s branding. 

Summary

Upselling and cross-selling are two crucial parts of any successful eCommerce site. Knowing how to appeal to your target audience and generate more revenue is essential, and it doesn’t need to be in the stereotypical salesperson style. Thinking strategically and offering products that complement what a customer already was going to buy is the best way to do this. 

Frequently Asked Questions