How to Upsell & Cross-Sell on Your Online Store
Updated Feb 2022
Ok, starting off with the elephant in the room which is that sometimes talking about selling can feel kind of icky. I mean, are you or are you not envisioning a used car salesman just thinking about it?! 😂 But selling doesn’t have to feel scammy! In fact, when done right, your customers will feel like they received some personal recommendations on products or services that were right for them… AND you’ll get a little boost in average order value. Win-win.
In this post, you’ll learn the differences between two selling mainstays: upselling and cross-selling. We’ll cover when and how to go for it and look at some tips & strategies for these sales techniques on Squarespace. Let’s go!
Step 1: What is upselling and how is cross-selling different?
At its most basic, upselling is selling to someone who was already going to buy from you and it only sounds silly if you think that it’s going to be easier to sell to someone new than someone who’s already added to their cart. (Hint: it’s not.)
Studies have shown that existing customers are way easier to speak to than new ones because they’ve already expressed that they like you or your products or your mission or whatever. When we look at the numbers while you have only a 5-20% chance of selling to someone new, your odds jump to 60-70% with a repeat customer. Even better, first-time buyers are 27% likely to return, but after their second or third purchase, this grows to 54%!
All of this may lead you to believe that upselling is where it’s at but I say not really.
Example: Let’s pretend that I’ve decided to buy Widget A from you. I’ve presumably done this because I like the product, and you’ve convinced me that it’s going to solve one of my problems, and also that you’re a legitimate business that I should give my money to. In a classic upsell scenario, you would then say something like “Hey, don’t you really like Widget B better?? It’s only X more and does all these other cool things.”
Here’s where the wheels start to fall off: classic upselling breeds doubt. If all your copy and social proof and marketing prowess have convinced me to buy Widget A only to turn around and tell me that it’s actually an inferior product to Widget B I can only think one of two things; either 1) I can’t trust myself to suss out what’s best for me and make a decision on my own or 2) you lied to me about the awesomeness of Widget A. It feels like a bait and switch.
The last thing we want to do when people have successfully added something to their cart is to give them any reason at all to not complete the purchase. Upselling done wrong can actually increase cart abandonment because it will force people to go back and rethink their decision to buy.
Enter: the Cross-Sell. In our pretend scenario above, an effective cross-sell would recognize that I added Widget A to my cart and suggest other, complementary items that I might also like. Cross-sells feel like a good friend making a recommendation: “Hey, you like this thing? You may also like that thing too!”
All of this isn’t to say that upsells aren’t an effective option but there’s an art to knowing how to do them well!
Step 2: Should you offer options before or after the sale?
Most merchants start to think about upselling and cross-selling opportunities as a way to increase their average order value (AOV). They understand that it’s going to be easier to sell a little more to an existing customer than a lot more to a new one. But here’s the surprise twist that maybe we all didn’t see coming: upsells and cross-sells don’t have to happen before (or even at the same time) as the original purchase 🤯
The secret is that focusing on just AOV is a short game. The AOV point-of-view says, “just sell them as much as possible right now.”
Focusing on Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) is a long game. The LTV point-of-view says, “this sale is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”
There’s a place for both but here are some tips:
Consider the value - Upsells before purchase work great for low-risk/low-value items. A good rule of thumb is to keep offers at about 25% of the original order value for the highest success rate.
Not everything is an offer - Displaying “related items” on a product page should be considered navigational (helping people discover new products) more than transactional (trying to sell them those things in addition to the item they are currently viewing)
Make it worth their while - Sweeten post-purchase offers by including a discounted complementary product or free gifts with purchase.
Make sure things make sense - If you sell a range of products, don’t offer random upsells. They should make sense and “go with” the original purchase so that it feels personalized and not spammy.
The conversation doesn’t stop once an order is placed! - Sure, you can include upsell or cross-sell offers directly after adding to the cart or after a successful checkout but don’t think that those are your only options! Continue the conversation by email. Send a note asking how they are liking their purchase after delivery and include some other things they may want to check out. Email marketing is a great way to facilitate a more personal relationship with customers and keep you top of mind.
Step 3: How to Not Be a Sleazeball
Ok, I mean I hate to even have to include this section but you start talking sales and some people just turn into a telemarketer, you know? 🤣 Some of these practices are also so prevalent that some people think that using them must work so why not give them a go? (Hint: not everyone on the internet plays nice and some people really are out to swindle you.)
Here’s are some good UX tips to keep in mind:
Make it easy for people to nope out - If you’re going for a pre-purchase offer, make it super easy for people to say no. Don’t hide the “X” or “Skip/Close” options or obscure them with low contrast colors or odd placements. This will just frustrate people and could cost you the sale altogether.
Don’t add things to the cart automatically!!! - There’s a certain web hosting company that rhymes with DoGaddy that does this and as much as I love them, I feel like I’m playing a game of whack-a-mole every time I buy something. They have a sneaky way of adding unnecessary “add-ons” to your cart that you have to be on guard for and then manually delete. I don’t think any of you good people would ever do this but still, it deserved a call out.
Be honest - Describe your products honestly and accurately. If a certain product is priced lower than other items in that category, explain why. If you don’t do this, your upsell product positions the first item as subpar which makes your whole offer seem suspect and may make people wonder why you would even consider selling an inferior product. Maybe the cheaper product is great for X but not for Y. Maybe you were able to source it directly from the maker. The less expensive item may be a good fit for some of your customers (otherwise you wouldn’t be selling it, right?) - so be honest about its qualities and attributes so that it’s still seen as a good option.
Step 4: Selling Apps & Tools To Check Out!
Here are some pre-purchase and in-cart upsell options for use on Squarespace:
Squarespace Upsell Page Plugin - The best plugin that I use often on client sites and recommend is this one from Ghost Plugins. Note that it says it works on 7.0 sites but I have used it on 7.1 sites and it works just as well!
Related Products on Squarespace - If you’re on either of the Squarespace Commerce plans, turn on Related Products! (HOME > COMMERCE > RELATED PRODUCTS). By default, the related products section uses the product's first category and then displays up to 5 products from that same category. I think this default makes the most sense but you can also change this on a product-by-product basis from the Options tab of the product editor. Check out this post for more about product categories: How to Use Product Tags & Categories on Squarespace
eCommerce Email Marketing - Coded options aside, both the built-in Squarespace Campaigns and the Squarespace Commerce API offer ways to tag people based on what they’ve purchased. Use this data to your advantage and send automated follow-up emails that are personalized and tailored to each customer.
Bottom Line
While you probably started reading this post with the idea of increasing your sales and average order sizes in mind, remember that it’s important to consider customer experience and relationships first and foremost. Remember, you’re going for LTV! You can pitch as many products as you want but it’s hard to turn things around once you annoy and confuse people. Consider what makes the most sense for where customers are on their journey with you and tailor solutions to them that make your recommendations feel like nothing more than a good friend telling you about something you might like because they just know you that well.
