5 successful examples of ecommerce upselling

What is upselling?

Upselling is the process of encouraging customers who are ordering a product or service to upgrade to a more valuable version of the item or to include add-ons with their order.

Upselling is an important sales strategy for all different kinds of businesses, as it can increase both the average order value (AOV) and profitability of the business. This is particularly useful for ecommerce businesses with fixed costs like shipping and marketing, which can be relatively expensive on smaller orders or on items with low gross margins.

Acquiring a new customer can be up to 25 times more expensive than retaining an existing one. Furthermore, existing customers are about 50% more likely to try new products than new customers. Upselling is valuable because it allows you to take customers who are likely about to convert and sell additional products to them at a much lower cost than otherwise would have been available to a colder audience.

Upselling also allows businesses to promote their higher-margin products to offset these fixed costs and improve overall profitability. Since customers have likely already done some research on the different models when they’re starting their checkout process, there’s a good chance they’ll reconsider and make a last-minute impulse decision to upgrade to the higher end model or purchase add-ons.

Five examples of effective upselling

Here are five examples of businesses running effective upsell campaigns to increase their sales and profitability:

1. Helping customers create a fully customized home

Signature Hardware is a company that produces home fixtures such as bathtubs, sinks, and faucets. When a customer is considering adding a bathtub to their shopping cart, the site presents them with a number of different options for extra add-ons like an air massage or foam insulation. When you tack on these extras to the order, the total value of the order approximately doubles. Given these items can be packaged together with the tub, the shipping cost should remain relatively stable — increasing the average order value.

Businesses that sell large items can offer similar types of upsells by providing complementary accessories and add-ons, which expand the functionality of a given product. Ideally, these items can be packaged with the primary item to simplify logistics easily and reduce shipping costs.

2. Bringing customers into the streaming age

TiVo produces devices for recording and streaming through your TV. When you buy one of their devices, they also allow you to sign up for various subscription streaming services at a discount. By doing so, they’re boosting the customer lifetime value (CLV) by increasing the recurring revenue on top of the one-time device sale. This is a great way to not only increase the value of the order but also improve longer-term sales.

Businesses that sell hardware devices can offer similar types of upsells by considering recurring revenue opportunities which can be layered on to increase the overall CLV. This is common in cable and technology companies that bundle different entertainment options with their hardware devices.

3. Making high-end stationary feel personal

Crane sells personalized stationery for weddings, business events, holidays, and more. When customers start personalizing their stationery cards, Crane lets shoppers choose from various types of envelope liners to enhance the cards’ presentation. Given how lightweight and compact the liners are, this allows Crane to increase the value of the order without affecting shipping costs. Businesses that sell gifts can utilize a similar type of upselling by offering additional options such as special presentation boxes and unique wrapping papers.

4. Modernizing your classic bike

Riese and Muller is a German e-bike producer focusing on high-end, customizable e-bikes. When you start customizing your new e-bike, Riese and Muller offers customers additional pre-installable accessories. For example, one of the first things you see is a screen of options for cockpit devices, ranging from smartphone holders to digital odometers. Diversity of choice lets consumers with different tastes and budgets add these extras and increase the overall value of the order.

Businesses selling high-end items have the opportunity to provide a lot of different options for add-ons that complement the features of the original product and fit different budget requirements. Small electronics provide a way to increase the value significantly without affecting the packaging or shipping.

5. Finishing up your outdoor furniture

Country Casual Teak is an outdoor furniture company that sells quality patio and outdoor items like tables, chairs, and benches. When you begin purchasing an outdoor table from them, you’re given the option to add a finish to the product. This allows customers to customize the color and add water protection. This feature greatly improves the margin of the product for Country Casual Teak, as the cost of the finish is low and the product weight is unaffected, so shipping costs remain the same.

Businesses can offer a similar type of upselling by considering how different coloring or styles can be made to the product. These are low-cost ways to increase the order value and are generally easy to integrate within your customers' path to purchase.

Find an ecommerce platform that can create high converting upsells out of the box

Upselling is a highly effective way for businesses to boost their revenue and profitability by encouraging customers to upgrade or add extra items to their carts. However, to implement a successful upsell, you’ll need an ecommerce platform that can help you create a logical, profitable upselling campaign. With Adobe Commerce, you can access a rich feature suite to help you create and customize your upsell opportunities.

Schedule a free Adobe Commerce demo to see how upsells can boost your revenue potential.