Cross-selling and upselling: what to offer, and when
Cross-selling offers the thing that goes with it. Upselling offers the better version of it. Both work when they solve a problem the customer's about to have.
- 023Cross-Sell and Upsell Emails
- Emails designed to maximise the value of a purchase by recommending complementary products (cross-sell) or higher-value alternatives (upsell). These emails can be triggered post-purchase, during the checkout process, or as part of ongoing campaigns. For example, a customer who buys running shoes might be offered socks or a premium shoe care kit. Highlighting how these additional products enhance the customer’s initial purchase creates a compelling reason to buy more.
- 143Upselling
- A sales technique where a seller encourages the customer to purchase more expensive items, upgrades, or additional products to increase the overall purchase value.
- Cross-sell
- The product that completes what they bought
- Upsell
- A bigger size, a better version, or a bundle
- Best moments
- Product page and cart for upsells, after delivery for cross-sells
- Measured by
- Order value and second orders, at margin
Cross-sell or upsell, and where each one belongs
Somebody buys a coffee grinder. Beans and filters are the cross-sell. The better grinder, or the grinder with a bag of beans bundled in, is the upsell. One adds to the order, the other changes it.
| Where | What usually fits | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Product page | The upsell: bigger size, bundle, better version | Burying add to cart under options |
| Cart | A small add-on that tips the order over free delivery | Anything that gets in the way of checkout |
| Email after delivery | The cross-sell: what goes with what they bought | Sending it before the first thing arrives |
Time the cross-sell to the product, not the order date
The best moment for a cross-sell email is once the first thing has arrived and been used. Somebody who's just started using the grinder is thinking about beans. Somebody whose grinder is still in a van isn't thinking about anything you sell.
Map the pairs product by product, not from a bestsellers feed, and never recommend what they already own. Then let the emails stop the moment they buy the partner product. That's the logic of the cross sell flow, and it's personalisation doing a job you can measure.
When an upsell costs you the customer
An upsell lands when it's better value for the customer. The bigger size that works out cheaper per use, the spare filter they'll need soon, the bundle that saves a second delivery. It grates when it's just a dearer thing pushed at somebody who chose on price.
Watch the stacking too. An offer on the product page, another in the cart and a third after payment feels like being followed round a shop. And judge upsells on margin and second orders, not order value alone. A bundle that lifts the basket and stops people coming back has lost you money.
Related terms
FAQs
What's the difference between a cross-sell and an upsell?
A cross-sell suggests something to buy alongside, like the case for the phone. An upsell suggests something bigger or better instead, like the phone with more storage. In email, cross-sells mostly come after the order and upsells mostly before it, while the decision's still open.
How soon after an order should a cross-sell email go out?
After the first product has arrived and been used, not the day it's dispatched. For something people use up, that's often a few weeks in. For something that lasts, it's when the natural next item becomes useful. Time it from delivery if your shipping data allows, and stop the emails as soon as they buy the pair.
Should cross-sell emails include a discount?
Not by default. Lead with why the products belong together, because that's the reason to buy. If you add an offer, keep it for the last email in the sequence and size it against your margin on the add-on, so a sequence meant to raise order value doesn't quietly lower profit.
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