A Complete Guide to Shopify Upsell and Cross-Sell in 2025

Upselling and cross-selling have become popular techniques for Shopify merchants to increase the average order value of their stores. 

In fact, McKinsey reported a 14% increase in customer lifetime value when they used cross-selling techniques. 

Now you can imagine the power of showing upsell and cross-sell, right? Yes, if you are showing relevant upsells and cross-sells to the right customers, you can surely increase the sales and revenue of your Shopify store.

Now, if you are just setting up your Shopify store and wondering about queries like 

• What are upselling and cross-selling?
• Upsell vs cross-sell
• Which is the best Shopify upsell app that you should use? 

Relax, 

We are not going to leave you unanswered about all your questions. This guide will help you understand every aspect of upselling and cross-selling.

What is Upselling?

Upselling is a sales strategy used to encourage a customer to spend more by purchasing an upgraded or more expensive version of the product that the customer is buying.

What is an Example of Upselling?

Imagine you’re about to purchase a stylish backpack from a Shopify store. Upon clicking ‘Add to Cart,’ a pop-up appears, suggesting a premium version of the same backpack with additional compartments and a sleeker design. The message says, “Upgrade to our Deluxe Backpack for only $10 more. Extra compartments for added convenience and a premium look!”

This is a simple example of upselling. You are giving the customer an upgraded product, thus increasing your cart value. 

Cross-selling is a similar sales technique. Let’s learn about it. 

What is Cross-Selling?

Cross-sell means showing related products of the product that has already been bought by the customer.

Example of Cross-selling

As you proceed to checkout, a section below your selected item recommends a matching accessory bundle: A laptop sleeve and a water bottle holder that perfectly complements your chosen backpack. The prompt reads, “Complete your set! Add our Accessory Bundle for $15. A laptop sleeve and a water bottle holder designed to complement your new backpack.

This is a simple example of cross-selling. Let’s break down upselling vs cross-selling in detail.

Upselling VS Cross Selling

Upselling means offering an upgraded version of the product that’s being purchased by the customer, while cross-selling means showing a related product to a customer.

Aspect	Upselling	Cross-Selling
Definition	Encouraging customers to purchase a higher-end or upgraded version of a product.	Encouraging customers to purchase additional, related, or complementary products.
Goal	Increase order value by moving the customer to a premium option.	Increase order value by adding more items to the cart.
Example	Suggest a smartphone with higher storage instead of the basic model.	Suggesting a phone case or screen protector with the smartphone purchase.
Customer Perception	Seen as improving product value/experience.	Seen as making the purchase more complete or convenient.
When to Use	When a customer has decided on a product, but might consider an upgrade.	When a customer is finalizing a purchase, they may need add-ons.
Impact	Boosts revenue by selling a costlier version.	Boosts revenue by increasing the number of products bought.

Why Do You Need to Upsell?

Implementing upsells into your Shopify store gives you a bunch of benefits, like:

Increase the Average Order Value of Your Store

Upselling in your store can increase the average order value and satisfy your customers’ needs at the same time. Upsells will also help to improve the customer lifetime value. Because when your customer is already planning to purchase a product from your store, you are offering them an upgraded product, which will double your profit.

Enhance Customer Retention

Showing upsell and cross-sell will help to improve customer retention because you are saving their time by giving them relevant products that they were looking for. 

This results in growing your business, and at the same time, you can build a stronger relationship with your customers by giving them a better shopping experience in your store.

Tips to Do Upselling and Cross-Selling in Your Shopify Store

Be relevant

There will be no meaning in your upselling and cross-selling until you are not showing relevant products to your customers. 

The more relevant your upsell and cross-sell are, the more the conversion rate you will achieve. Conduct customer journey analysis, target your audience, and show them relevant products as upsells and cross-sells.

Offer a Discount for Your Customers

This is 2025, but a discount is still a great way to drive traffic to your store and increase the conversion rate. 

Give discounts along with your upsell and cross-sell. Even if you give a discount or a slight price change from the original product price, it can make your customers feel special by seeing that they will tend to buy products from your store.

Shopify apps like iCart help merchants provide volume discounts and BOGO offers to incentivize bulk purchases.

Create a Sense of Urgency in Your Store

Creating urgency in your store will make customers desperate to purchase products from your store. To show urgency, you can use words like “only today”, “time-limited offer”, etc. By seeing these words in your store, customers will be encouraged more to buy those products that you have shown as upsells or cross-sells.

iCart provides a progress bar with a countdown timer to create a sense of urgency in your Shopify store. 

Display Recommended Items

Recommended items are a great way to increase sales on your Shopify store. Most successful stores like Amazon use this strategy to increase sales. They have applied this strategy to all product pages and all categories.

iCart provides AI-powered recommendations to show relevant products that the customers want to purchase. 

Build trust in your customers

Creating trust in your customers is a challenging part of a business, especially in Shopify. Because people don’t get trusted immediately in online stores so you need to show something in your store from which they will tend to buy. 

You can show reviews of previous customers, and experience/testimonials of your previous customers. By seeing this, there is a high chance of increasing positive decision-making in customers.

Now one main query left in your mind would be about selecting a Shopify upsell app to help you in showing upsells and cross-sells. 

Shopify upsell apps like iCart Cart Drawer Cart Upsell help you to show upsells and cross-sells with upsell, product recommendations, progress bar, and countdown timer features. 

Apart from this, you can change your offers based on different parameters like products in the cart, number of items in the cart, cart value, customer location, product tags, and many more. 

This upsell app comes with advanced analytics so that you can track everything in your cart, like impressions, clicks, CTR, revenue generated from the app, increase in average order value, and many more. 

To know more details about iCart please refer to the video tutorial below.

Conclusion: Implement Upsells & Cross-sells in 2025

As a Shopify expert, I would recommend starting to upsell and cross-sell in your Shopify store and increasing your profit margin by satisfying your customers’ needs. Remember to target the right audience and show relevant products to them in upsells and cross-sells.

Shopify Upsell FAQs

1. Can you do upsells in Shopify?

Yes, you can do upsells in Shopify using built-in features or with Shopify upsell apps like iCart 

2. What are upsell and cross-sell in Shopify?

Upsell is offering customers a higher-value version of the product they’re buying. Cross-sell is suggesting complementary products to add alongside the main purchase.

3. What is an example of upselling?

If a customer adds a basic phone, suggesting a newer smartphone model is upselling. It encourages the buyer to upgrade to a more expensive option.

4. Which is the best Shopify upsell app?

Apps like iCart are popular for upselling in Shopify. The best one depends on your store’s needs and customization preferences.

5. What is an example of cross-selling? 

If someone buys a laptop, suggesting a laptop bag or mouse is cross-selling. It adds related items to increase order value.