Why is Your In Cart Upsell Not Working? Easy & Updated Fixes

Is your Shopify in cart upsell failing to boost sales?

Many Shopify merchants face this. We know it can be frustrating when you add upsell offers, but they do not affect your average order value (AOV) at all.

Today, we are here to fix all your issues. With a few steps, your upselling strategy will increase your revenue.

Before we discuss the cases in which your upsell offers aren’t working, let’s first understand where they are displayed in your customer’s shopping journey.

Types of Shopify Upsell Offers

There are three types of Shopify upsell offers based on when the merchant wants it to appear.

In-cart Upsell

This type of upsell offer is displayed on your product page when the customer is still browsing for items. It helps increase the AOV because the customer is still browsing and is open to premium upgrades or relevant items. For example, “Add these trousers for just $4.99”

Source: iCart’s in-cart upsell feature

Checkout Upsell

This upsell offer pops up just before the customer completes the payment process and after the items are added to the cart. This increases your revenue as the customer has already decided and is likely to add upgraded products before checkout. “Add $2.99 more for free shipping”

Source: iCart’s checkout upsell feature

Thank You Page Upsell

Also known as a post-purchase upsell, this type of upsell is offered after the customer has completed the purchase. Since the customer is in a relaxed state of mind, you can offer low-pressure upsells to increase your store revenue. For example, “No need to re-enter your payment info. Get 50% OFF on this brand new shirt”

Source: OptinMonster

Of the three, in-cart upsell is the most popular upsell offer among merchants. They frequently use it to increase their store’s revenue by suggesting upgraded or relevant products to the customers.

However, there are cases when upsell offers don’t affect the store’s revenue. Today, we are going to look at the most frequent reasons why they don’t work and how to fix these issues.

So? Let’s begin.

Case 1: Shopify Cart Upsell Items are Not Relevant

The problem

The customer wants to purchase a smartphone. Upsell item displayed in a body lotion.

You must understand which products are bought together to offer a bundle or display relevant products. For example, a phone case goes together with a smartphone, and a body lotion goes well with a face wash.

When a customer wants to purchase upsell items of a different niche, they won’t be interested in that item as it provides no value to them.

Fix for this

Analyze the data for items bought together in your Shopify store.

Navigate to your Admin dashboard > Analytics > Reports > and search for ‘Items bought together report’

Step 1:

Step 2:

By analyzing your store’s ‘Items bought together’ data, you can start suggesting items that are relevant to each other in your upselling strategies.

Case 2: Upsell Offers are Too Intrusive

The problem

The customer is shopping, and suddenly, upsell items appear as a pop-up on the screen.

If the in cart upsell pop-up appears too soon or keeps appearing aggressively, it will lead to cart abandonment.

Any upsell pop-up should not interrupt the customer’s shopping journey. Give the customer enough time to browse items, or keep the pop-up or cart drawer design non-intrusive to keep the customer shopping.

Fix for this

Install Shopify upsell apps such as iCart Cart Drawer Cart Upsell. Merchants can use iCart’s cart drawer feature instead of pop-ups.

iCart is primarily built around the cart drawer concept—a side panel that slides in when a customer adds an item to their cart.

This method is less intrusive than pop-ups and allows upsells to appear alongside the cart, without blocking the customer’s view or actions.

Source: iCart’s cart drawer upsell view

Case 3: Shopify Theme Compatibility

The problem

You are using an in-cart upselling strategy, but the upsell items are not showing in your Shopify theme.

The Shopify theme you’re using may not be compatible with the upsell app, causing the upsell feature not to display or function properly. Some themes are built with custom code that doesn’t integrate well with third-party Shopify apps.

Fix for this

Ensure that the upsell app you’re using is compatible with your theme. If you’re unsure, contact the app’s support team for guidance.

For example, upsell apps like iCart can be activated on any installed themes in your Shopify store.

Navigate to iCart > General settings > Activate app on themes. Select your theme, and iCart becomes compatible with your store’s theme.

Source: iCart upsell app

Case 4: Incorrect Upsell Timing

The problem

You have added an in-cart upsell offer, but your customers are more interested in upsells at the checkout or payment successful stage.

As we discussed earlier, there are three upsell offers based on timing: An in-cart upsell (the customer is browsing), a checkout upsell (the customer is going to proceed to payment), and a thank you page upsell (the customer has paid).

If you are utilizing an in-cart upsell strategy for your online store and not succeeding, it may be because the upsell timing doesn’t fit well with your business.

Fix for this

Try switching to a checkout upsell or a thank-you page upsell strategy. A checkout upsell is ideal for last-minute offers or upgrades, whereas a thank-you page upsell focuses on repeat purchases and customer loyalty.

Case 5: Not Using Customization

The problem

You show the same ‘Items bought together’ bundle, but not all your customers add it to their cart.

If you’re showing generic upsell products, customers may not find them appealing. Offering the same upsell for all customers based on ‘Items bought together’ can decrease the chance of conversion.

Fix for this

Implement product recommendations based on real-time data, such as recent purchases or abandoned cart items. Apps like iCart analyse customer behaviour to offer personalized upsell options in their ‘Product recommendation’ widget.

Here, merchants can recommend products based on Shopify recommendations, recent purchases, abandoned cart items, or any specific product.

Source: iCart’s Product recommendation widget

Case 6: Issues With Mobile Responsiveness

The problem

Your in-cart upsell offers are not correctly displayed on mobile devices.

A significant portion of your ecommerce traffic comes from mobile devices. If your upsell offers are not optimized for mobile, they may not appear correctly, and customers could miss out on upsell offers due to layout issues.

Fix for this

Ensure your in cart upsell offers are responsive and mobile-friendly. Many Shopify upsell apps, like iCart, are automatically optimized to display the offers correctly across all screen sizes.

Source: iCart’s cart pop-up mobile view

Final Thoughts: Unlocking your Online Store’s Potential With In-cart Upsell

According to reports, upselling strategies resulted in a 42% increase in store revenue.

Incorporating in cart upsells into your Shopify store is a powerful way to boost your sales, but only if implemented correctly.

With the right Shopify app, your in-cart upsell will work seamlessly and convert more customers, giving your Shopify store a competitive edge.

By understanding the common issues that can slow down upsell offers, like irrelevant offers, intrusive pop-ups, or mobile unresponsiveness, you can take proactive steps to optimize your strategy. Focus on providing relevant, personalized, and well-timed offers that enhance the shopping experience, not disrupt it.

FAQs

1. What is upsell in Shopify?
Upsell in Shopify means showing relevant items or upgrades to the customer during their buying journey. This can be Shopify upsell in cart, checkout, or thank you page.

2. What is an example of a Shopify cart upsell?
A customer adds a smartphone to the cart. A cart pop-up suggests, ‘Upgrade to a premium version in just $2.99’. The customer upgrades the product and completes the payment process.

3. Which are the best in cart upsell Shopify apps?
iCart, ReConcert, BOGOS, and UpCart are some of the best applications for in-cart upselling in Shopify.

4. How to display upsells in cart Shopify?
You can either install a Shopify upselling application like iCart or use custom coding (JavaScript & Shopify Liquid) to display an upsell in cart Shopify.

5. When should you try to upsell services?
When you need to increase your AOV. The timing can be during the browsing stage (in cart upselling), checkout stage (checkout upselling), and successful payment stage (thank-you page upselling).