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Upselling vs cross-selling
Upselling encourages a customer to buy a higher priced or upgraded version of the item they already chose, such as the larger size or the premium model. Cross-selling suggests a different, related item to buy alongside it, such as a case with a phone. Both raise the value of an order, but they answer different customer needs.
Both tactics are easy to overdo and easy to dismiss as pushy. Done well, they are simply a shop doing what a good assistant in a physical store does: pointing out the thing the customer will wish they had bought.
Nuwan Madhusanka · Co-founder
4 min read · Published
| Upsell | Cross-sell | Bundle | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it offers | A better or bigger version of the same item | A different item that goes with it | Several items together at one price |
| Candle shop example | 400 g candle for $49 instead of 200 g for $32 | Wick trimmer for $18 with any candle | Candle, trimmer and snuffer for $79, saving $10 |
| Where it appears | Product page, size or model choice | Product page and cart, as suggestions | Shop listing and its own page |
| What it relies on | The customer valuing the upgrade | The items genuinely being used together | A real saving against buying separately |
| Risk if overdone | Customer feels pushed past their budget | Clutter and irrelevant suggestions | Bundles nobody wanted, slow stock |
The difference in one line
An upsell changes what the customer buys; a cross-sell adds to it. If a customer chooses a 200 g candle and the shop offers the 400 g for a little more per gram, that is an upsell. If the shop suggests a wick trimmer to go with whichever candle they choose, that is a cross-sell. Bundles sit between the two: several related items sold as one product at a combined price, which is the subject of the product bundling page.
Why they work when they work
A customer who has decided to buy is already past the hardest step. A relevant suggestion at that moment saves them a search and often a second delivery charge. The test of a good offer is whether a well informed shop assistant would have made it. Suggesting the bigger size to someone stocking up is helpful; suggesting a premium version to someone who just filtered by lowest price is noise. Stripe's Checkout documentation supports both patterns, with cross sells that add a related product and upsells that switch a customer to a different price, such as a yearly plan.
The rules on add ons
Consumer law in several countries limits how extras can be added. In the UK, the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 say a trader must get the consumer's express consent to any payment beyond the main price, and that consent cannot be inferred from a pre ticked box. The practical rule everywhere is the same: show the price of the extra clearly, let the customer choose it, and never add it by default to an order they did not change.
Common mistakes
Showing six suggestions where one would do. Recommending items that are out of stock. Offering an upsell that costs more per unit than the item chosen. Cross-selling things that do not actually go together, which customers notice. Placing offers between the customer and the pay button, which slows checkout. And never measuring whether anyone takes the offers, so poor ones stay up for years.
Where it shows up in the product
OneCraft has no ready made store. When a site needs one, the agent builds it from capability guides into the site's own database; the bundles guide covers bundles, related products marked as upsell or cross sell by the owner, a Frequently bought together block drawn from paid orders, a You may also like block and one upsell row in the cart that hides once added. Payments run through Stripe Checkout as a direct charge on the owner's connected Stripe account, with prices read from the site's database rather than the browser, on paid plans only; the platform fee is 2 percent on Starter, 1 percent on Pro and 0.5 percent on Pro+, with Stripe's own fees on top.
Questions people ask
Is upselling the same as bundling?
No. An upsell replaces the chosen item with a better one; a bundle groups several items at one price. They can be combined, such as offering the premium candle inside a gift bundle, but they solve different problems. Upsells raise the value of one choice, bundles make a set easier to buy.
Where should cross-sells go on an online store?
On the product page, after the main details and the add to cart button, and as a single quiet suggestion in the cart. Avoid interrupting the checkout itself. Product page suggestions help people who are still deciding; cart suggestions catch people who forgot something before they pay.
Do upsells annoy customers?
Irrelevant or pushy ones do. Customers tolerate, and often appreciate, an upsell that saves them money per unit or solves a problem they will have, such as a larger size for regular users. They dislike offers that ignore what they just told the shop, like suggesting the most expensive model to someone who sorted by price.
How many products should be suggested at once?
Usually one to four. More options make choosing harder and push the offer below the fold, where nobody sees it. A single well chosen cross-sell in the cart, and three or four related items on a product page, is a common and sensible limit for a small catalogue.
Should upsells be offered after the customer has paid?
Some shops offer a one click add on after checkout, which avoids slowing the purchase. It needs the payment set up to allow a second charge or a new checkout, and it must still show the price and get a clear yes. For a small shop, a simple thank you page link to related products is often enough.
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Written and checked by the OneCraft team. Last checked .