What Is Cross-Selling? And How Does it Drive More Sales?
- Mahesh Balakrishnan
- Mar 28
- 4 min read
Updated: Apr 11
Maximizing average order value (AOV) is key to lowering customer acquisition costs and increasing profits for any Shopify Plus store. But how can you improve AOV? Cross-selling strategies are some of the easiest and most effective ways to improve AOV.
Let’s break down what cross-selling means, why it works, and learn how to implement this sales strategy in a Shopify store.
What Is Cross-Selling?
Cross-selling encourages shoppers to purchase additional products related to their primary purchase. For example, if a customer purchases a dress, cross-selling might include showing matching accessories that “complete the look”, or if a customer is purchasing a new phone, a protective case or headphones could be cross-sold.
Cross-selling strategies easily and effectively boost AOV, making them similar to upselling. While upselling encourages shoppers to purchase a pricier item, cross-selling focuses on adding supplementary products.
Why Is Cross-Selling So Effective?
Cross-selling strategies benefit Shopify businesses by:
Increasing average order value (AOV). Effective cross-selling strategies increase the value from each shopper by increasing their spend per visit.
Increasing revenue without increasing marketing costs. Maximizing the amount each shopper spends boosts revenue without increasing customer acquisition costs, improving return on investment (ROI).
Encouraging product discovery. Customers discover useful and related product add-ons they may not have known about.
Enhancing customer experience. Cross-selling allows customers to easily complete their look or routine and purchase the products they need, right from your store.
7 Effective Cross-Selling Strategies for Shopify
Which cross-selling strategies benefit Shopify stores? Here are seven effective ways to maximize customer order value.
1. Cross-sell on product pages
The best product pages feature related products underneath the primary one in a section like “you might also like”. These cross-sell recommendations are automatically generated based on the primary product or user behavior.
The heading here is important. A pro tip is to use strategic section titles such as:
“Customers also bought” = introduces social proof,
“You might also like” = appeals to practicality,
“Elevate the look” = aspirational.
2. Cross-sell during checkout
Checkout is a prime cross-sell opportunity as customers are about to convert. Use similar headings and strategies as on product pages to recommend items, allowing customers to add them to cart in just one click.
3. Use pop-ups
Pop-ups catch the eye. When used sparingly, they’re a great way to cross-sell to customers.
Use a floating bar or slide-in to highlight related products without disrupting the user experience. Allow users to easily add recommended products to cart and incentivize the offer with a discount such as a “limited-time deal”.
4. Send follow-up emails
If the customer didn’t add anything extra at checkout, your post-purchase email can still encourage cross-sell.
Use emails to thank customers, mention their purchase, and recommend related products based on past purchases. The best email tools integrate with Shopify.
5. Create bundles
Bundling a group of products together at a discounted price, boosting AOV without devaluing items, encourages customers to buy more. This cross-selling strategy enhances perceived value and improves the customer experience.
6. Retarget
Retargeting lets you stay top-of-mind with ads that show up based on past browsing or buying behavior. For example, retargeting a customer who has purchased a wardrobe with ads promoting drawers and bedside tables from the same price range.
7. Use a product quiz
Launching a product quiz on a Shopify store creates another great cross-selling opportunity, especially when personalized. Showcase recommended and related products on the quiz results page to encourage customers to purchase additional products. Then, use customer data to inform email marketing and retargeting efforts.
Using Product Quizzes to Make Cross-Selling Feel Personal
A product quiz is an effective cross-selling tool because the supplementary products recommended are personalized to each customer, as they’re based on the person’s unique answers.
Here’s how it works:
Customer takes the e-commerce quiz, answering questions and sharing their preferences.
The quiz results page provides tailored product recommendations based on the answers given.
The quiz also suggests related products as optional add-ons or bundles.
Engaged customers are more likely to convert and buy more, driving higher AOV.
Bonus: Product quizzes also collect zero-party data, enabling more personalized follow-up marketing to improve post-purchase cross-sell success.
Cross-Selling Examples on Shopify
Shopify Plus stores are already using product quizzes to cross-sell products and boost AOV. Here is how three Shopify brands use this strategy to successfully increase AOV.
Hidden Crown
Hidden Crown, a hair extension store, uses a product quiz to recommend primary products, followed by “Additional Recommendations” of hair extension tools and accessories further down the page.
Dibs
Dibs, a beauty brand, offers a “Complete the look” option on the results page. The quiz first recommends blush, bronzer, and foundation based on customer skin tone. Then, additional items, like makeup brushes and related cosmetics, appear so customers can easily add these complementary products to cart.
Thigh Society
Thigh Society sells women’s bottoms and includes an “Explore our other bottoms” section at the end of the quiz results page. Product names and subheadings help customers instantly understand the benefits of each product.
Start Implementing Cross-Selling Strategies Today
Ready to start cross-selling like a pro? Make the most of cross-selling opportunities on your Shopify Plus store. Visual Quiz Builder helps you to launch high converting product quizzes that increase AOV and personalize the shopping experience.
Visual Quiz Builder makes it easy to build, launch, and manage your product recommendation quizzes. Plus, VQB integrates with Shopify and email marketing software, so you can gather and use customer data easily in your programs. We also make it easy to add cross sell products directly in our app.
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