Upselling in digital commerce

The modern business world is fertile ground for strategies that seek to respond to challenges and make the best possible use of the characteristics of today’s markets and technology. Upselling is one of the terms you hear about frequently.

This article is about what upselling is and how to put it into practice.

Although its application is broad, it is a simple concept. It consists of presenting a customer who is interested in a given product with another product, similar to the one they were going to buy, but superior, for example in terms of quality, capacity, size, etc.

It is easy to understand the logic behind this approach: you start from the customer’s interest and seek to maximize the sale, from the company’s perspective, and the value for money and satisfaction with the product, from the buyer’s perspective.

It is, of course, a practice with a very long history, but one that has become extraordinarily relevant in today’s world, largely due to its importance and effectiveness in digital commerce.

The main benefit of upselling is, naturally, the potential increase in sales of the higher-end product range.

E-commerce statistics show that upselling increases sales by 10-30%, on average.

We should also mention that, when upselling is applied well, it helps increase the value for money for the customer, contributes to their level of satisfaction, and strengthens their loyalty to the company.

It is, quite simply, one of the easiest, most immediate, and most effective ways to increase sales volume. Don’t stop applying it.

The term cross-selling refers to another strategy, which is similar to upselling without being exactly the same thing. Cross-selling is the sale of complementary or additional products. For example, a paint company could suggest a set of brushes and paintbrushes at the time of purchasing a bucket of paint.

The first step is to introduce the upsell component digitally on the company’s website.

The intended result is that an automatic suggestion of a superior product appears when the customer adds an item to the “shopping basket”, or at some point in the checkout process.

The specific procedure for making this change on the website can be carried out in different ways. Probably the easiest will be to use a computer application for the purpose. A simple search on the subject will allow you to discover some options.

Next, you will have to choose the products to which to apply the upsell.

This part obviously varies depending on the characteristics of your products. Do not think only in terms of offering a better product, but also, for example, a larger quantity, or a discount on the purchase of a second identical product.

For the best results, the price of the higher-end item should not be excessively higher than that of the initial product. The customer may consider a purchase 50% above the expected value if the benefit makes up for it, but will hardly consider spending ten times more. Also create temporary offers. Generating a sense of urgency or opportunity can be a great sales booster.

Another suggestion is to use real customer testimonials to demonstrate that the higher-end product is worth the additional expense. Real testimonials are more credible and catch the buyer’s attention.

From this moment on, the plan is in action. But the work is not finished! Experiment. Learn what works and what doesn’t. Make changes and test the result for a week or two. The most important experiments are in areas such as products and prices, but also, for example, different texts or ways of describing the products.

When you find an upsell that works well and delivers results, you will have reason to celebrate: it is a valuable find.

The work, in fact, will never be finished, because there will always certainly be room for improvement and adaptation to the possibilities that are constantly arising. Keep an eye on conversion rates and on your customers’ behavior.

It is not only through a superior product that you can help increase your customers’ satisfaction. In online commerce, logistical issues are essential.

InPost specializes in parcel delivery to NON-home addresses, through the use of Parcel Lockers and Lockers. This is a delivery strategy that has proven itself in terms of efficiency, sustainability, and customer satisfaction, and is increasingly popular.

Provide this option to your customers and find out more about the advantages of this approach in this blog and on our website.