Cross-Selling and Up-Selling
According to FEVAD, the average shopping cart value for French consumers remains relatively stable throughout the year. However, e-retailers know that commercial efforts cannot be limited and must be constantly growing. It is with this mindset that commercial strategies such as up-selling and cross-selling emerge. These marketing techniques encourage buyers to complete their cart with complementary products to their initial items. Although often confused, these two sales techniques have distinct objectives and can be very effective when implemented correctly.
Encouraging Purchases with Up-Selling
Up-selling, or upgrading, is a technique that involves encouraging the customer to purchase a more expensive or advanced version of the product or service they are considering. The goal is to increase the sale’s value by offering a superior option. This technique is often seen as somewhat aggressive, and therefore, is underutilized by many e-retailers.
The objective of up-selling is to increase the value of your customers’ carts in line with their search and needs. For example, you might offer free shipping for a cart total above a certain amount, higher than the sum of two products. As a result, since your customers will want to benefit from free shipping, they will add a third product (or a set of three products), allowing them to reach a price slightly above the threshold for free shipping.
This technique is not limited to e-commerce. When buying a new car, the dealer might suggest purchasing a higher-end version with more aesthetically pleasing and comfortable features: premium leather seats, an integrated navigation system, or more advanced safety software. All these options will make the product more expensive, increasing the company’s revenue. Additionally, customers will associate these options with quality and thus invest in a better value-for-money proposition.
Complementarity with Cross-Selling
Cross-selling, or additional sales, involves offering your customers complementary products to the one initially viewed. The idea here is not for your customer to benefit from social prestige or a specific discount, but to find a product that could be useful, related to the one they have just viewed or purchased. We aim for additional sales by pushing less visible products that could meet their needs. For example, your customer just bought a new pair of shoes. You could then suggest adding colorful new laces or insoles to their cart to make the shoes even more comfortable.
Again, this commercial technique is not limited to digital. At supermarket checkouts or in stores, several complementary items such as chewing gum or socks are available near the checkouts, so you can simply add them to the conveyor belt. Simple, quick, and effective!
By offering complementary products, you will increase the average order value of your customers. They will appreciate the recommendations that improve their experience and solve an additional problem they might not have considered.
The Combo to Increase Your Sales
These two commercial techniques work in different ways but share a common goal: increasing your company’s revenue by encouraging your customers to add a few extra items to their cart. These techniques are used before, during, and after the purchase to increase the conversion rate. As with any strategy, it is essential to ensure you don’t overdo it and exaggerate the suggestions. The fewer recommendations you make, the better you can target needs and ensure that the proposed products align with their purchasing intentions.
Cross-selling and up-selling are powerful techniques to increase the value of each customer. By understanding their differences and applying them wisely, you can not only increase your revenue but also improve the customer experience. With our expertise, we assist you in implementing your commercial and digital strategies.
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