Upsells and cross-sells are some of the easiest ways to boost sales. While they’re used primarily on product pages, they still have a place on the cart page and can prove quite beneficial if implemented properly. To be clear, I’m referring here to the cart page or slide-in panel when they’re accessing the cart (typically from the cart icon in the header).

A customer on the cart page would be a more receptive target to upsells and cross-sells compared to customers on other pages.

While someone on the product page may just be looking at options, someone on the cart page is prepared to spend money. Such a customer has done all the looking they can and already added the product to their cart. Checking out is the only step left. Such a customer is already prepared to spend money and all you need to do is nudge them into spending just a little bit more.

How to make cart page upsells and cross-sells more effective

Keep product recommendations secondary – Aggressive product recommendations are bound to annoy your shoppers and possibly drive them away. They should not interfere with the checkout process in any way and if anything, should be below the checkout dialog box.

Keep product recommendations relevant – Relevance is the key to successful upselling and cross-selling. Someone who just bought a bicycle would be more open to purchasing a helmet compared to someone who just bought a pair of high heels.

Keep alternative products relatively cheap – The product you recommend shouldn’t outprice a customer’s pre-selected product by more than 25%. The goal is to get your customers to spend just a little bit more, not to empty their bank accounts.