Cross-selling and upselling strategies: definitions and implementation

Cross-selling and upselling are marketing strategies that encourage sales.

More and more brands are adopting these strategies with 88% of businesses¹ already using upselling and 79%² using cross-selling. These strategies help customers to discover new products² and can generate up to 42% in increased revenue³.

Cross-selling and upselling: definitions

What is Cross-selling?

Cross-selling involves presenting a customer with a product that is complementary to the product they have just bought.

To trigger an impulse purchase⁴, the suggested product must have something to do with the ordered product⁵ and must enable the shopper to get more value from it⁶.

Cross-selling is considered as less aggressive⁷ than upselling, providing the customer with a better global shopping experience. From a business perspective, they both increase the average shopping cart value and can help to offload certain products⁸ (new products, discontinued items, products that are difficult to sell on their own…).

What is Upselling?

Upselling involves suggesting a higher range product⁹ than the one that a customer was initially intending to buy.

This strategy can significantly increase the sales margin¹⁰ and comes with many benefits¹¹: increased customer satisfaction, increased brand confidence, customer loyalty…

To ensure the efficiency of this strategy, it is important to create a « win-win¹² » situation with customers by suggesting high range products in line with their needs: more advanced features, better performance, improved version…

For a successful cross-selling strategy

Position your recommendations strategically

To implement a successful cross-selling strategy, it is essential to offer customers complementary products in strategic areas of your website, in concordance with the stage of the customer journey.

For example, you may wish to present product recommendations on the shopper's cart page before they confirm their order. Through this page, product recommendations can generate up to +3%⁶ in increased sales. You could also include these recommendations in a post-purchase email. 64% of marketing professionals¹³ say that this cross-selling strategy is the most effective for them.

Placing product recommendations in the right place and at the right time is essential: 35% of Amazon's revenue¹⁴ is generated by their powerful cross-selling strategy.

Choose the right products

For an effective cross-selling strategy, the products you present must be relevant and consistent with the shopper's needs: previous purchases, browsing history, preferences…

Many businesses explain the relevance of their suggestions with phrases such as « People who have bought this product also bought…¹⁵ », « Why not try… », « Associated product… ». For example, on their product page, Decathlon uses the phrase « You might also like¹⁵ » to reinforce the relevance of their suggestions.

It is important to get the wording right as these phrases appear on 66% of eCommerce sites¹⁶ and have an impact on the volume of sales¹⁵.

For a successful upselling strategy

To develop an upselling strategy, you must build a clear and structured sales pitch¹⁷ highlighting the benefits for the buyer in choosing a product of a higher quality than the product initially considered.

Some of the most frequently used selling points are the quality price ratio, additional features, or premium customer service.

This type of argument is crucial and can increase the customer lifetime value by 20 to 40%³ and optimize their brand loyalty by 75%⁴.

Give proof of a product's added value

To make an upselling strategy work, you must provide shoppers with concrete proof of the added value of the relevant product. One of the main techniques used to provide this proof is the comparison chart.

As part of their upselling strategy, Apple has integrated a comparison chart on one of its product pages to present the different versions⁶ of its MacBook pro. Customers can quickly see the benefits of buying a higher range product with claims of increased storage capacity, better autonomy, presence of a Touch Bar…

Tech companies generate 10 to 30% of their revenue¹⁸ through this type of strategy.

In conclusion, cross-selling and upselling are two powerful sales levers allowing businesses to improve their sales figures. To guarantee the efficiency of these strategies, the products should be presented to customers at the right time and in strategic areas of the website. Product recommendations must also be relevant and personalized according to the customer profile to best support the shopper through their journey on all distribution channels: eCommerce site, mobile apps, marketplaces, social media…

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² PayPal. (2024, June 20). Upselling and cross-selling strategies to help boost revenue. paypal.com.
³ Vaghasiya, K. Top 14 Upselling Statistics Cross-Selling Statistics (2024). wisernotify.com.
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⁹ Qu'est-ce que l'upselling (vente incitative) ? salesforce.com.
¹⁰ Techniques et stratégies de vente incitative. business.linkedin.com.
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¹³ HubSpot. La liste des statistiques de vente et service client en 2024. hubspot.fr.
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¹⁷ Allal, M. (2024, April 10). Upsell : définition, conseils et exemples pour vendre plus. blog.hubspot.fr.
¹⁸ business.trustedshops.fr. (2022, April 4). Comment le cross-selling et l'Upselling augmentent vos ventes.