Maximizing Ecommerce Revenue: How Post-Purchase Upsells Can Help
Advice
8th December 2022
Post-purchase upsells are a great way to increase ecommerce revenue. They allow stores to leverage the existing journey of their customers to boost average order value and drive more sales. By taking advantage of post-purchase upsells, ecommerce businesses can increase user engagement, improve customer loyalty, and maximize revenue.
In this post, we’ll discuss the various strategies ecommerce businesses can use to implement post-purchase upsells effectively and how they can increase ecommerce revenue.
What is a post-purchase upsell?
A post-purchase upsell is an ecommerce strategy that encourages customers to purchase additional items after completing a transaction. It’s a way for ecommerce businesses to suggest and recommend relevant products or services that complement their initial purchase.
This can be done through targeted emails, product notifications, pop-ups on the ecommerce site, and more. By suggesting related items, ecommerce stores can increase their average order value (AOV) and generate more revenue.
How your brand benefits from post-purchase upsells
By utilizing post-purchase upsells, ecommerce stores can increase customer loyalty and engagement. Customers are more likely to purchase from ecommerce stores that offer relevant items that meet their needs.
Additionally, post-purchase upsells act as an additional revenue stream for ecommerce brands as they help to boost average order value and generate more sales. This is especially beneficial for ecommerce stores with a wide selection of products as it allows them to increase their overall revenue without having to invest in additional marketing efforts.
You can improve conversion rates
You can grow your revenue
You can build and foster a relationship with your customers
Improve conversion rates
Post-purchase upsells are a great way to improve ecommerce conversion rates. By offering relevant suggestions and recommendations, ecommerce stores can increase their conversion rates and drive more sales.
Additionally, post-purchase upsells offer ecommerce businesses the opportunity to showcase their products or services in context, which can help customers make an informed decision. For example, if a customer purchased a pair of shoes, you can recommend specific clothing items that pair well with the shoes.
This can lead to increased customer satisfaction and higher conversion rates for ecommerce stores.
You can grow your revenue
Post-purchase upsells can help stores boost revenue even further. By offering relevant items and services, ecommerce businesses can increase average order value and generate more sales. Additionally, ecommerce stores can use post-purchase upsells as an opportunity to cross-sell related products or services, which can further increase their revenue.
One example of post-purchase upsells increasing revenue is the rise of branded tracking pages. Instead of sending customers to a carrier’s website to track their packages, brands are now sending customers to a page that has the customers’ tracking information on it. These branded pages are filled with recommended products. Customers are more likely to purchase additional products while checking the status of their existing order.
By leveraging post-purchase upsells, ecommerce businesses can dramatically improve their revenue and maximize profits.
You can build and foster a relationship with your customers
Post-purchase upsells are a great way to build and foster relationships with customers. By suggesting relevant items and services, ecommerce stores can demonstrate that they understand their customers’ needs and wants. This can help ecommerce businesses establish trust and loyalty among their customers, which will result in higher conversion rates and increased revenue.
Additionally, ecommerce stores can use post-purchase upsells to reward their loyal customers with exclusive discounts and offers which will further strengthen the relationship.
How to implement post-purchase upsells
If you’re going to use upsell techniques, then it shouldn’t come across like you’re trying to sell at any opportunity.
This means you should make sure any further products you upsell are relevant to the purchase they’ve previously made. You need to show that you understand the needs of your customer and you’re not just trying to sell anything to them.
You need to show that you understand the needs of your customer and you’re not just trying to sell anything you can to them. The focus should be on providing value. You should do this by choosing an upsell product to be something the customer is familiar with.
Post-purchase emails
Post-purchase emails are exactly what they sound like – emails sent after a purchase is made. By sending targeted emails with relevant product recommendations, ecommerce stores can increase average order value and generate more sales.
Additionally, ecommerce businesses use post-purchase emails to engage customers and keep them informed about new offers or services. Post-purchase emails can also help ecommerce stores build relationships with their customers by providing them with personalized content. What we mean by this is that you don’t always have to send emails with product recommendations.
For example, if you sell supplements, consider sending articles and videos created by your brand relevant to the products a customer purchased. This can result in higher conversion rates and increased revenue for ecommerce brands.
Post-purchase SMS
Post-purchase SMS can be a great way to increase ecommerce revenue. By sending targeted messages with relevant product recommendations, ecommerce stores can help drive more sales and increase average order value.
Additionally, ecommerce businesses use post-purchase SMS to engage customers and keep them informed about new products and order tracking information. Post-purchase SMS can also help ecommerce stores build relationships with their customers by providing them with personalized content. This can result in higher conversion rates and increased revenue for ecommerce brands.
Branded tracking pages
Branded tracking pages can be a great way to boost ecommerce revenue. By providing customers with branded tracking pages, ecommerce stores can improve the customer experience and make it easier for customers to track their orders.
Additionally, ecommerce businesses use branded tracking pages to keep customers updated about their order status, which can help foster trust and loyalty among ecommerce customers.
This can result in increased customer satisfaction and higher conversion rates for ecommerce stores, ultimately leading to more sales and higher revenue.
Loyalty rewards
Loyalty & rewards programs can be a great way to increase ecommerce revenue. By offering rewards or discounts for repeat purchases, ecommerce stores can encourage customers to come back and shop more often.
Additionally, ecommerce businesses use loyalty rewards programs as an opportunity to build relationships with their customers. The rewards should make customers feel valued. If possible, offer personalized rewards to your customers to encourage them to hit loyalty milestones and keep coming back.
Pop-ups after checkout
Pop-ups after checkout can be a great way to boost ecommerce revenue. By offering relevant product recommendations or discounts, ecommerce stores can encourage customers to complete their purchase and increase average order value. Additionally, ecommerce businesses use pop-ups after checkout as an opportunity to build relationships with their customers by providing them with personalized content. This can result in higher conversion rates and increased revenue for ecommerce brands.
Post-purchase retargeting ads
Even with the hit ads took after iOS 14, ads are still a great channel for targeting existing customers. Post-purchase retargeting can be a great way to increase ecommerce revenue. By targeting customers with relevant ads after they have made a purchase, ecommerce stores can encourage customers to make more purchases or come back and shop again.
Additionally, ecommerce businesses use post-purchase retargeting as an opportunity to build relationships with their customers by providing them with personalized product recommendations and content. This can result in higher conversion rates and increased revenue for ecommerce brands.
After leaving a review
Offering incentives for customers to leave reviews after making a purchase can greatly increase ecommerce revenue. By encouraging customers to leave reviews, ecommerce stores can boost customer trust and loyalty among ecommerce customers.
Replenishment reminders
Replenishment reminders can be a great way to boost ecommerce revenue. By reminding customers when they need to restock their favorite products, ecommerce stores can encourage customers to shop more often.
Examples of post-purchase upsells done right
Offline stores have been using upsell techniques forever. Think about when you go to a fast food restaurant, and they ask if you’d like fries with your order.
In the online world, Etsy is one store who have adopted upselling-technique.
When a customer makes a purchase, Etsy, like most shops, sends a purchase receipt.
On that receipt, the customer can see details of their purchase. They can see how much it cost and where they’ve chosen to have it shipped. They also include items you might also be interested in. They curate these images from the images you’ve previously looked at on Etsy.
This is good for these reasons:
Familiar – they use items the customer has already looked at, at some point.
Value – they know the customer is interested in these items and this upsell might act as a friendly reminder for them to buy them.
Not “sales-y” – they include it at the bottom of the receipt email. It takes the focus away from the upsell and allows those who want to ignore it, to ignore it.
Another great way to upsell your products is by linking them to your loyalty program. In this example from Every, you can see that underneath the personal points balance reminder is information about how to earn points, how many points you can earn for each action, and then how many points exclusive products will cost. By suggesting exclusive products and making it clear how many points each product is worth, it motivates customers to carry out the necessary loyalty actions needed to make that purchase.
Takeaways
By offering relevant product recommendations or discounts after checkout, ecommerce stores can encourage customers to complete their purchase and increase average order value. Additionally, ecommerce businesses use post-purchase upsells as an opportunity to build relationships with their customers by providing them with personalized content.
From pop-ups after checkout, to post-purchase retargeting, to offering incentives for reviews, and providing personalized product recommendations, ecommerce businesses can take advantage of a range of upsells to increase revenue.
Georgie is the Content Marketing Manager at LoyaltyLion. Georgie has spent most of her 6+ years marketing in B2B companies, and has developed a huge passion for bringing B2B voices alive through engaging copy and memorable storytelling.
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