What is a ‘Shopify Upsell App’ and How Does It Work?
Upselling is a business strategy to encourage customers to spend more on an ecommerce store. This might be in the form of encouragement to buy a higher-end product, certain upgrades to the current product, accessories for the product they intend to purchase, or simply more products. All these processes can be streamlined by using Shopify upsell apps.
The process of upselling starts from the design of your webpage itself. This includes the positioning of products and the pricing of related products. This also extends to the recommendations you show to the customer on the product and checkout pages of your Shopify store.
However, Shopify upselling is not limited to the ensign of the website and the buying process. It also includes targeted advertisements, strategies towards cart abandonment, and product recommendations after purchase.
The exact strategies you need to follow for proper upselling depends on several factors. These include the specific type of product you are selling, related products and accessories available in your store, and the possible upgrades available to the product.
While you might be able to do some of this manually, it is practically impossible to have a proper upselling strategy without external aids.
Upsells apps for Shopify enable you to implement your upselling strategies in a streamlined way. They manage the technical processes of upselling, allowing you to focus on formulating proper strategies. If offered by the app, data analytics can provide you with invaluable insights into the effectiveness and shortcomings of your strategies.
The exact features and functionality differ based on the specific app. We will be covering the top 10 Shopify upsell apps to give you a condensed overview.
Best Shopify Upsell Apps
Detailed Review of Shopify Upsell Apps
1) Vitals: All-in-One Marketing
Key Features:
Vitals: All-in-One Marketing is an upsell and marketing app for Shopify that comes with upselling and cross-selling features. It enables you to implement various upselling strategies in your Shopify store like volume discounts, product bundles, and customized volume-based deals.
Vitals: All-in-One Marketing also comes with some uniques features like the ability to replay live visitor sessions. Apart from upselling, it also offers customer service-oriented features like using social media platforms to provide support. While not directly related to upselling, these features are also instrumental in increasing sales.
Pros:
- Enables you to build product bundles to upsell and clear slow-moving products.
- Has the provision to add volume discounts, tiered pricing, and offers like Buy X Get Y for free.
- Offers a plethora of general marketing features apart from upselling.
Cons:
- Has only one pricing tier at $29.99/month.
- A wide range of features complicates implementation and involves learning curves to use all features efficiently.
2) ReConvert Upsell & Cross Sell
Key Features:
ReConvert Upsell & Cross Sell aims to leverage the order confirmation page to acquire repeat customers and upsell on your Shopify store. It focuses primarily on providing order confirmation page widgets with various features. ReConvert is also one of the best email marketing apps for Shopify.
These include discount pop-ups with countdown timers and personalized product recommendations. It also allows you to customize the entire order confirmation page based on parameters like product, product category, and customer details.
Pros:
- Offers a free tier with all available features, but is limited by the number of monthly orders.
- ReConvert Upsell & Cross Sell targets only the order confirmation or thank you page and is easy to use and implement.
- Has excellent inbuild offer suggestions.
Cons:
- Even the highest-priced subscription tier at $29.99/month is limited to 499 orders per month. You will be automatically charged extra if your orders exceed this threshold.
- Some glitches have been reported when installing and implementing this app.
3) Frequently Bought Together
Key Features:
Frequently Bought Together is a Shopify upsell app that uses its proprietary AI algorithm to provide product recommendations and create product bundles. It is highly configurable and has 24/7 support. It also functions as a good Shopify product reviews app to help customers make better purchases.
The developers of this app claim one of the highest conversion rates on the Shopify platform due to their state-of-the-art algorithms. It also allows your customers to buy related products with a single click. This helps increase the order value and, in turn, your revenue.
Pros:
- Frequently Bought Together uses your store database to provide automatic product recommendations and product bundles.
- It allows you to create product recommendations manually and fine-tune the automatic recommendations.
- Provides a highly customizable user interface to match the theme of your Shopify store.
- Support is available only through Email.
- You might need to contact support to integrate this app with your Shopify store properly.
4) Pop Ups, SMS & Email Marketing
Key Features:
Pop Ups, SMS & Email Marketing is a Shopify app that enables you to automate Email and SMS marketing. They also provide subscription and sales pop-ups on your Shopify store.
The features offered are primarily focused on promoting upselling. They also provide one-click upsells and abandoned cart recovery features.
Pros:
- Offers a wide range of features, including Email and SMS marketing, discount manager, product bundling, and gamified coupon codes.
- Has a speedy onboarding and implementation time due to their efficient source code.
- Can sync data with several Email marketing and SMS apps.
Cons:
- Offers very few general marketing-related features. You will need to opt for other apps to get the full range of services required.
- Email marketing services can be a hit or miss.
5) Volume & Discounted Pricing
Key Features:
Volume & Discounted Pricing is a Shopify upsell app that enables you to provide volume-based discounts on your Shopify store. It also supports quantity breaks and tiered pricing.
They enable you to promote upselling by displaying quantity-based offered and discounted pricing to your customers.
You can set custom pricing on specific products or collections. You can also set the discount tiers and pricing based on the product tags. It's a great discount app for Shopify to include in your repertoire of apps.
Pros:
- Has a clear focus on volume-based discounts and tiered pricing.
- Incentivises customers to spend more and supports multiple currencies.
Cons:
- The feature range is extremely limited.
- The subscription costs are relatively expensive compared to the features offered. Better value options are available.
6) Honeycomb Upsell & Cross Sell
Key Features:
Honeycomb Upsell & Cross Sell employs upsell funnel tactics to maximize revenue from each customer. They enable you to provide non-intrusive cart and post-purchase upsell options on your Shopify store.
You can also customize and configure discounts based on a range of factors. This app also lets you track the impact of the various upselling campaigns on your business parameters.
Pros:
- It can be integrated seamlessly with any Shopify store without any developer support.
- Fully customizable interface to match your Shopify store theme.
- Enables you to customize upsell funnels based on specific triggers.
Cons:
- Opting for the full range of features can be very expensive at $149.99/month. The competition provides noticeably better value.
7) AfterSell Post Purchase Upsell
Key Features:
AfterSell Post Purchase Upsell is a Shopify upsell app that enables you to promote one-click upsells and order confirmation page upsells. They primarily focus on post-purchase upselling but also offers store-wide cross-selling features.
Pros:
- Allows you to offer time-sensitive discounts after checkout.
- Provides additional features like reviews, FAQs, and detailed performance analysis.
Cons:
- Even the highest tier subscription at $149.99/month is limited to 5000 orders. You will be charged $0.03 per additional order over the limit.
- It might cause issues with other apps you are using.
8) Bundles App | PickyStory
Key Features:
PickyStory is a Shopify upsell app that allows you to offer a predecided bundle or give customers the option to build their own bundle. You can then provide various discounts on bundled products, including volume discounts and Buy X Get Y offers. This app provides similar features to a Shopify product bundles app.
On top of some additional and unique features, PickyStory supports most of the necessary upselling and cross-selling features.
Pros:
- Offers some unique features like lookbook and shoppable galleries.
- Allows your customers to create their own bundles while retaining discounts.
- Supports integrations with a wide range of translation apps.
Cons:
- PickyStory is not as popular as some of its competitors. Limited reviews are available.
- The unique features like lookbook are not relevant for all kinds of Shopify stores.
9) Zoorix: Cross Sell Cart Upsell
Key Features:
Zoorix is a Shopify upsell app that promotes additional purchases at the checkout stage. They provide one-click recommendations, product bundle upsells, and volume-based discounts.
Zoorix also provides AI-backed product recommendations, quantity discounts, and slide cart. You can alter the product recommendations manually if needed. It's one of the best product bundle apps for Shopify.
Pros:
- Provides comprehensive in-cart upselling features.
- Supports multiple currencies and languages.
Cons:
- The features offered are mainly focused on checkout page upsells. You will need to opt for other apps to explore additional upselling strategies.
10) In Cart Upsell & Cross Sell
Key Features:
In Cart Upsell & Cross Sell is a Shopify app to upsell related products when customers are at the check-out page. It aims to blend in with your Shopify store and promote upsells seamlessly. This is less disruptive to the customer and can lead to higher conversion.
Pros:
- Focuses on provisioning a seamless and interruption-free experience for your customers.
- Can automatically recommend products based on their AI algorithms.
Cons:
- The low visibility and less aggressive upsell strategy might not suit your business.
- Some bugs and glitches have been reported.
Selecting the Best Shopify Upsell App- How-to Guide
The overview of the top upsell apps for Shopify must have given you an idea about the range of features on offer. You will need to choose the right app for your Shopify store based on the upselling strategies that you want to implement., If you are unable to decide and want to try out the apps, most of the options on the list provide a free trial period.
Apart from the features on offer, there are several other factors that you need to consider before choosing a upsell app for your Shopify store. We are briefly summarizing some of the most important ones.
1) Subscription Cost
Even though the overall subscription cost might seem negligible compared to your overall revenue, it is essential to consider this point while looking for upsell apps for your Shopify store.
Do note that most Shopify upsell apps follow tiered pricing based on the volumes of orders. This can quickly add up if your store has a high sales volume.
2) Range of Customization Features Offered
Whether you opt for in cart upsells or pop-ups, it is necessary to make them match the overall design and theme so that they do not look out of place.
Customers generally distrust upselling tactics. Therefore it is necessary to make your upsell apps blend in and make them appear seamless in your store. It's a good idea to offer returning customers rewards through a Shopify loyalty app.
It is always an added advantage if your email marketing can also follow your Shopify store's overall look and feel.
3) Ease of Implementation and Integration with your Other Apps
It is essential to consider the ease of onboarding and implementation with your Shopify store. If the onboarding process appears cumbersome, look at the available support options.
As some of the upsell apps have a pretty limited set of features, you will probably use other apps to fill in the gaps.
Therefore it is necessary to see if the upsell app chosen by you can work seamlessly with the other essential apps without causing glitches.Check out some of the best Shopify returns management apps to manage your product returns and exchange.
4) Customer Support
Right from integration with your Shopify store to the occasional technical glitches, it is necessary to have proper customer support for your upsell app.
You should look for apps with instantly reachable customer support channels, preferably via phone call or live chat. A delayed response through other channels like email can mean prolonged downtime for your store and loss of revenue.
5) Reliability of the Software
The overall reliability of the software should always be a top concern for you. Glitches leading to downtime can lead to a significant loss of revenue for your store.
As Shopify upsell apps directly control the prices of your products, glitches in this space can cause a significant loss of revenue and erode trust in your business.
6) Market Specific Needs
You should choose the necessary features and thereby the proper upselling app for your Shopify store based on the products available in your store.
While some apps may offer fashion-specific features, others might be better for wholesaling. Alternatively, you can take a look at the Shopify wholesale apps to choose one for your business.
7) Reputation and Customer Reviews
Every app on the market invariably ends up being reviewed by multiple sources. It is always useful to check out those reviews to get a clear understanding about the app's performance.
As for the consistency of the app under consideration, one should go through its history and reputation in the market. The above mentioned factors should provide the right indicators for selecting a suitable Upsell app for Shopify.
Overall Recommendation
Most of the Shopify apps covered by us have similar and often overlapping features. Even then, most have their primary areas of focus and standout features, while some lack few specific features. Generally, cross-selling features are also bundled with the upselling features.
For ecommerce businesses looking for a general marketing app with a particular focus on upselling and cross-selling, Vitals: All-in-One Marketing can be an excellent option. It offers all necessary marketing features, along with specific features for upselling.
For ecommerce businesses looking to upsell in one specific part of the buying process, AfterSell Post Purchase Upsell and Zoorix: Cross Sell Cart Upsell are good options.
If you are looking for a seamless and non-aggressive upselling strategy, you can look at In Cart Upsell & Cross Sell.
For Shopify stores dealing primarily in apparel and fashion, PickyStory provides some unique features.
FAQ
1. Which are the best Upsell Apps for Shopify?
Some popular UpsellApps for Shopify are Vitals: All-in-One Marketing, ReConvert Upsell & Cross Sell, Pop Ups, SMS & Email Marketing, Honeycomb Upsell & Cross Sell, and AfterSell Post Purchase Upsell.
To choose the best Shopify upsell app, you will need a thorough understanding of their pros and cons, and the needs of your business.
2. How to choose the best Shopify Upsell Apps for your eCommerce business?
To choose the best Shopify Upsell app for your ecommerce business, you need to consider the need of your business and the features on offer. Some other points worth considering are subscription cost, customer support, and the overall reliability of the software.