If run an e-commerce business and want to increase your, then it is crucial to focus on increasing the overall average order value (AOV). Basically, you should try to make every buyer spend as much as possible when placing orders.
Now, two of the best ways to increase AOV are to make order bump offers and upsell offers.
Today, we will discuss a complete order bump vs upsell comparison to understand which one of these is more effective.
In the process, you will get a comprehensive understanding of what each of these strategies are and if you should use them for your business.
So let’s begin.
Understanding Order Bumps and Upsells
Let us get an overview of what an order bump and an upsell is.
What is Order Bump?
An order bump is a quick offer you make right on the checkout page. This is usually a small discount on a complimentary or related product to what the buyer is about to purchase. For example, if someone is about to purchase a t-shirt, you may offer a matching pair of joggers as an order bump on the checkout page.
These products are usually of low cost (not necessarily a must), and buyers can easily add them to the order with a single click before making the payment.
Order bump is a smart tactic that capitalizes on the psychological principle of convenience and the desire to enhance the initial purchase.
What Does Upsell Mean?
Upselling is another tactic where the goal is to increase the overall purchase value by suggesting related or higher-value items.
You could try persuading customers to buy a more premium or upgraded version of the product they intend to purchase or have already bought. You could also offer a related product as a post-purchase one-click upsell or an in-cart offer.
For example, suppose a person just went through checkout for a Shampoo. Immediately, you can make a one click upsell offer on a hair conditioner from the same brand.
Comparing Order Bump vs Upsell
Order bump focuses on immediate supplementary purchases at the point of sale, while upsell involves convincing customers to opt for a higher-priced or upgraded item. Here’s a table summarizing their differences:
| Aspect | Order Bump | Upsell |
|---|---|---|
| Functionality | Prompts add-ons at checkout | Suggests premium upgrades in-cart or after checkout |
| Goal | Boost impulse purchases and AOB | Increase purchase value |
| Timing | Pre-checkout | Pre or post-purchase |
| Position | Checkout page | Cart Page, Post-purchase Sales Page, Emails |
| Placement | Smaller, low-priced items | Higher-value alternatives or related products |
Pros And Cons Of Using Order Bumps And Upsell Offers to Increase AOV
| Order Bumps | Upsell Offers |
|---|---|
| Pros: 1. Enhances spontaneous purchases 2. Simplifies checkout experience 3. Increases revenue per customer visit Cons: 1. May distract from primary purchase 2. Limited impact on high-value items 3. Potential for increased cart abandonment | Pros: 1. May distract from primary purchase 2. Limited impact on high-value items 3. Potential for increased cart abandonment Cons: 1. Requires persuasive messaging 2. Possible resistance due to added cost 3. May extend purchase decision time |
What Can You Sell More With Order Bumps And Upsells?
- Selling With Order Bumps:
You may either sell more quantities of the same product or low-priced related products using order bumps.
- Selling With Upsells:
You may suggest high-value alternatives or related products as upsell suggestions/offers.
Which One Is More Likely To Convert More?
- Psychologically, order bumps are more likely to sell as you are making sure the buyer doesn’t have to go too much overboard with his/her budget while making a purchase. However, the revenue earned will be minimal.
- Upsells on the other hand, will convert less, but every conversion will result in a high revenue amount.
Let us look at a direct example. Suppose John is about to purchase a pair of Sneakers at $50.
Let’s say your overal cost for these sneakers is $35, i.e. $15 profit.
- Your possible order bump offer could be 3 pairs of socks at $30 after a discount.
If your overall cost is $8 per pair, then you will make about $6 extra as profit, making a total of 15+6 = $21 as profit.
- But, in case of upselling, you could offer a better pair of sneakers from a different, more popular brand at $80 after a discount.
If your overall cost of this new pair of sneakers is $50, then that’s a $30 profit.
Here, you can see that, using upsell, you only sold 1 product, but made more profit than what you sold as upsell. However, this will change if more pople accept order bumps and less people accept upsells.
From this, we can deduce that order bumps are great for e-commerce businesses, while upsells are more effective for service-based, high ticket products.
Tips To Implement Order Bumps For High Results
Let us look at how you can use order bumps the right way.
- Offer something that won’t break the bank
Order bumps are last-minute offers. Hence the price of the product should not be expensive. You do not want people to leave the checkout page just to check out your offer product. - Make sure the offer product is relevant or complimentary
People are more likely to accept an order bump offer that they can use with what they are purchasing at the moment. Making a random offer that they cannot relate to won’t convert. - Offer a small discount that’s exclusive
You should always consider offering some sort of discount to add an extra push. This discount shouldn’t be available in your regular store. - Use urgency & FOMO tactics
Sometimes creating a sense of FOMO in the offer title such as “One-time offer! Don’t miss out!” may push buyers to accept the offer. - Keep the design catchy but clean
Use some contrast color and image for the offer, but make sure it does not make the checkout page look cluttered.
Tips To Use Upsell Offers For High Results
- Offer more value for money
Even if the upsell offer may cost more than what the buyer purchased, you can still sell a high-priced product instead if you can offer more value for money. The idea is to use a persuasive copy to convey the greater value people will get just by paying a bit more. - Implement One-click upsells
In the case of post-purchase upsells, people don’t want to spend too much time making decisions. Hence, implement one-click upsell so that people can accept it instantly without having to go through checkout again.
So Which One Should You Use? Order Bump Or Upsell Offers?
Between order bump vs upsell, it’s safe to say, they are not alternates to each other. Rather, it’s more beneficial to use both of them for your online business to get the maximum results.
One will help bump up the order values during checkout, the other will aim to make the customer purchase products of even higher value. For an e-commerce business, this is an ideal scenario if you can plan the right offers for the right products purchased.
For high-ticket businesses, order bumps will be less effective or often not usable due to a lack of low-priced products. But upsells will always be a good offer.
So the bottom line, try to use both together.
Reliable Tools To Make Order Bumps Offers And Upsell Offers
1. WPFunnels
WPFunnels is the easiest sales funnel builder in WordPress where you will find the option to offer order bumps and one-click upsell offers for your WooCommerce store. The best part about this plugin is, you will get a special add-on called Global funnels, with which, you may create conditional offers to your buyers based on what they have selected to try and purchase.
On top of that, you may customize the checkout page, order bump offer design & content, and set up dynamic product offers on your upsell pages based on what is being purchased.
- Check out WPFunenls’ Global Funnels now!
2. ClickFunnels
ClickFunnels is a popular sales funnel builder that you may use to create a complete funnel journey to sell products online. While this is not integrated to your own website, you can easily set up products and plan funnels with order bumps and upsell offers easily in a single all-in-one platform.
- Explore ClickFunnels here!
3. ThriveCart:
ThriveCart is a shopping cart tool that lets you prepare custom checkout pages with order bump offers, and post-purchase upsell offers for your online store. It’s strong point is having full control over customizing the checkout form.
- Learn more about ThriveCart here!
Conclusion
Now that you have good idea about order bumps and upsell offers, it’s time for you to optimize your business with the right offers and increase AOV.
There is no point choosing between two tactics that can be used simultaneously for profitable outcome. Simple plan to use both and start taking the next step to growing your business.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What are the different types of upselling techniques?
There are at least five different types of upsells you can offer customers.
- Product or Service Upgrade
- Product Quantities
- Product or Service Protection
- Product Customization
- Extended Service Period
2. I offer coaching services. Which one should I use among order bump vs upsell?
If it’s a high-ticket coaching service, then making upsell offers would be a good option.
But if you create courses, then you can use both at the same time.
3. Is there any free service to make order bump offers?
Yes, you may use the basic version of WPFunenls to make order bump offers for specific products completely free. Check it out here.
