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What is a Post Purchase Upsell?
A post purchase upsell is an ecommerce strategy where upsell offers are shown to the customer after they have already completed the purchase. These offers are complementary to what the customer just bought and are shown immediately after the checkout page.
While some businesses focus on pre-purchase offers (offers shown to customers before they make a purchase), post-purchase offers can actually be much more effective.
Why?
Because customers have already demonstrated their willingness to buy from you by making a purchase, so they are more likely to take advantage of an offer if it’s relevant.
Post purchase offers can come in many forms, but they all have one goal in common: to get the customer to buy more from you.
If you are using Shopify as your E-Commerce platform, there are two main types of available post-purchase offers: One Click Offers and Thank You Page Offers.
1-Click Offers VS Thank You Page Offers
Depending on the Shopify App you use, these may go by different names (the names below are what we use at AfterSell)
1. One Click Offer: A one click offer, also commonly referred to as a "one click upsell" is an offer that shows on its own page immediately after the checkout.
These offers can be purchased in 1-click, without having to re-enter payment information.
There are typically two types of 1-click offers that can be shown, upsells and downsells.
- Upsells: A post purchase upsell, also referred to as a post purchase cross-sell, is an offer to purchase a related product to the one that the customer has just bought.
For example, if a customer buys a pair of shoes you could offer them to a pair of socks, OR offer them an additional unit of the product they just bought.
- Downsells: A post purchase downsell is an offer to purchase a product that is shown after the customer declines the first upsell offer.
Usually, this is a cheaper version of the product that the customer was just shown. That said, this offer space can be used to show a product in a completely different category altogether.
2. Thank You Page: Unlike the 1-click offers that show on their own page, the thank you page offer shows on the "order confirmation" thank you page. This offer type requires customers to re-enter they payment information in order to accept the offer.
When compared to the previous offer types this offer type may seem pointless, but as we will explore further in this article, it has its uses.
Why Use Post-Purchase Offers?
Post-purchase offers can be an effective way to increase your average order value.
In fact, we've seen many AfterSell merchants increase their average order value by 25%!
Not only that, but post-purchase offers can also be a great way to boost customer satisfaction and loyalty.
This is because they give customers the opportunity to buy products that they may not have been aware of, or may not have been able to find on their own.
In other words, post-purchase offers can help you sell more to your existing customers, which can lead to more repeat business and higher customer lifetime value.
5 Tips for Optimizing Your Post-Purchase Upsells
If you want to make the most out of your post-purchase upsells, here are five tips that you can use:
1. Choosing Your Offer
The first step when setting up your post-purchase upsell is selecting your offer. This includes the product you show as well as the discount you provide. Seems simple?
Not always.
The product and offer you select here can have a IMMENSE impact on the results you see.
And if it is the first time using post-purchase offers on your store, it can be difficult to know what will work best.
When it comes to post-purchase upsells, there are 5 main approaches we have personally seen success with (along with 7000+ merchants also using AfterSell):
- Show the same product that the customer just bought at a discount (we recommend a discount of at least 20% for best results).
- Show a high ticket upsell with higher margin ($100+) followed by a lower ticket downsell (less than $20) if the customer declines the first upsell.
- Let the customer pick their favorite (show 3 products and allow the customer to choose their favorite, this can be achieved with AfterSell's multi-product offer type)
- 100% margin offers (provide first in line shipping, priority support, etc).
- Repeat subscriptions (offer a subscription product, AfterSell is compatible with the popular subscription providers and were always adding more by request)
We'll be providing a more in-depth breakdown of each strategy soon!
2. Write Copy That ACTUALLY Converts
The second tip is to modify the default offer copy to better fit your brand. To put it more simply, use words that sell!
Use language that plays on their FOMO (fear of missing out).
For example, "Get the exclusive offer before it's gone!" or "Offer not available once you leave this page!" This creates a sense of urgency that will encourage customers to take advantage of the offer while they can.
Another way to make your offer more appealing is to make the offer seem unique to the customer. This will make them feel like the offer was made just for them, which will make it more likely that they'll take you up on it.
Do you want to modify the design of your text copy? AfterSell and other post-purchase upsell apps allow you to edit the text size, styling, color, and alignment. More advanced design customizations like you see in pre-purchase page designers are not possible on the 1-click post purchase page (due to Shopify limitations).
One way around this is to add custom copy and design to product images or through the AfterSell image widgets. These can help make clicking the accept button just a bit more enticing!
3. Social Proof
The third tip is to make use of social proof.
If you can, showcase your customer reviews and testimonials on your post-purchase upsell page. This will help to boost conversions, as potential buyers will see that others have had success with your product.
You could also highlight any awards or media coverage your business has received. This will help to build trust and show that you're a reputable company.
You can use our integration partners to show your review stars directly on the offer page.
You can take it a step further and design a custom testimonial banner and add it through the image widget.
4. Use Thank You Page Offers
The fourth tip is to make use of thank you page offers. You may be wondering, why use thank you page offers when 1-click offers exist?
Well, due to Shopify limitations, 1-click offers will not show to certain customer groups. Here are the most common reasons that it would not show:
- The customer chooses to check out with a BNPL (buy now pay later) instalment service or a wallet service (such as Klarna, Affirm, AfterPay, Apple Pay, Amazon Pay, or Google Pay)
- Your store has multi-currency enabled and the order was made in a currency other than your "store currency"
- The order was paid for using a Gift Card, COD or it was a $0 (free) order
Pheww, thats a lot of cases!
That said, the good news is that thank you page offers do work with these payment methods. Lets say 20% of your customers fall in the cases listed above, if you do not set up thank you page offers your missing out on a TON of extra revenue.
5. Test, Test, Test
The fifth and final tip is to A/B test. This applies to all aspects of your business, but it's especially important when it comes to post-purchase upsells.
This is because the only way to know for sure what works and what doesn't is to experiment. So, don't be afraid to try different things and see what works best for your business.
With AfterSell you can run split tests on all your 1-click offers.
Conclusion
Post-purchase upsells can be a great way to increase your average order value and boost customer satisfaction.
By following the tips in this article, you can optimize your post-purchase upsells and make the most out of this powerful marketing tool.
Boost your sales by over 30%
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