How cross-selling can increase your sales

It is common for consumers to go to a store looking for a specific product and leave it with two or more complementary items. This technique of providing a complementary item to the one the customer is buying is called cross-selling.

It is an excellent opportunity for companies to increase their revenue in both physical and online environments. However, it must be done based on the buyer’s desires, with products that add to what they are buying.

It should also be based on a well-defined persona and good marketing strategies, involving the brand’s short and long-term needs and goals. 

This specificity is because it is necessary to know your consumers very well to achieve the expected result, so it is important to carry out several monthly analyses.

 

What is the cross-selling technique used for?

 

When it comes to ecommerce, cross-selling is an important technique to increase consumers’ average order value (AOV). It allows the customer to add items to their main purchase and increase their satisfaction with the product. 

Cross-selling generates benefits for both sides: the consumer to fulfill a need and the ecommerce to increase its revenue.

A good cross-selling displays relevant items to the user, followed by an introduction, such as “you might also like” or “check out other special offers,” that will make the consumer feel understood and special when receiving a customized ad.

On the other hand, some common mistakes need attention and should be avoided, such as showing random products to the user no relation to the product they selected. 

 

Besides increasing the AOV and revenue, see other cross-selling benefits

 

As mentioned at the beginning of this article, generating an increase in sales is usually the major goal of ecommerce using this technique.

In addition to boosting revenue, this tactic can generate many other benefits for a business. Such as:

 

Better checkout results

A good checkout makes all the difference when making a purchase. The customer should find relevant information about the confirmation, delivery, personal data, return and exchange processes in this step.  

 

Customer-brand relationship

Indirectly, cross-selling can also improve the relationship between the customer and the brand, as the consumer will get a customized result according to their search and the product they need.  

In other words, the customer will see items that will make them more satisfied if bought in the same purchase by improving the main product or complementing it.

For example, a customer navigates a Home & Decoration ecommerce looking for a sofa for his living room. By using the cross-selling technique, the website can show the customer other products related to the sofa, such as cushions, poufs, footstools, coffee tables, cup holders for sofa armrests, and others.

So the customer will see that the offer has been customized for him, and that he is important to the store.

 

Lower abandoned cart rate

According to a Baymard Institute study, the average number of abandoned carts in ecommerce reaches 69%, which is a detrimental result for those who want to increase revenue.

Therefore, implementing cross-selling in the shopping cart is a great strategy. By adding complementary products to those left by the customer in the cart, they might become interested in purchasing them, thus increasing revenue and reducing the abandonment of this crucial stage of the purchase.

 

49% of ecommerce websites apply a cross-selling strategy

 

According to the ESHOPPER analysis, 49% of ecommerce websites evaluated in the ESHOPPER Digital Commerce Ranking use cross-selling on their sites. 

When thinking about using cross-selling strategies, it is crucial to work with a specialized agency to carry out the analysis correctly, create the ideal persona for your brand, and use marketing techniques designed to develop your business.