What's the best upsell for an online store? The same product at a better price
What’s the best upsell for an online store? In most cases, it’s more of the exact product your customer is already buying, at a better price per unit.
We’ve seen this over and over across the e-commerce brands we’ve worked with. It was also one of the first changes we made for a DTC brand we worked with. Over our time working together, we took the brand from five figures to six figures in revenue, and how we structured its upsells and bundles was part of that work. After checkout, 35% of customers took a one-click offer to add another unit.
Below, you’ll see why this upsell works so well, why it suits products people only need one of, and how to work out a discount without sacrificing large portions of your extra margin.
Why does the same product at a better price work so well?
Because the hardest and most expensive part of the sale is already done. The customer found you, trusted you and decided they want the product. Selling them a second unit doesn’t ask for a new decision about something unfamiliar. It’s just a better deal on what they’ve already chosen.
It also works for you as the brand owner, for three reasons.
You paid to acquire the customer once
The ad that caught their eye, the retargeting that brought them back, the email that nudged them to check out: that cost is the same whether they buy one unit or more. Every extra unit in the same order arrives with no extra acquisition cost.
Shipping several items to one address costs less
One parcel to one address is cheaper than several parcels to several addresses. Packing time, packaging and courier fees don’t multiply when the quantity increases.
The extra margin can fund the discount
Many brands set aside a percentage of each sale’s price to cover what it costs to win the customer. On a multi-unit order, the extra units don’t need that share. So part of it can go back to the customer as a lower price per unit, and you still significantly make more profit on the order than you would on a single unit.
Does a multi-buy offer only work for consumable products?
No. Most people assume quantity discounts only make sense for things that run out, like coffee or supplements. They also work for products a customer only needs one of, and this brand’s best seller was exactly that kind of product.
Three situations make it work.
Households that need more than one
Some products are used one per person, room or car. A household with two of those needs two, and a better price on the second unit lets them sort out both in a single order.
Buying as a gift
If someone likes a product enough to buy it, they often know someone else who would use it too. People tend to know others with the same needs. A better price on the second unit makes “I should get one for my friend” an easy yes, right there in the same order.
Buying on impulse
At the moment of purchase, a lower price per unit makes the second one feel like a smart buy. The customer is already in a buying mood, and the offer asks for one small extra step.
How should you structure product bundles?
Build every bundle around the product people came for. Before we started, the brand’s bundle paired products that had little to do with each other, so it gave buyers no clear reason to add it.
We replaced it with two types of bundle:
More of the same product at a better price. Two or more units of the best seller, with a lower price per unit.
The product plus closely related items at a better price. Items that go with the main product and cost less together than bought separately. For this brand, that was another product, sold on its own, that could also be used at the same time as the best seller.
Why do unrelated bundles underperform?
Someone buying your best seller has one specific need in mind. A bundle with an unrelated item asks them to make a second buying decision about something they weren’t looking for. A closely related item builds on the same need, so it feels like part of the purchase instead of a detour.
How did the same-product upsell work for the brand?
We offered it in two places.
On the product page. Multi-buy pricing let buyers choose two or more units at a better price before adding to cart.
After checkout. A one-click post-purchase offer let them add another unit in any colour they wanted, at 30% off, with no card or address details to enter again.
35% of customers took the post-purchase offer. We believe most were buying a second one for their own household, or as a gift for friends or family, so letting them pick the colour made the offer fit either reason.
What should you check before choosing an upsell?
Start with your own store data. Before changing any offer for the brand, we looked at four numbers, all of which you can find in Shopify.
What to check | What it tells you |
|---|---|
Average order value (AOV) | What a typical order is worth today, the baseline every upsell has to beat |
Customer lifetime value (LTV) | How much a customer spends with you over time, and so how much you can afford to spend winning them |
Repeat purchases | Whether customers come back on their own, or whether the first order is usually the only one |
What returning customers bought | Which products people choose a second time, your clearest signal for what to offer in multiples |
That last row is often the most telling. If returning customers keep buying the product they bought the first time, offer it in multiples at the first purchase instead of waiting weeks for them to come back.
How much should you discount the second unit?
Keep the discount smaller than what you save on acquisition and shipping, so a multi-unit order always earns more profit than a single unit.
Here’s a simple example with made-up round numbers (these are not the client’s figures). Say a product sells for $40 and costs you $12. You budget $10 per order to win the customer. Shipping costs $8 for one unit and $2 for each extra unit.
Order | Customer pays | Product cost | Shipping | Acquisition cost | Profit per order |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 unit at full price | $40 | $12 | $8 | $10 | $10 |
2 units for $72 (10% off) | $72 | $24 | $10 | $10 | $28 |
3 units for $99 (17.5% off) | $99 | $36 | $12 | $10 | $41 |
Even with a discount, the two-unit order earns almost three times the profit of a single unit. The acquisition cost was paid once, and shipping barely increased.
How to set your own tiers
Run the sums with your real product, shipping and ad costs before you launch.
Keep it to two or three tiers, so the choice stays simple.
Show the saving plainly, as a price per unit or an amount saved.
Once your checkout converts well, add the same offer as a one-click post-purchase upsell.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best upsell for an e-commerce store?
For most online stores, the best upsell is more of the same product the customer is already buying, at a lower price per unit. The customer has already chosen the product, and you have already paid to acquire them, so a second unit is the easiest and most profitable thing to add.
What’s the difference between an upsell, a cross-sell and a bundle?
An upsell raises the value of what the customer is buying, such as two units instead of one. A cross-sell offers a different but related product. A bundle packages items together at one price, and can be either.
Do quantity discounts work for products people only need one of?
Yes. Customers buy extra units of single-use products for someone else in their household, as gifts for friends and family, and on impulse, especially when the saving is clear at the moment of purchase.
Should I bundle unrelated products?
Usually not. Unrelated items ask the buyer to make a second decision about something they weren’t shopping for. Bundles built around the main product, either more of it or closely related items, give the buyer a clear reason to add them.
How big should a multi-buy discount be?
Small enough that a multi-unit order still earns more profit than a single-unit order. Work it out from your product cost, shipping cost per extra unit and what you spend to acquire each customer.
See how it fit into the bigger picture
The upsell was one piece of a wider project for this brand, alongside Meta ads, product page changes and Klaviyo email flows. You can read how it all came together in the full case study.
Wondering what your best upsell is? We can look at your store’s numbers with you and find it. Get in touch with One World Ideas.