1. Home
About
Contact
#1 Subscribed Ecommerce Blog
Brought to you by
Digital Commerce
Mobile
Multichannel » »
Social Media » »
Search Marketing » »
Web Design » »
Conversion Optimization » »
Merchandising
Home Merchandising Cross-Sells and Upsells: What is the Diff?
Cross-Sells and Upsells: What is the Diff?
July 6th, 2009 by Linda Bustos 5
Like 9
Tw eet 4
3
Cross-Sell, upsell, really – what’s the diff? Generally…
An upsell is to get the customer to spend more money – buy a more expensive model of the same type of product, or add features / warranties that relate to the product in question.
A cross-sell is to get the customer to spend more money buy adding more products from other categories than the product being viewed or purchased.
The terms cross-sell and upsell are often used interchangeably because, let’s face it, this gets confusing. Say the customer is viewing a 4GB iPod Nano for $169.
8 GB iPod Nano, $229 -> Upsell, same product family, more expensive
8 GB iPod Touch, $299 -> Upsell, same product family, more expensive
16 GP iPod Touch, $399 -> Upsell, same product family, more expensive
Apple In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic , $79 -> Cross-sell
Skull Candy headphones, $69, -> Cross-sell
$25 iTunes card -> Cross-sell
www.getelastic.com/defining-cross-sell-upsell/ 1/6

2. 8 GB Microsoft Zune, $249 -> Upsell, more expensive, same category
4 GB Creative Zen mp3 player, $159 -> Neither cross-sell or upsell, rather an “alternative product suggestion”
Portable DVD player, $299 -> Cross-sell. Cool gadget, customer “may also like” but not related to mp3 player.
Griffinup selling
FM transmitter for car, $79 -> Cross-sell
Search
Really, there should be a third category – “alternative products” which are really a navigation aid rather than something that truly boosts the cart value or items per sale. Consider the following example from Harry and David:
The label “Go Deluxe” suggests an upsell. One suggestion is to double up on the chocolate truffles and get 2 for $44.85, a true upsell. The other takes a product from another category (that is of higher $ value) which would be
considered a cross-sell if suggested in addition to, rather than instead of the product being viewed. In this case, the popcorn is an alternative product suggestion rather than a true upsell of the truffles.
Clear as mud?
You May Also Like?
There’s no stock way to present product recommendations. Common labels for recommendations are:
“Recommended products”
“You may also like”
“Customers who bought X also bought”
“Customers who viewed X also viewed”
“Frequently bought together”
“Stuff you need” (Radio Shack, for accessories)
“Stuff you may want” (Radio Shack, for items in other categories)
“More from this (category, brand, author, artist)”
“Looks hot with”
“Complete the look”
For usability, the best labels clearly communicate why products are being recommended (“this is a more fully featured item than the one you’re looking at,” “people like you liked this,” “these are top sellers in this category,”
“these items will look good with what you’re looking at…”) rather than “Recommended” or “You might also like.”
Often retailers mix of upsells, cross-sells and alternatives in their merchandising zones. CompUSA separates upsell from cross-sell with “Want to Upgrade?” suggestions and “More Recommendations”:
www.getelastic.com/defining-cross-sell-upsell/ 2/6

3. Aside from label clarity, another benefit of separating your suggestions into separate merchandising zones is more accurate tracking of what types of suggestions are more effective. Are you more successful persuading
customers to add to their order or upgrade to a more expensive model?
So while we don’t need to get too hung up on what cross-sell is vs upsell (there’s room for a bit of crossover in definition), and we should add the third category of “alternative products,” understanding the general differences
can help us make better decisions in selecting product associations, labeling merchandising zones and measuring the conversion of different suggestions.
8
tweets
retw eet
Get Updates
Subscribe to our e-mail newsletter to receive updates.
E-mail Submit
Related Articles
Summer Mobile Commerce Traffic Trends Post-Mortem
This is Your Brain on Shopping [Infographic]
Voice of the Customer: The Case For Telephone Customer Interviews
Lisa Simpson Gets Why Correlation Does Not Imply Causation
Screen Time: Cross-Platform Consumer Behavior [Infographic]
5 Responses to “Cross-Sells and Upsells: What is the Diff?”
www.getelastic.com/defining-cross-sell-upsell/ 3/6

4. 1. Ted Hurlbut says:
July 6, 2009 at 4:48 pm
The critical thing for independent retailers, both online and storefront, is to recognize the importance of the total sale. As difficult as it is to generate traffic, whether it be hits or footfall, makes it imperative that there be an
emphasis on maximizing the potential of each customer, through constructive engagement with each customer.
Reply
2. Sander says:
July 7, 2009 at 11:59 am
Good examples of how cross-sells and upsells get confused. Most good eCommerce software even gives you more options to make cross-references in your product catalogue… getting the most out of your shops
configuration is paramount as Ted indicated.
Reply
3. Afzal Hanif says:
July 16, 2009 at 2:06 am
Very clear and refreshed my mind on cross and up sell, thanx
Reply
4. Merchandising Usability: Better Ways to Display Product Recommendations | Get Elastic says:
October 3, 2009 at 7:30 am
[...] you noticed that, when showing cross-sells and upsells, many ecommerce sites hijack you off the page you’re looking at to view the suggested item, [...]
Reply
5. mark bishop says:
October 17, 2009 at 9:54 am
I want to add upsell’s to a clickbank product and credit my affiliates with any further sales, i’d also like to make the front end product free. How can i do this and will clickbank allow front end products to be free?
Reply
Leave a Reply
Name (Required)
Mail (will not be published) (Required)
Website
Submit Comment
www.getelastic.com/defining-cross-sell-upsell/ 4/6

5. Notify me of followup comments via e-mail
Search this site... Search
Subscribe by RSS
Subscribe for free and receive new posts by email. (100% opt-in/out)
Type your email... Subscribe
YouTube
Twitter
Facebook
Delicious
StumbleUpon
Featured In
Eight conversion essentials for telecom e-shops July 20, 2012
What every executive needs to know about API technology June 8, 2012
Subscriptions 101: Three steps to recurring revenue May 1, 2012
API strategies for disruptive digital sellers Mar 29, 2012
Four steps to becoming a disruptive digital seller Mar 8, 2012
About Elastic Path Software
This blog is brought to you by Elastic Path Software, a provider of digital commerce technology and expertise to enterprises selling digital goods and content such as Google, Time Inc, and Virgin Media. With more than
14,000 subscribers, it is the #1 ranked ecommerce blog by PostRank Analytics, #35 on AdAge's Power150, and a SEMMY 2009 and 2010 winner in the online marketing and general category.
Get Elastic on Facebook
Get Elastic Ecommerce
Blog on Facebook
Like
2,684 people like Get Elastic Ecommerce
Blog.
Wei N ick Younes Kev in
M era Joy Tim Tom S oùzà
Follow us @GetElastic
www.getelastic.com/defining-cross-sell-upsell/ 5/6

6. Summer Mobile Commerce Traffic Trends Post-Mortem http://t.co/MqnvFiXj 1 day ago
This is Your Brain on Shopping [Infographic] http://t.co/fFBmI4pj 3 days ago
RT @neomam_comms Thought @getelastic might like this piece on how brain's manipulate consumer behavior: http://t.co/zwXY1ZqF ME: I do! 4 days ago
Voice of the Customer: The Case For Telephone Customer Interviews http://t.co/PG8oSol7 6 days ago
Archives
Select Month
Meta
Entries RSS
Comments RSS
© 2012 Get Elastic Ecommerce Blog. All rights reserved. Site Admin · Entries RSS · Comments RSS
www.getelastic.com/defining-cross-sell-upsell/ 6/6