Cross-selling in online shops - how to use it?

The buoyant growth of the e-commerce market is encouraging the development of sales practices and techniques to reach more customers. One method of increasing sales in online shops is cross-selling, also known as cross sell or x-sell. The Polish equivalent of this term is cross-selling. What is it and what benefits does it bring? You will read about it below!

What is cross-selling?

To begin with, let us explain exactly what cross selling is. In its simplest terms, it is a sales technique that involves offering the customer a product or products related to an item they have just purchased or intend to purchase.

More often than not, it is a related good, e.g. a case when buying a phone or socks when buying shoes. They can also be accessories that are not sold as part of a kit, yet are necessary for the use of the equipment in question, e.g. a memory card for a camera or a supply of dishwasher tablets.

Various types of online shops implement cross-selling through sections such as:

• products often purchased as a set,
• Customers who bought this product also bought,
• bundled with product X, you will pay less for the whole.

Offering extras is part of a strategy to increase the value of the basket per transaction. The result is, of course, higher profits for the shop, but not only that. The retailer thus ensures the satisfaction and happiness of its customers.

Cross-selling very often makes it possible to suggest products to shoppers that they would have had to order at a later date anyway, but would most likely have done so in another shop. By buying everything at once, they not only save time and money. Often sets of products can be purchased at a discount.

Examples of cross-selling

It is time to look at specific examples of cross-selling. Among the most popular ones, schemes such as:

• Customer buys shampoo for hair? Also offer a conditioner from the same range.
• When adding the TV to your basket, it is worth suggesting the purchase of an HDMI cable.
• For your laptop, don't forget products such as a mouse, bag or printer.
• When selling coffee machines, it is worth bearing in mind customers who drink coffee beans.
• When buying skis, customers will pay attention to boots or ski poles.

Using cross-selling techniques, it is also possible to offer customers a specific service. In electronics shops, for example, it is common to see a service for the initial launch and configuration of a smartphone or computer.

Cross-selling in e-commerce - how does it work?

According to a study conducted by Forrester, between 10% and 30% of turnover in the e-commerce industry is generated by products offered as add-ons. It is important to use the cross-selling technique skilfully, adapting it to customer preferences.

For example, buyers can be grouped based on the products they have viewed or purchases they have made in the past. On this basis - by matching expectations - recommendations for specific items can be created.

Ideally, the additional product should be a maximum of 30% more expensive than the item chosen first. It is also important that the products match each other. The choice must not be too wide. A large number of proposals will make the customer not know what to opt for and ultimately abandon the purchase.