At What Stage of the eCommerce Conversion Funnel Should You Cross-Sell?

Jaques Cilliers - Writer for Fast Simon
By Jaques Cilliers
Kelly Hendrickse - Editor for Fast Simon
Edited by Kelly Hendrickse
Oli Kashti - Writer and Fact-Checker for Fast Simon
Fact-check by Oli Kashti

Published October 14, 2024.

a shopping cart sitting on top of a laptop keyboard

Cross-selling at the checkout stage of the eCommerce conversion funnel can help you optimize your customers' experience in your store and increase your revenue. In fact, according to McKinsey research, cross-selling can increase your sales by 20%.

Cross-selling is a marketing strategy where you offer related or complementary products to your customers to encourage them to increase their purchases.

Cross-Selling in Your Conversion Funnel

Invesp notes that 26% of revenue comes from personalized product recommendations. So, implementing cross-selling at the checkout stage of your conversion funnel is a good strategy because your customers have already decided to make a purchase. By using product personalization based on their preferences, you can encourage them to buy complementary products and increase your average order value.

Cross-Sell the Right Way

Let's take Everten, a kitchenware online store, as an example. When adding a specific item to your cart, like a two-piece frypan set, Everten suggests complementary items that are cheaper. These items aren't essential to using the frypan set but can enhance its use.

Everten recommends complementary items that are lower in cost.


Implementing cross-sell personalization at this point can, therefore, show that you're paying attention to your customers' interests, which can increase the likelihood of a higher average order value. Additionally, recommended items that are cheaper than your customers' intended purchase items can imply higher value without having to spend outside of their budget, and simply increasing profit isn't your only motive—user experience is too.

» Find out how and why to use eCommerce upsell and cross-sell recommendations

Fast Cross-Selling at the Final Stretch

Integrating cross-selling at the bottom of the conversion funnel can help increase sales and improve customer satisfaction without being overly aggressive. But, through A/B testing, you can find out if cross-selling works better at other stages based on your product types and customers' needs. By understanding customers' intent and buying preferences, you can recommend relevant and personalized products, increasing the likelihood of cross-selling success.