Look, I’ll be blunt. Most of you are working far too hard for your money.
You spend a fortune on ads, you sweat over your social media, and you lose sleep wondering how to get more people to your site. But once they actually get there? You let them walk out the door with the bare minimum.
It’s like owning a pub in Paddington and letting a bloke buy one middy and leave, when you know he’s hungry, he’s got mates coming, and he’d probably love a schnitty if you just mentioned it.
In the online world, we call this upselling and cross-selling. But let’s drop the jargon. It’s just about being helpful and making sure people buy everything they actually need from you, rather than going to a competitor later.
If you aren’t doing this properly, you’re just leaving money on the table. And in this economy, who can afford that?
The Difference Between a Good Suggestion and Being a Pest
There’s a fine line between being a helpful shop assistant and being a pushy car salesman.
Upselling is when you get them to buy the better version of what they’re looking at. They want the 500ml bottle? Show them the 1-litre bottle because it’s better value. They want the basic model? Show them the one that actually lasts five years instead of two.
Cross-selling is about the extras. They’re buying a pair of leather boots? They’re going to need the waterproofing spray and the right socks. If you don’t offer it, they’ll just buy it from Amazon next week.
But here’s the trick: it has to make sense. Don’t try to sell a fridge to someone buying a toaster. It’s annoying, it looks desperate, and it kills the trust you’ve worked hard to build.
Timing Is Everything (Don't Ruin the Mood)
You wouldn’t ask someone to marry you on the first date, and you shouldn’t try to triple the order value the second someone lands on your homepage.
I see so many Brisbane businesses get this wrong. They have pop-ups flying everywhere before the customer even knows what they’re looking at.
There are three spots where this actually works:
1. On the product page: "People also bought these." It’s subtle and helpful. 2. In the cart: "You're $10 away from free shipping." This is the holy grail. People hate paying for shipping. They will spend $20 to save $12 on postage every single time. It’s not logical, but it’s human. 3. After they buy: The thank-you page or the confirmation email.
Most people think the sale ends when the credit card is processed. Wrong. That’s when the customer is most excited. If you send a solid email automation twenty minutes after a purchase with a "one-time offer" to add something to their box before it ships, the take-up rate is massive.
Stop Guessing and Start Using Data
You don’t need a degree in data science for this. Just look at your past orders.
If 40% of people who buy a specific drill also buy a certain set of bits, then you should be showing those bits to the other 60%. It sounds simple because it is.
"The biggest mistake I see isn't the tech setup; it's businesses offering upgrades that don't solve a problem. If your upsell doesn't make the customer's life easier, it's just digital clutter."
— Sarah Chen, SEO Specialist
As Sarah says, it’s about solving problems. If I’m buying a high-end camera, I’m worried about scratching the lens. Sell me the filter. If I’m buying a BBQ, I’m worried about it rusting. Sell me the cover.
The "Free Shipping" Carrot
I mentioned this before, but it needs its own section because it’s the easiest way to make more money today.
Go look at your average order value. Let's say it’s $85.
Set your free shipping threshold at $100.
Then, make sure your website tells them exactly how much more they need to spend to hit that goal. "Add $15 more to get free shipping!"
Suddenly, that $100 order feels like a bargain to the customer, and you’ve just bumped your revenue by 15% without finding a single new lead. This is how you turn visitors into customers who actually spend real money.
Bundling: The Lazy Man’s Upsell
Sometimes people are overwhelmed by choice. They don’t know which accessories they need.
Do the work for them. Create a "Starter Kit" or a "Pro Bundle."
Take three items that go together, knock 10% off the total price if they buy them as a set, and watch your stock move. You make more profit in total dollars (even with the discount), and the customer feels like they got a deal. Everyone wins.
Why Most People Fail at This
Usually, it’s because they make it too hard.
If a customer has to click through five different pages to add an extra item to their cart, they won’t do it. It has to be a one-click job.
Also, stop being greedy. If someone is buying a $500 item, don’t try to upsell them to a $2,000 item. They’ve already decided on a budget. Try to get them to the $600 version. It’s a small jump.
If you try to push too hard, they’ll get "buyer’s remorse" before they’ve even bought the thing and close the tab entirely.
What Should You Do First?
Don’t try to fix every product on your site at once. You’ve got a business to run.
1. Pick your top 5 best-sellers. These are the items that bring in the most people. 2. Find one logical add-on for each. Not five. Just one. 3. Put that add-on on the product page and in the cart. 4. Watch the numbers for two weeks.
You’ll see the difference in your bank account pretty quickly. This isn't like SEO where you have to wait six months to see if it worked. You’ll know by next Friday if people are clicking that "Add to Cart" button.
Is This Going to Cost a Fortune?
If you’re on Shopify, BigCommerce, or WooCommerce, there are heaps of apps that do this for about $30 a month. Some are even free for small stores.
You don’t need a custom-coded solution that costs five grand. You just need a tool that works and doesn't slow your site down.
Honestly, if you spend $30 a month on an app and it gets just two people to add an extra $20 item to their order, it’s paid for itself. The rest is pure cream.
The Bottom Line
Marketing isn’t just about getting new people through the door. It’s about making the most of the people who are already standing at the counter with their wallets out.
Stop ignoring them. Show them the better version, offer them the accessories they need, and give them a reason to spend a few extra bucks.
If you’re not sure which products to bundle or how to set this up without breaking your site, give us a yell at Local Marketing Group. We do this stuff every day for businesses across Brisbane, and we’re happy to take a look at your shop to see where you’re bleeding cash.
You can find us here: https://lmgroup.au/contact. Let’s get your average order value up so you can stop working so hard for every dollar.