Increasing your average basket is one of the most effective ways to boost your turnover without increasing your marketing budget. Here are the advanced cross-sell and upsell strategies used by the biggest brands (Amazon, Sephora, Gymshark...) — and how to apply them to your e-commerce.

Introduction

Most online retailers seek first to attract more customers.
Mistake: it's becoming more and more expensive (rising CPC, aggressive competition).

👉 The most profitable lever is not to acquire more... but to Make customers spend more.

That is exactly the role of Average Order Value (AOV).
And the most successful brands have understood it: Amazon makes more than 35% of its sales through cross-sell and upsell.

In this article, we'll break down their most effective methods — and how to adapt them to any store, even a small one.

1. Cross-sell vs Upsell: fully understand the difference

✅ Cross-sell
→ Offer a complementary product
Ex: “Are you buying a camera? Add a memory card.”

✅ Upsell (upgrade)
→ Offer a more premium/more expensive version of the product
Ex: “For €20 more, upgrade to the Pro model.”

The two combine perfectly... as long as you're smart.

2. The 5 advanced strategies used by leaders

✅ 1. Smart packs and bundles

Instead of adding up the products, we group them together logically:

• Complete routine (cosmetics)
• Starter kit (fitness, DIY)
• Offer “3 for the price of 2”

🎯 Makes decision easier + increases perceived value

✅ 2. Upsell at the right time (key timing)

The worst moment: BEFORE the customer has chosen.
The best moment:

• While adding to the basket
• Right after payment (post-purchase upsell)
• By email after purchase (“pro version available”)

👉 Shopify & ClickFunnels use it MASSIVELY.

✅ 3. Dynamic personalization thanks to DATA

Show suggestions based on:

• behavior (pages visited)
• Of the purchase history
• Of the current basket
• from the customer segment (new/VIP)

Ex: Sephora offers different products to regular customers.

⚠️ Without data = generic suggestions = ineffective

✅ 4. Conditional offers (psychological thresholds)

• “Only €12 left to take advantage of free delivery!”
• “-10% from €100”
• “Exclusive bonus if you add X product”

👉 Very powerful because it activates the dopamine + fear of missing out (FOMO)

✅ 5. AI and smart recommendation

Big brands use AI algorithms to recommend the right product at the right time.

Today... even small shops can access it:

• Shopify App Store (ReConvert, LimeSpot...)
• Prestashop AI modules
• WooCommerce Plugins

🧠 AI analyzes data better than a human → average basket +20 to +40%

3. Mistakes to avoid

❌ Suggest irrelevant products
❌ Over-solicit (too many offers kills the offer)
❌ Upsell too expensive → friction
❌ Neglecting the mobile experience
❌ Suggestion too late or too early

4. Case in point: Gymshark

Their strategy:

1 ️ ※ Upsell premium product from the product sheet
2 ️: Bundle “complete set” in the basket
3 ️ 8.3 Cross-sell post-purchase accessories
4 ️ ※ Reminder email with exclusive offer

Result: AOV + 35%, loyalty + 25%

5. And Klark in all of this?

Optimizing the average basket is not just a question of interface.
It is necessary control margins, costs and customer behavior.

Klark allows online retailers to:
✅ View the average basket by channel
✅ Identify the most profitable products (and those to grow)
✅ Follow the margin AFTER logistics & promotions
✅ Integrate CRM + cash flow data to optimize offers

🎯 Result: more profitable and better managed cross-sell/upsell strategies.

Conclusion

Increasing your average basket is a underestimated growth driver... but it is the most profitable.

✅ No need for more traffic
✅ No need for more advertising budget
✅ Just sell better to YOUR current customers

💡 Practical tip: start with a single well-implemented strategy (bundle or post-purchase upsell), measure... then optimize.

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