Idea Guide
Cross-Sell and Upsell
Boost average order value with AI-driven cross-sell recommendations, upsell funnels, and one-click bundles—powered by real-time behavioral intelligence and delivered at exactly the right moment in every shopper's journey.
Request a demoEvery Recommendation Box, Fully Under Your Control
LimeSpot's cross-sell and upsell boxes are built on a powerful set of platform capabilities that give you granular control over who sees what, how it looks, and what happens when data is sparse.
Audience Targeting
Show or hide any recommendation box for specific audience segments. Target first-time visitors with entry-level cross-sells while showing premium upsells to returning buyers—all from the same product page.
Flexible Layouts
Every recommendation box supports multiple layout styles—Carousel, Grid, Rows, Slider, Bundle, and Bundle Grid. Pick the format that fits each placement, from compact slide-out carts to full-width product pages.
Smart Fallbacks
Set fallback recommendations for every box. If no "Bought Together" data exists yet, automatically show New Arrivals, Related Items, Cross-Sell, Upsell, Popular, or Trending products instead—so your boxes are never empty.
Full Customization with Vue.js
Clone any recommendation component and customize it down to every detail using LimeSpot's Vue.js template engine. Add custom JavaScript and CSS styles at both global and per-box scope to match your exact brand requirements.
An outdoor equipment shop could highlight helmets, gloves, and accessories that are frequently bought alongside a bike—surfaced automatically by LimeSpot's AI based on real purchase patterns across the network.
AI-Powered Cross-Sell
Recommend complementary products your customers are most likely to add to their order, driven by real-time AI that learns from billions of data points across the entire LimeSpot network.
How it works
LimeSpot's AI analyzes customer behavior, purchase history, and product relationships across its entire merchant network—not just your store—to surface the most relevant cross-sell suggestions in real time. From the moment a shopper lands on your site, the engine adapts recommendations based on their live session activity, browsing patterns, and purchasing signals. Cross-sell recommendations can appear on every page of your store.
How to set it up
In LimeSpot's visual Designer, add a cross-sell recommendation box to any page. Select a reference product type: the current product, items currently in cart, previously purchased, or previously visited. LimeSpot's AI handles the rest—or you can manually curate specific products for full control. You can also adjust the AI engine parameters to weight factors like brand, price range, or product attributes to fine-tune relevance.
Best practices
Place cross-sell boxes on multiple pages to increase touchpoints. Review our placement best practices guide for page-specific recommendations—including 404 pages, blog posts, and search results. Use audience segments to show different cross-sells to new visitors vs. returning customers.
A water filtration brand could surface its premium filters when a customer views the economy model—highlighting the extra features and longer lifespan that justify the upgrade.
AI-Powered Upsell
Encourage customers to choose a premium version or a higher-value option—whether that means better quality, greater quantity, or a volume pricing incentive.
How it works
Upsells work in two ways. The first is presenting a premium alternative: if a customer is viewing the economy option, highlight the upgrade and explain why it's worth the extra investment. The second is volume upselling—offering the same product in a larger quantity, often paired with volume pricing to sweeten the deal. LimeSpot lets you present upsells on any page, in pop-ups triggered on add-to-cart, or at checkout.
How to set it up
Create an upsell recommendation box in the Designer and manually select the products you want to appear. Unlike cross-sells, upsells typically require manual curation to ensure you're promoting the right premium alternative. Reference the current product, cart items, or previously viewed products. For advanced strategies, you can also present upsells inside pop-ups using LimeSpot's JavaScript integration with any pop-up tool.
Best practices
Upselling is a balance—don't undermine confidence in the product a customer is already considering. Frame your upsell as additional value or something they might have missed, not as a criticism of their current choice. Use audience targeting to show upsells only to shoppers who are likely to convert on higher-priced items, such as returning buyers or customers in premium segments.
A home decor store could display a "Complete the Look" bundle with throw pillows, a lamp, and a side table that coordinate with the couch a customer is browsing—assembled by LimeSpot's AI or hand-picked by you.
Dynamic Bundles
Present curated product bundles on any page, powered by AI-driven "Frequently Bought Together" data or your own manual selections—displayed in a dedicated bundle layout.
How it works
Bundles work especially well for clothing, home goods, and businesses selling kits of products that are also available individually. LimeSpot can generate bundles automatically from purchase data, or you can manually curate specific products that you know belong together. Bundles invite customers to "Complete the Look" or "Get Everything You Need" in a single interaction.
How to set it up
Create a cross-sell, frequently bought together, or related items box in the Designer and set the layout to "Bundle" or "Bundle Grid." Let LimeSpot's AI suggest what goes in the bundle, or manually select specific products. The bundle layout displays all items together with a combined price and a single "Get This Bundle" button. Set a fallback recommendation type so the box always has content—even for new products without purchase history.
Best practices
Think about your product photography: if a model is wearing a complete outfit, make sure every item in the image (or a close alternative) is easily accessible in the bundle. This shortens browsing time and speeds up the path to purchase. Use the Bundle Grid layout to display items with checkboxes, letting customers deselect items they don't need.
A skincare brand could offer a "Complete Anti-Aging Routine" bundle when a customer views an anti-wrinkle cream—cleanser, serum, moisturizer, and sunscreen added to the cart in one click.
One-Click Bundles
Let customers add an entire curated bundle to their cart with a single click, driving instant AOV gains with zero friction.
How it works
Instead of positioning recommendations as casual suggestions, one-click bundles frame them as intentional sets meant to be purchased together. Customers see the items, a combined price (optionally with a discount), and can toggle individual items on or off before adding the entire bundle to their cart in one action. This reduces decision fatigue and makes it easy to buy more without overthinking.
How to set it up
Create a recommendation box with the Bundle or Bundle Grid layout. We recommend manual curation for one-click bundles—select products that genuinely belong together at a price point that feels like a natural package. Customers can toggle items on and off using checkboxes and change variant options (like size or color) directly within the bundle before adding to cart.
Best practices
One-click bundles hit a sweet spot when items clearly belong together—refills for a starter kit, a matching accessory set, or a "complete your setup" package. Keep the total price reasonable to avoid cart anxiety. Consider offering a bundle discount to make the combined purchase feel like a better deal than buying items individually.
A golf store could configure collection-level rules to cross-sell bags and accessories from the same brand whenever a customer browses drivers or wedges from that brand.
Collection-Level Cross-Sell
Override default AI recommendations at the collection level to manually control which collections are cross-sold or upsold against each other.
How it works
LimeSpot's default is to cross-sell across your entire catalog. But sometimes you want precise control—cross-selling specific collections based on brand, price tier, category, or some other business logic. Collection-level rules let you override the AI and specify exactly which collections should be recommended together, keeping recommendations tightly relevant.
How to set it up
Navigate to Personalization > Upsell & Cross-Sell > Collections in your LimeSpot dashboard. Click on any collection and open the Cross & Upsell tab. Add the target collections you want to cross-sell or upsell against, and configure whether the relationship is a cross-sell, upsell, or both. See our step-by-step guide for collection-level setup.
Best practices
This approach is powerful for multi-brand retailers or stores with distinct price tiers. For example, always upsell from an entry-level collection to a premium line. You can also use it to cross-sell complementary categories—like pairing an electronics brand's accessories collection with its main product line. Combine with audience segmentation to show different collection pairings to different customer groups.
A housewares store could highlight matching plates, bowls, and serving dishes in the same color or pattern the customer is viewing—helping them build a coordinated set. A multi-brand activewear store could surface other products from the same brand a shopper is browsing.
Variant & Brand-Focused Cross-Sell
Surface products that match a customer's preferred color, pattern, or brand—driving higher-value cross-sells by leveraging product attributes and brand affinity.
How it works
For products where matching sets matter—tableware, bedding, fashion—variant-based cross-sells highlight other items available in the customer's chosen color or pattern. For multi-brand stores where customers show strong brand loyalty (activewear, sneakers, electronics), brand-focused cross-sells prioritize products from the same brand. Both approaches use LimeSpot's attribute weighting system to tune the AI toward these priorities.
How to set it up
For variant matching, create a cross-sell box and either manually select variant-matched items or adjust LimeSpot's engine parameters to prioritize attributes like color. For brand focus, adjust the attribute weight of "brand" in the engine settings to make it a stronger factor in recommendations. For advanced variant filtering that shows only specific colors or patterns, LimeSpot's Vue.js customization layer or additional JavaScript may be needed—contact our team for assistance.
Best practices
Variant cross-sells are ideal when customers naturally want to build matching sets. Fashion brands can also use this to show the same fabric or print across different garment cuts—helping shoppers find the right silhouette in a pattern they love. Brand-focused cross-sells work best in categories with strong brand loyalty; they're less effective for commodity products where customers are brand-agnostic.
A beauty store could show complementary tools—a makeup brush, setting spray, or coordinating lip color—in the slide-out cart the moment a customer adds an eyeshadow palette. A jewelry brand could trigger a pop-up with matching earrings when a necklace is added.
Cart & Slide-Out Offers
Capture attention at the highest-intent moment—right when customers are reviewing their cart or adding items—with cross-sells in AJAX slide-out carts and add-to-cart pop-ups.
How it works
Many Shopify themes use AJAX slide-out carts (also called flyout or drawer carts) that open when a customer adds a product without navigating away from the page. LimeSpot can inject cross-sell and upsell boxes directly into these slide-out carts, offering relevant products while the customer is still in a buying mindset. You can also embed LimeSpot boxes into any add-to-cart pop-up application using JavaScript, creating curated cross-sell moments triggered by specific actions.
How to set it up
LimeSpot automatically integrates with major Shopify themes that support AJAX carts. For custom themes or third-party cart apps, JavaScript integration is available—follow our step-by-step AJAX cart guide. For pop-up cross-sells, embed LimeSpot recommendation boxes into your preferred pop-up tool using JavaScript, referencing the product just added to cart.
Best practices
Don't overwhelm the cart experience. Keep recommendations focused on bestsellers, trending items, or lower-priced add-ons that won't cause sticker shock. We recommend a curated approach—manually pick your upsell items for the cart. For pop-ups, tie recommendations directly to what the customer just added: if they added a shirt, suggest pants or a jacket from the same outfit, not more shirts. Use A/B/n testing to optimize which products convert best in the cart context.
A jewelry store could present an "In Case You Missed It" section at checkout with freshly dropped styles similar to cart items—or promote high-value add-ons like a cleaning kit or travel case.
Checkout Offers
Give customers one final opportunity to add to their order at the point of highest commitment—right before they complete their purchase.
How it works
LimeSpot recommendation boxes can be placed directly on the checkout page. If a customer bypassed recommendations on product pages or in pop-ups, checkout is one final touchpoint to encourage additional items. Display recommendations below the order total or shipping address section to catch attention without disrupting the purchase flow.
How to set it up
Add LimeSpot recommendation boxes to your checkout page using the Designer. Position them below the total price or shipping address. For custom placement options, use our box placement guide or contact our support team at [email protected].
Best practices
Checkout is impulse-buy territory. Avoid recommending high-priced items at this final stage. Focus on natural add-ons: coordinating accessories, refills, bestselling impulse items, warranty plans, or protection packages. Keep the recommendation set small and focused to avoid decision paralysis at the moment of conversion.
A sports store could highlight relevant accessories for the specific sport the customer just checked out for—surfacing items they may have missed during their initial browse.
Post-Purchase Offers
Keep the buying momentum going after checkout with personalized recommendations on thank you, order status, and post-purchase pages.
How it works
The post-purchase moment—thank you pages, order status pages, and order confirmation screens—is an underused opportunity. Customers have just committed to a purchase and are still engaged with your brand. LimeSpot lets you add recommendation boxes to all of these touchpoints, showing items related to what was just purchased.
How to set it up
Use LimeSpot's guides to add recommendation boxes and app blocks to your checkout, post-purchase, and thank you and order status pages. Position them below the order summary or shipping details.
Best practices
Weight your post-purchase recommendations toward the specific purchase just made—not general bestsellers. A customer who just bought a camera should see lenses and bags, not your top-selling unrelated products. This relevance makes post-purchase recommendations feel helpful rather than generic.
A coffee brand could upsell to a subscription on the cart page, showing a "Subscribe & Save 15%" option alongside the one-time purchase—highlighting convenience and recurring savings.
Subscription Upsells
Convert one-time purchases into recurring revenue by promoting subscription options at the cart and checkout.
How it works
If you offer subscription products, you likely promote them on product pages already. But the cart and checkout (available on Shopify+ and BigCommerce) are high-impact placements to remind customers they can save by subscribing. LimeSpot can highlight your subscription product variants—whether visible or invisible (for platforms like ReCharge)—and present the savings prominently.
How to set it up
Add an upsell recommendation box to your cart and checkout pages targeting your subscription product variants. For subscription apps like ReCharge, LimeSpot can promote the invisible recurring variant. Contact our team to learn about integration with other subscription platforms.
Best practices
Treat subscribers as premium customers. Emphasize the value they receive: price savings, exclusive perks, gifts with purchase, or early access to new products. The subscription offer is most compelling when the savings are clear and the convenience factor is obvious—products like vitamins, coffee, pet food, and skincare are natural fits.
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