What is upselling and crossselling?

[jrineakter]

What is upselling? And what about cross-selling? We explain it to you in this article so that you can increase sales in your online store.

As if “selling” wasn’t already complex enough when it comes to online stores, we’ve recently seen the rise of two terms that are making things more complicated. We’re referring to upselling and crossselling … And, if you don’t know what we’re talking about, you might want to keep reading.


After all, these two new marketing techniques have become the absolute queens of sales in any self-respecting e-commerce. But be careful, because they are so similar that they can be confused... That is why this article addresses them separately and offers you multiple reasons to use them.

Easily manage your eCommerce sales with Holded. Get started for free .

What is upselling?
Upselling, also known in Spanish as “additional sale”, is a technique that, during the purchase process in a virtual store, offers the buyer a product or several products similar to the australia number data one they intend to buy or have just bought. You have seen it in all the latest generation e-commerce sites, right?

The trick, of course, is to carry out this upselling by always scaling the product up to a higher range, either by price (a product with a higher economic value is offered) or by value (a product that better meets the buyer's needs is offered). In this way, the buyer will see a wider range of needs satisfied... And our online store will bring in a greater amount of benefits. Everyone wins.

What is cross selling?
Cross selling, also known as “cross-selling” in Spanish, is a marketing technique that, using a mechanism similar to that of upselling, tempts a buyer with complementary products to the one they are looking for or buying in our e-commerce. Complementary and not similar, that is the main difference.

It's not about offering the same product in a higher range, but rather complementary products. The idea is that, with just a couple of additional clicks, the buyer increases the size of their purchase (and also the budget they are investing). Again, everyone wins: the consumer covers a greater number of peripheral needs and the store makes a greater profit.

8 reasons to use them
Now you know what upselling and cross-selling are. But you're still wondering: should I implement them in my online store? Maybe these eight reasons for using both online sales techniques will help you decide:

Increase sales. This is the most important thing: it has been proven that, using both techniques, sales in an online store increase exponentially.
Greater visibility of your catalogue. Both upselling and cross-selling can help give visibility to some products in your catalogue that are not the most sought after or the best-selling.
Refresh your memory. Let's face it: we're all a bit forgetful when it comes to online shopping. That's why it's so interesting that these two techniques refresh your memory with products that you may have forgotten you need... But that you really need (or not).
Introduce new products. Most buyers go straight to the bestsellers in any online store. But both upselling and cross-selling can help you turn new products into bestsellers.
Create new sales opportunities. Same as the previous point: if a buyer goes directly to a product, they probably won't browse your e-commerce site. This is a good way to invite them to look at other products that they may end up buying.
Encourage buying habits. There are many products that often involve the purchase of other additional products. Let's say, for example, the buyer of a mattress who is going to need a pillow. Upselling and cross-selling help to foster these types of habits that are beneficial for any online store.
Know your consumer profile better. The more they buy, the more you will know about their profile… And the better you will be able to use that information to generate a greater number of sales.