A pre-purchase upsell is an offer shown while a shopper is still deciding: on the product page, in the cart drawer or at the add-to-cart step. It suggests a bigger size, a bundle, an upgrade or a companion product before any payment is taken. Done well, it lifts average order value without adding friction. Done badly, it distracts a buyer who was ready to pay. This guide covers where to place these offers, what to put in them, how to test them and the Australian pricing rules that catch out well-meaning stores.
TL;DR
- Pre-purchase upsells sit on product pages, in the cart and at add-to-cart. Post-purchase offers appear after payment. The two do different jobs, so run both.
- Zipify’s 2022 data put pre-purchase upsell conversion at 11.9% against 9.9% for post-purchase, with an average order value lift of $20.
- Relevance beats volume. One offer that clearly belongs with the product outperforms a grid of generic suggestions.
- Show a thumbnail, full title, price and ratings on every offer. Most sites miss at least one.
- In Australia, any bundle saving or “was” price must be genuine. The ACCC has taken retailers to court over fake discounts.
Table of Contents
- What a pre-purchase upsell is, and how it differs from post-purchase
- What the numbers say (and what they don’t)
- Where pre-purchase upsells belong
- What to offer: relevance first
- Staying on the right side of Australian consumer law
- Our perspective: fewer offers, tested properly
- A simple test plan for the first 30 days
- Where we can help
- FAQ
- Sources
What a pre-purchase upsell is, and how it differs from post-purchase
The timing is the whole definition. A pre-purchase upsell happens before the customer has committed. A post-purchase upsell happens after checkout, usually on a page between payment and the thank-you screen.
That difference changes the risk. Zipify’s performance report describes pre-purchase offers as reaching high-intent shoppers while carrying the risk of a lost sale if they are executed poorly. Post-purchase offers carry no risk to the original order because payment has already cleared.
It also changes the job each offer should do:
| Pre-purchase | Post-purchase | |
|---|---|---|
| Where | Product page, cart, add-to-cart pop-up | After payment, before or on the confirmation page |
| Buyer’s state | Still deciding | Already paid |
| Risk to the first sale | Yes, if it distracts or confuses | None |
| Best offer type | Relevant bundles, upgrades, size or quantity steps | High-margin, low-effort add-ons |
| What to measure | Add-to-cart rate, cart conversion, revenue per visitor | Take rate, incremental revenue per order |
Most stores that search for this topic find only post-purchase advice, which is why the pre-purchase side is often neglected. If you want the post-purchase half, we cover how to prove it with a single product in our post-purchase upsell test.
What the numbers say (and what they don’t)
Two data points are worth knowing, along with a caveat.
In Zipify’s 2022 year in review, pre-purchase upsells converted at 11.9% against 9.9% for post-purchase, and the average order value increase was $20. The same source puts the overall effect of effective upsell strategies at a 10 to 15% increase in total store sales.
The caveat: that is one app vendor’s data from 2022, drawn from stores that chose to install its tools. Your product mix, price points and traffic quality will produce different results. Treat the figures as a reason to test, not as a forecast. Some sources in search results claim pre-purchase offers convert lower than post-purchase. Both can be true, because take rate and revenue impact are different measures, and the pre-purchase offer reaches far more people.
The practical point is to measure revenue per visitor and not only the offer’s own take rate. An upsell that is accepted 12% of the time but drops the base conversion rate can lose money overall. Our ecommerce conversion benchmarks explain why revenue per visitor is the number to watch.
Where pre-purchase upsells belong
On the product page
This is where intent is highest and where the offer can feel like part of the product. Good formats:
- Bundle builder: the main product plus one or two items that are bought together, with the bundle price shown against the individual prices.
- Quantity or size step: “Most customers choose the 3-pack” with a per-unit price.
- Upgrade variant: a higher-spec version shown as a one-tap swap.
- Protection or care add-on: warranty, refill or care kit, when it genuinely suits the product.
Keep the main add-to-cart button dominant. If the upsell competes visually with it, you are testing distraction, not persuasion. Our product page optimisation playbook covers layout order in more detail.
In the cart or cart drawer
The cart is the best place for a low-cost companion item, because the shopper has already chosen what they want and is checking the total. Strong cart offers are cheap relative to the basket, quick to add and obviously related. A free-shipping threshold bar works the same way: it shows the shopper exactly how much more to add, and it suits stores with a wide range of low-priced products.
At add-to-cart
A pop-up or slide-in after the shopper clicks add-to-cart catches attention at the moment of commitment. It is also the easiest placement to overdo. Use it for one offer only, make it dismissible in one tap, and never hide the route to checkout.
At checkout
Checkout is the most sensitive spot. Anything that adds steps or surprises at this stage can cost you the order. Keep it to a single, optional, clearly priced add-on, such as a subscription option or a small accessory, and test it carefully against a control.
What to offer: relevance first
An upsell works when it feels like a natural extension of the original decision. D2C Times describes this as product adjacency, and notes that offers personalised from purchase intent data tend to hold attention where generic “you may also like” blocks get dismissed.
In practice, ask three questions about every offer:
- Would a sensible salesperson in a shop say this? If the answer is no, the offer is noise.
- Does it solve a problem the main product creates or leaves open? Batteries, refills, covers, matching pieces and care products all do.
- Is the price step small enough to feel easy? A rough rule many stores use is an add-on well under the value of the main item. Test your own thresholds.
Alternatives and companions are different
Baymard’s research on product page suggestions separates alternative products, which help shoppers find the right item, from supplementary products, which complete the look or the kit. Offering both is a usability benefit as well as a sales tactic. A shopper who is unsure about the main product needs an alternative. A shopper who is sure needs the companion. Showing only companions to the unsure, or only alternatives to the sure, wastes the slot.
Make each offer easy to judge
Baymard also found that 68% of desktop sites miss at least one of four essential attributes in cross-sell recommendations: a quality thumbnail, a fully visible product title, the price and user ratings. Without them, shoppers disregard the block. Without context for why something is being recommended, Baymard warns, people develop banner blindness and ignore everything. A short line such as “Pairs with the item in your cart” is enough to supply that context.
Consider the subscription upsell
For consumable products, the most valuable upsell is often not an extra item but a repeat relationship. RecurX argues that a Subscribe and Save option at the point of decision can turn a one-off bump into compounding recurring revenue. That fits products people reorder: coffee, supplements, pet food, skincare. If you are weighing it up, see how subscription models work in ecommerce and how it ties into customer retention.
Staying on the right side of Australian consumer law
This part is specific to Australia, and it matters because upsells are built on price comparisons: “save $15 when you bundle”, “was $79, now $59”, “add this for just $9”.
The ACCC took Kogan to the Federal Court over a sale in which prices were raised before a discount was offered. WAtoday reported on 17 July 2020 that the court found Kogan had misled consumers. The case turned on whether the advertised saving was real. Norton Rose Fulbright’s analysis discusses what the decision means for digital pricing tactics.
The Dell case is closer to the upsell world. Channelnews reported in June 2023 that the Federal Court declared Dell Australia misled customers over the prices of add-on monitors and over strikethrough prices on its website. Add-on pricing at the point of selection is exactly where pre-purchase upsells operate.
Drip pricing is a related risk. A June 2025 Lexology summary notes that the ACCC has prioritised drip pricing, where extra charges appear only late in the purchase, and that it is a misleading practice under the Australian Consumer Law.
Practical rules for your offers:
- Only show a bundle saving if the individual items have genuinely sold at those prices.
- Keep a record of your price history so you can show it if asked.
- Show the add-on price, and the new total, before the shopper clicks.
- Do not pre-tick optional extras.
- If a pricing claim worries you, ask a lawyer who handles consumer law or check the ACCC’s guidance before you launch.
Our piece on price testing for Australian stores covers how to test price points without crossing these lines.
Our perspective: fewer offers, tested properly
We see the same pattern with the eCommerce brands we mentor. The store installs an upsell tool, switches on every widget and ends up with five competing offers on one page. Conversion dips, nobody can tell why, and the tool gets blamed.
Our approach is the opposite. We start with the commercial question: which single product has the margin and the repeat potential to carry an offer? Then we put one relevant offer in one placement, set a clear control and measure revenue per visitor over a full buying cycle, not just clicks on the offer. Only when that has a clear result do we add a second placement.
We also think pre-purchase and post-purchase belong in the same plan. The pre-purchase offer should be a relevance play: bundles, size steps and subscriptions that make the main purchase better. The post-purchase offer can be bolder because the sale is already safe. Treating them as separate projects with separate owners is how stores end up offering the same item twice.
And please check your prices. A bundle discount that is not a real saving is not a clever tactic. It is a legal problem waiting for a regulator’s attention.
— Liza
A simple test plan for the first 30 days
You do not need a large team to do this properly. You do need discipline.
- Pick the product. Choose a best-seller with healthy margin and at least one obvious companion item.
- Write the hypothesis. For example: “A two-item bundle on the product page will raise revenue per visitor without lowering add-to-cart rate.”
- Build one offer. Include thumbnail, full title, price, ratings and a one-line reason it is shown.
- Split traffic. Send half of visitors to the existing page and half to the version with the offer. Keep paid traffic sources even across both.
- Run it long enough. Cover at least a couple of full weeks so weekday and weekend behaviour are both included, and avoid starting during a major sale.
- Judge on revenue per visitor. Also record conversion rate, average order value and refund rate.
- Decide and iterate. Keep it, change the offer or remove it. Then test a cart placement.
Mistakes that sink results
- Showing the offer on every product regardless of fit.
- Using generic recommendations with no explanation.
- Pushing the main add-to-cart button below the offer on mobile.
- Discounting the upsell so heavily that margin vanishes.
- Judging on take rate alone.
- Never checking whether the claimed saving is real.
Where we can help
If you want a pre-purchase offer built, tested and tied to your wider growth plan, our Convert More Customers service covers conversion work on Shopify and WordPress stores, with senior strategists doing the work directly and no outsourcing. If you would rather start with a structured sprint, look at our 12 Week DOUBLE Your Revenue Challenge. Neither lists a published price, so get in touch via the site to discuss what fits your store.
FAQ
What is a pre-purchase upsell?
It is an offer shown before the customer pays, usually on the product page, in the cart or when they add an item to the cart. It might suggest an upgrade, a larger pack or a bundle. It differs from a post-purchase upsell, which appears after payment has been taken.
Are pre-purchase upsells better than post-purchase upsells?
Neither is better in every case. Zipify’s 2022 data showed 11.9% conversion for pre-purchase and 9.9% for post-purchase, but pre-purchase offers carry some risk to the first sale and post-purchase ones do not. Most stores should test both and judge them on total revenue per visitor.
Is the difference between upselling and cross-selling important?
Yes, for choosing the offer. An upsell encourages a more expensive or larger version of what the shopper is considering. A cross-sell suggests a related item. Baymard’s research on product page suggestions suggests offering both alternatives and companions to help shoppers at different stages of certainty.
Can a bundle discount get my store into trouble in Australia?
It can if the saving is not genuine. The Kogan and Dell Federal Court cases both involved misleading price claims. Keep price history, show real totals and get advice from a consumer law specialist if you are unsure about a particular claim.
Sources
- Zipify: 2022 Year in Review
- Baymard: product page suggestions
- Baymard: list item attributes for cross-sell recommendations
- D2C Times: one-click upsells and AOV
- RecurX: upsell and subscription options
- WAtoday: Kogan misled customers by raising prices before EOFY sale
- Norton Rose Fulbright: Pricing in the digital era, ACCC v Kogan
- Channelnews: Dell Australia misled customers with fake discounts
- Lexology: The ACCC cracks down on drip pricing for online sales
