What is cross-selling? See how your webshop can benefit from it

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

Cross-selling is a way of encouraging users to buy other products aside from what they are looking for, by giving them other options that may have higher value instead of limiting them to already-encountered products. Cross-selling classifies products that satisfy additional, complementary, or supplementary needs that may not be fulfilled by the desired product.

1. Related products

These are the products which are complementary or supplementary to the selected item. For example, when the user selects a laptop computer, the site can show related products such as wireless mouse, speaker, laptop sleeve/bag, or screen protector film. Related products block is usually displayed on the product page.

^{(Figure 1: The image shows the related products block of a laptop computer.
It shows complementary items such as a mouse and a speaker.)}

2. Alternative Products

These are the products that are the same with the selected item but have added or other features. This is beneficial for users especially when the product they viewed did not fit their requirements. This can also be displayed on active pages of out-of-stock products. When users are given another set of options to choose from, this can reduce shopping cart abandonment.

^{(Figure 2: The image shows the alternative products block of a laptop computer.
It shows the same products but a difference in style.)}

3. Top Seller products

Top seller products are the items which are purchased by more customers. This will spark curiosity and inspire users to check on these products. The top sellers block is usually displayed across pages such as home, product listings (category/search), or product pages.

 

^{(Figure 3: The image shows a top sellers block in a site’s home page.)}

4. Most viewed products

These products are the items with the most number of visits. Similar to the top seller products, this will spark curiosity and inspire users to check these items. This block is displayed across different pages but is usually found in the product listings pages.

^{(Figure 4: The image shows the most viewed products block in a site’s home page.)}

5. Featured products

Featured products are the items with distinctive attributes or aspects such as limited stock offer or on-sale. These can also be any products that the site’s owner wants to be featured. Implementation of featured products is the same with the top sellers and most-viewed.

^{(Figure 5: The image shows the featured products block in a site’s home page.)}