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Replatforming ManagementPlatform SelectionProject DeliveryRequirements GatheringRFP Management15 Inspiring Examples of Cart Upsells - Intuitive, Unique and Clean UX Design
Author
Josh Hobson
Josh joined Vervaunt in May 2021, having previously worked in a number of other marketing roles for eCommerce-focused agencies. Josh has a very strong background in strategic marketing and brings with him ~7 years' experience.
Finding the balance of good UX design in cart upsells can be a challenge for retailers. Many eCommerce platforms only have simple out-of-the-box templates and building bespoke designed solutions can be expensive.
However, when done right, maximising opportunities in the cart and checkout can be a great way to increase revenues, and it can also be an opportunity to infuse brand voice and showcase product ranges.
Through marginal improvements to the display of the cart, upsells can significantly improve conversion rate and average order values.
Here are some brands that are getting it right with their cart upsells:
Bite Toothpaste
https://bitetoothpastebits.com/
Once a product has been added to a basket, Bite offers a selection of recommendations to complement your purchase pre-checkout.
If buying their signature toothpaste product, suggestions for other key items such as floss and mouthwash will be presented. Not only do they suggest other products, but the brand also offers a subscription model with potential savings.
This is all cleanly displayed in a user friendly way that makes the customer feel informed and considered rather than hounded with sales and promotions. Ensuring that this transition is streamlined is essential in order to keep the customer engaged and reduce drop-offs.
Vacation Inc.
The cart for Vacation is non intrusive and becomes a seamless element of the product page, reducing the steps to checkout.
Complementary products like eau de toilette and sun hats are offered for add-on purchases, in an intuitive carousel. Free delivery minimum is also clearly displayed, with key information on how much the customer needs to spend to qualify.
The cart is clean, well designed and intuitive. A difficult to navigate checkout is a sure fire way to ensure abandoned carts, so ensuring a strong user experience for upsells here is essential.
Gymshark
Gymshark have utilised their cart display with a clean and intuitive design. By using the white space adjacent to the selected items, they have found a way to highlight recommended products to customers whilst also delivering strongly on UX in a unique way.
Offering personalisation based on the selected product is a key tool for a brand that has a large product range. A carousel format is a clear format to display multiple recommended products without overcrowding the customer view. This is another innovative design feature from Gymshark that will undoubtedly become a trending feature that inspires other retailers.
Primal Kitchen
https://www.primalkitchen.com/
Another example of a brand that recommends both additional products from its range and the benefits of a subscription service is Primal Kitchen. The site presents products and options based on existing products in the cart - which also dynamically updates when new items are added.
The site also takes advantage of a free shipping calculator, informing the customer of additional spend needed to qualify for free delivery.
Offering this dynamic feed of recommendations and options ensures that the customer feels that their experience is personalised and tailored to their own journey rather than a one size fits all approach that is often used by retailers.
Harry’s
For a brand with limited products, upsells and promotions are key. The Harry's cart pop-up captures the customer’s attention and offers additional product recommendations in a seamless and informal way - using casual micro-copy like ‘Toss these in’.
Using this informal tone of voice creates a familiarity between brand and customer that helps to usher additional spend. Keeping the brand voice present throughout the whole buying journey helps to carry out consistency and trust with the consumer.
As with other brands, Harry’s also has a free shipping calculator to help increase spend in the cart.
Joseph Joseph
A brand known for its innovation and focus on user-friendly products, Joseph Joseph implements this mentality online. The cart space has been used to highlight add-ons that pair with the chosen product range. This nicely encourages the customer to complete the pairing of products.
The clean design uses white space well, maximising screen space often underused with a pop-out cart. Not only is this a fresh take on a cart upsell design, it also captures shopper’s attention immediately.
Although the product recommendations in the carousel aren’t dynamic, it uses this opportunity to showcase the diverse range available, giving a spotlight to best selling products that the customer may be interested in.
Grind
Grind has taken a different approach with their cart upsell. They’ve given the option to add a gift message with a purchase for an additional £1. A simple feature that can help personalise a purchase and provide a more positive customer experience.
This is a concept that is simple and basic but makes an impact on the customer by giving them the ability to get further engaged with their purchase - especially with a product range as specific as Grind’s.
Some brands force shoppers to add an extra ‘product’ for gift wrapping or gift messages, and so it is refreshing and simple to see this as a check box in the cart.
Nolii
Nolii is another great example of a brand that uses the cart to recommend pairing products. Capturing a customer’s attention just before checkout with products that are complementary to the chosen product.
The design is clean and promotes products and prices clearly, whilst also ensuring the upsell isn’t intrusive and bulky.
This works especially well with a limited product range such as Nolii’s, encouraging that cart uplift with supplementary secondary products at a lower price point than the primary item.
Susanne Kaufmann
https://www.susannekaufmann.com
Susanne Kaufmann has tapped into the pairing recommendation format by promoting products from a range that complement each other as a suggestion in the cart.
Giving the customer this personalised recommendation is an easy win to enhance their experience and provide options that are suitable to their existing choices.
Including the short one-line description with the product recommendation helps to give the customer enough information to make a decision without overwhelming them, and offers extra context.
Natreve
Perhaps the most visually captivating cart we’ve seen recently, Natreve blends their fun brand identity throughout. In the cart, they jovially encourage customers to add in extra products before checkout. The upsell box is clearly marked, with a highlighted background, and almost blends into the existing cart - allowing the customer to visualise purchasing the product.
Natreve has also carefully curated these upsell products, and limited them to one product so as not to overwhelm any shopper.
This is a great example of how to make a feature like cart upselling work for your brand and incorporating it into the customer journey effortlessly.
PANGAIA
Unlike other brands, PANGAIA launches a pop-up of recommendations rather than opening the cart directly. Using this format under a ‘mix & match’ heading allows space for a variety of options to be displayed. This gives the customer a positive experience with multiple suggestions and allows the brand to play around with the recommendations presented.
For brands with a variety of products available, this format gives a lot of freedom to mix up the recommendations available.
Parachute Home
Parachute has utilised their cart upsell space for charitable causes, which is another unique way to consider your upsells. Adding this feature to the cart is a great way for brands to create synergy with their values by adding in a donation tick box to their chosen charity.
Parachute Home has also used clear messaging in the cart, giving customers the ability to recognise that they can use Affirm for their buy now, pay later finance options.
Daring
Daring is another brand with a well-designed and seamless upsell experience on their pop-out cart. The ‘Quick Adds’ are easy to find and browse, and only offer a limited number of upsell options to increase conversion by avoiding decision paralysis.
The ‘Quick Add’ language also sounds casual and informal, minimising the impact of adding an additional product to your cart.
The upsells are dynamic too, changing as you update your cart and offering flavours and product types not currently in the cart.
FEWE
Taking a slightly different approach, FEWE have opted to use the space below the cart to showcase their best selling products. This gives customers a quick snapshot at the most popular products that might be suitable for them, and encourages them to quickly add to their cart without having to search the site.
Open Spaces
Open Spaces has used the carousel format in the cart area but instead of showcasing several items at once, they have decided to focus on one at a time. This has a more seamless feel as it gives customers time to look at individual products and click through the carousel at their own pace, allowing for additional product discovery
The products suggested are relevant to the primary purchase making the recommendation feel personalised.
Top Tips for eCommerce Cart Upsells
Keep recommendations limited to a few relevant options and align these with the customer's existing purchase.
Ensure the user experience is is swift and intuitive to avoid abandoned carts.
Maintain brand tone of voice throughout to ensure consistency for customers and create familiarity.
If you want to find out more about cart upsell best practice and need help maximising your online store, then get in touch at [email protected]
