What is upsell, and how can you use it with a customer to increase your sales?

By Axelle Drack

Published: 28 June 2025

Upselling is a sales strategy often considered by entrepreneurs and companies when they are looking to increase their sales.

Sometimes confused with cross sell or down sell, this additional sales technique has its own characteristics and mechanisms.

Before finding out how to upsell in the best possible way, we'd like to take a look at the definition of upselling and why you should use it. We'll also give you a few examples that we hope will give you the inspiration you need to implement your own upsell strategy.

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What is upsell?

Definition

Upselling consists of offering a customer a service or product superior to the one initially chosen. This commercial offer helps to increase the average basket, thanks to the sale of products that enable the company to generate a higher margin.

Added value can take the form of :

greater convenience
better quality
faster results,
greater safety or protection.

The French translation of upsell is vente incitative or montée en gamme.

Why upsell?

This sales technique is an effective way of increasing sales more quickly and easily than if you had to convince new people to become customers. Even if only a small percentage of your customers accept your proposals, multiplied by the number of orders, this can represent a significant increase.

What's more, upselling gives you a competitive edge, because the extra margin can enable you to invest a little more than your competitors in customer acquisition.

7 examples of upselling

Upselling is a sales technique that's as old as commerce itself, but still just as effective at increasing the average user's shopping basket. Here are 7 concrete examples to illustrate this sales strategy and show you how to propose a superior offer at the right time, with real added value.

Catering: offer a premium menu with drinks and dessert included for a few euros more. The price goes up slightly, but the customer perceives much greater value.
High-tech: suggest a product in the same range, but with more features. For example, a smartphone with more memory or better photo quality.
Automotive: push for additional options, such as heated seats, metallic paint or an enhanced audio system. A move upmarket at a higher price, but often presented as an incentive.
Online training: instead of a pack of videos, the seller offers personalised support or individual coaching. Same product, but more comprehensive service.
Extended warranty: at the payment stage, offer additional insurance or dedicated customer service. This makes the purchase more reassuring and boosts sales.
B2B SaaS: offer a higher subscription including exclusive tools or advanced access. The business customer gains in efficiency, and you gain in sales.
Cosmetics: on a product page, offer a travel size or a complete pack with a discount. The customer goes from a simple purchase to an enhanced basket.

Upsell, cross-sell, downsell: what are the differences?

Cross-selling is the practice of selling one or more products that complement the main product. This additional sale makes it possible to increase the average basket by making the customer spend more than they had planned.

Down-selling, as opposed to upselling, involves offering a less expensive alternative to the product initially desired. It can be used to trigger a purchase if the sales assistant perceives hesitation, which could well lead to the product being abandoned.

You can use these three complementary techniques to increase your company's sales.

This example illustrates the difference between the three concepts:

How do you upsell? Our 6 top tips

Tip 1: Provide real added value

Your customers won't be fooled by window dressing or a nicely marketed offer whose sole aim is to serve your interests.

If your upsell offer doesn't add real value for your customers, they'll realise it. Don't take the risk of breaking the trust they place in you, or you'll lose them forever.

If you do everything you can to please them, they will naturally agree to spend more. It's a win-win strategy!

Tip 2: Respond to your customers' needs

To make intelligent upsell offers, keep your customers' needs in mind and respond to them. The additional value you offer must be able to solve their problems or help them achieve their objectives.

The choice of product you offer must meet a number of criteria:

have the same or a very similar function;
be personalised according to profile (gender, age, passions, purchase history, etc.);
be adapted to the customer's stage in the sales cycle.

To better understand your customers' needs, don't hesitate to practise active listening!

Tip no. 3: Find the perfect time

When should you offer an upsell? We've identified 5 ideal times to make upselling offers to your customers. This list is obviously not exhaustive.

You can make an upsell offer :

on the product sheet, to give customers the opportunity to select the most advanced versions;
before completing a sale, in the shopping basket or on the payment page, to push the upsell offer with the sales pitch;
just after the sale, to offer upgrades in the purchase confirmation email;
before the end of a free trial, to persuade customers to upgrade to a paid version with more options;
at the launch of a new product, which is more advanced and can make up for some of the minor shortcomings of the initial product.

Tip 4: Offer a reasonable and advantageous price differential

The price difference between the two products should not be too great if it is to be accepted. Don't necessarily offer the highest product in the range, but the one just above it, at no more than 10 to 20% of the price initially accepted.

As well as a reasonable difference, the ideal is for the new value for money to be more advantageous in order to trigger a purchase. For example

a 500g packet of pasta costs €2.5,
a 1 kg packet of pasta costs €3.25.

Tip no. 5: emphasise the arguments

More than just better value for money, you also need to highlight the added value of buying this product.

Give your customers at least one good reason to spend more:

find the right arguments ;
list the benefits ;
and add a few customer testimonials for social proof, which plays a big part in a customer's buying process.

Don't hesitate to anticipate your customers' objections to strengthen your sales pitch!

Tip no. 6: Use tools

To gather information about your prospects and customers, analyse it and then submit your offers to them, you need to be well equipped.

Here are the most useful types of software:

CRM software
marketing automation software
an emailing solution,

💡 Tip: if you want to offer personalised upsell offers easily on your website, some platforms like Shopify are full of additional modules specialising in upsell, to easily create your offers.

Integrating upselling into the customer journey: the funnel approach

Upselling is not about forcing sales. It's a strategic approach, well placed, at the right time. And that's precisely why the sales funnel approach is essential. Each stage of the customer journey represents a sales opportunity, provided you know how to offer an additional, relevant operation that is tailored to the real need.

Discovery phase: there's no need to roll out a premium offer on the first visit to the website. Prospects arrive with an intention, not immediately with their bank card. Here, we establish a relationship of trust, identify the type of product or service that appeals to them, and guide them along the way without overwhelming them.
Consideration phase: the potential customer begins to compare the different ranges, assess the value of the offer, measure price and quality. This is where you can offer a superior version, an improved solution or a complementary product. Everything must breathe added value. This phase is an excellent time to make a proposal with "advantages" before placing an order.
Purchase decision phase: it's now or never. A well-placed argument, an additional pack, an upgrade... In short, a helping hand that transforms a simple purchase into an enriched experience. To offer an upsell here is to close the additional sale and generate a "but of course, it's obvious!".

A well-integrated upsell is the art of selling a product or service as an incentive, without looking like one. And when it's seamless? You increase your sales without ever compromising customer satisfaction!

How can upselling be applied to e-commerce?

In e-commerce, upselling is a formidable sales strategy for increasing turnover without chasing after new customers. With a platform like Shopify, businesses can set up their entire conversion tunnel to optimise sales, right from the checkout page.

💡 The idea? Not to push an expensive product at all costs, but to steer the buyer towards a new product or service that is more relevant than the basic product, a more upmarket model for example. This is where the commercial objective comes into play: good, well-placed content, with a justified and visible price difference, can tip an average basket... towards a game-changing basket.

In practice:

Add an extra useful or clever item,
Focus on a version dedicated to a specific need,
Include an insert with a reduced price for a bulk order,
Play on social proof, social networks or existing customer experience.

Shopify lets you do all this without coding. We use customer data, adapt it according to the sector, the time spent on the website and the expected return on investment. And you monitor the KPIs to make ongoing adjustments. The result? Constant improvement, controlled development and a method for increasing the value of each commercial activity.