Cross-Selling and Bundling to Increase AOV
Increasing Average Order Value (AOV) is one of the most efficient ways to grow ecommerce revenue without acquiring more customers. Two of the most powerful tactics for doing this are cross-selling and bundling. This article covers how to use both strategies to encourage larger purchases, improve customer experience, and boost profitability.
What Is AOV and Why It Matters
AOV (Average Order Value) = Total Revenue / Number of Orders
Higher AOV means:
- More revenue from each customer
- Lower customer acquisition costs (CAC)
- Higher lifetime value (LTV)
- Increased return on ad spend (ROAS)
Cross-Selling: Show Related or Complementary Products
Cross-selling involves recommending additional products that complement the item a customer is buying.
Examples:
- Suggesting a jewelry cleaning kit when someone buys a necklace
- Recommending matching earrings for a bracelet
- Offering priority shipping or gift packaging at checkout
Best Practices:
- Use AI or automation to surface relevant items
- Display cross-sells on product pages, in cart, and at checkout
- Limit options to avoid decision fatigue (2โ4 relevant items)
EcomBiz.AI can automatically assign cross-sell recommendations by category or product tag.
Bundling: Sell Multiple Products Together
Bundling combines multiple items into a single offerโusually at a slight discount.
Types of Bundles:
- Pure Bundles: Items only sold together (e.g., gift sets)
- Mixed Bundles: Items also sold separately (e.g., buy necklace + earrings together)
- Volume Bundles: Buy more, save more (e.g., 3 rings for $99)
Benefits:
- Increases perceived value
- Reduces decision fatigue
- Encourages discovery of new products
Implementation Tips:
- Keep bundles simple and intuitive
- Offer a small discount to increase conversion
- Highlight bundle savings clearly
Where to Implement Cross-Selling and Bundling
- Product Pages: Show related items beneath the main product
- Cart Pages: Add a โYou may also likeโฆโ or โFrequently bought togetherโ section
- Post-Purchase Emails: Suggest products to complement recent orders
- Homepage & Category Pages: Feature curated collections or seasonal bundles
Measure and Optimize
Track the performance of your upsell and bundle offers:
- AOV trends before/after implementation
- Bundle conversion rate
- Cart abandonment rate
- Click-through rate on cross-sell items
Use A/B testing to experiment with placement, language, and discount amount.
Conclusion
Cross-selling and bundling are powerful tools to drive revenue growth without new traffic. When implemented strategically and supported by automation, they can significantly increase AOV, customer satisfaction, and long-term profitability.
Tools like EcomBiz.AI make it easy to implement intelligent cross-sell rules, automate bundle offers, and measure their impactโhelping you get more value out of every customer transaction.