Shopify’s new checkout extension feature enables businesses to drive more conversions and increase average order value by offering AI-based product recommendations directly on the checkout page. Earlier, Shopify Plus merchants had to modify the code in order to upsell at the checkout page. With the new drag-and-drop checkout editor, you can easily set it up in minutes.
We are pleased to announce that AfterShip Personalization has been selected as a Shopify checkout extension launch partner and is the first batch of apps that fully support this feature.
In this article, we will discuss how to automate checkout upsell for your eCommerce store with AfterShip Personalization, so you can invest your valuable time on other crucial activities that drive more sales and revenue. So get set to learn about creating a seamless checkout experience, increasing the average order value, driving sales with smart upsell offers, and reducing abandonment rate at checkout.
What is a Shopify checkout extension?
Shopify's checkout UI extensions let the developers build custom functionality that merchants can easily install in the checkout flow. It helps Shopify Plus merchants customize their checkout without needing to add a custom code to the checkout.liquid file. With this, all checkout customizations will be easier to configure with a drag-and-drop checkout editor.
Besides this, the editor works for all Shopify Plus merchants, regardless of whether they are using theme 2.0 or not. The checkout UI extension enables you to add unique elements such as product offers, custom fields, and banners to your checkout pages, creating a unified experience for buyers wherever they choose to checkout.
Moreover, you don’t have to worry about duplicating brand settings in your app since UI extensions automatically inherit the brand appearance of the merchant’s checkout.
What is AfterShip Personalization?
AfterShip Personalization is designed to help you increase your average order value (AOV) and offer a personalized shopping experience throughout the customer's buying journey. All features are centered around the checkout page, which is the heart of eCommerce, as this is where the deal happens.
You can leverage the cart page upsell feature to sell more before the customer hits the checkout page. After checkout, make the best use of post-purchase one-click upsells (OCU) to boost AOV with irresistible post-purchase offers.
AfterShip Personalization analyzes customers’ purchase history, browsing history, and cart to determine which products would complement customers’ purchases and can boost revenue. It allows you to sell more products without increasing the time spent on upselling, which ideally is a win-win for both you and your customers.
The checkout upsell feature works automatically and doesn’t require any additional input from you or your employees. You can choose which products to recommend and can even customize the messages you want to display to the customers. Currently, the feature is available only for the Shopify Plus plan holders, but it makes sense to upgrade to Shopify Plus, if you haven’t yet, in order to enjoy the benefits of the checkout upsell feature.
Here’s how: Let’s suppose your monthly revenue is $200k. Now, the checkout upsell has an average 8% conversion rate and 25% AOV boost, which will bring you extra $4k revenue. It significantly surpasses the cost of the Shopify Plus plan, i.e., $2k, and generates extra revenue.
How AfterShip Personalization’s checkout upsell works
Here’s how the automation magic works.
AfterShip checkout uses the power of an AI-enabled system to make relevant and personalized recommendations. For instance, if a customer has added a t-shirt and a hoodie to the cart, the AI system would recommend a pair of jeans to boost the AOV. The AI checkout upsell feature is powered by machine learning technology and is intended to enhance the customer checkout experience by helping brands increase sales through personalized product recommendations.
Steps to enable AfterShip Personalization’s checkout upsell
- Log in to your AfterShip personalization account
- Click Checkout order bump
- Update the offer title, layout, recommendation type, action button, style, etc.
- Enable the offer
- Save the configuration and publish the offer to display personalized offers on your checkout page
When a customer comes to the checkout page, the AI will automatically recommend products. These recommendations are personalized according to the customer’s purchase and browsing history, so you’re likely to see different product suggestions for different customers. Customers can directly click the add to cart button to add the products to their cart.
Tips to optimize your Shopify AI checkout upsell strategy
As it applies to any new feature or strategy, the AI checkout upsell feature is not one-size-fits-all. While trying out the feature, you should closely monitor the results and their impact on your overall checkout conversion rate. Here are three tips to help optimize your upsell strategy:
- Some industries are best suited for upselling, while others are suitable for cross-selling. Choose an adequate recommendation type based on your industry. If you are confused about which recommendation type to choose, just go with Automatic.
- Many merchants like to manually select products to upsell. However, those non-personalized offers usually don’t work well globally. You should combine manual selection with AI upsell to maximize the benefit, utilizing the AOV boost by AI and merchandising needs.
- Sometimes it’s the price and not the product that matters. Customers are likely to spend an extra 25% of their original order value, at most, on the checkout page. As a result, upselling products with a lucrative discount is a strategy that always works. Additionally, AfterShip Personalization’s AI system truly understands the nature of the product and the purchase ticket size and hence, wouldn’t recommend a bed to a customer who is buying a sheet at the checkout page.
Conclusion
The new AI checkout upsell feature in AfterShip Personalization is a win-win for both you and your customers. It uses artificial intelligence to recommend products that are likely to increase sales and average order values. The AI checkout upsell feature works automatically and doesn’t require any additional input from you or your employees. The more frequently customers see product recommendations on the checkout page, the more likely they will purchase one or more of those items.
