Overview
This best practices guide will help you boost conversions and drive revenue with quick, actionable steps. We’ll cover essentials like rewards, upsells, branding, and add-ons—plus a bonus tip to make the most of empty carts.
Tip #1: Add Your Branding for a Seamless Experience
Let’s talk about the first step to boosting conversions: keeping your cart design consistent with your brand. Why? When your cart looks and feels like the rest of your store, customers feel more confident buying—so take a few minutes to make it yours!
Here’s an overview of the key features and best practices:
Match Your Typography: Use UpCart’s ‘Inherit Fonts’ setting in the Design Module to match your cart’s typography to your store’s. By default, the cart uses Poppins, a clean, modern font.
Customize Button and Text Colors: Choose colors that reflect your branding. Consider using contrasting colors to make your Call-to-Action (CTA) buttons stand out. This helps guide your customers’ attention and encourages action.
Simplify the Cart Layout: Keep the cart clean by focusing on essentials like product details, subtotal, and a clear ‘Checkout’ button, while avoiding large images or too many upsells.
Add photos - successful brands we use?
Need help finding your brand colors? Check out Shopify’s color scheme guide and
brand asset management guide for tips. For more details, check out our Design Module Help Doc.
Tip #2: Set up Smart Rewards
Moving to Tip #2: Setting up Smart Rewards! The rewards bar encourages customers to add more to their cart with progressive rewards that increase Average Order Value (AOV). Using all three reward tiers helps fully optimize this feature. The best rewards focus on tangible value, aligning with what your customers care about most.
How to Set up Rewards:
Start with Your AOV: Calculate your current AOV to determine realistic thresholds for your reward tiers.
Set Gradual Thresholds: Start with a small, achievable first tier (10–20% above your AOV). For example, if your AOV is $50, set the first tier at $55–$60.
Keep Customers Motivated: Set slightly higher tiers to encourage customers to add more to unlock better rewards.
Align with Your Goals: Choose rewards that fit customer behavior and align with your business margins.
For detailed setup instructions and rewards logic, check out our UpCart Rewards Module Documentation.
Three Reward Tiers
If your business model allows for it, an ideal setup includes Tier 1: Free Shipping, Tier 2: Discounts, and Tier 3: Free Gifts. Let’s break these down.
Tier 1: Free Shipping
Free shipping is a favorite for reducing cart abandonment. Set an attainable threshold—like $55–$60 if your AOV is $50—to motivate customers. Starting with smaller thresholds or discounts and adjusting based on customer responses is the best way to maximize effectiveness.
Pro Tip: Use UpCart’s progress bar to show customers how close they are to earning free shipping.
Tier 2: Discounts or Percentage Off
Once free shipping is covered, offer discounts (5–15% to start) to incentivize higher spending. For larger purchases, consider testing discounts of 15–30% to see what works best for your audience. In our example, if Tier 1 is $60 for free shipping, set Tier 2 at $66–$72 with a 10% discount.
Pro Tip: Test smaller discounts first and adjust based on customer response.
Important note: UpCart does not create discounts; all discounts must be set up externally, either through our recommended partner, Abra Promotions or Shopify. Be mindful of Shopify's Discounting Limitations, which can affect how discounts are combined.
Tier 3: Exclusive Free Gifts
Free gifts are a powerful incentive for the highest reward tier, offering customers something tangible and memorable while encouraging higher spending. Unlike discounts, gifts create a sense of exclusivity and introduce customers to products they might purchase in the future.
How to Choose the Right Gift:
Offer Value: Select items that feel rewarding but don’t hurt margins, like samples, best-sellers, or branded merchandise.
Make It Relevant: Choose gifts that resonate with your audience and align with your product offerings.
Example Setup:
If Tier 2 offers a discount at $72, set Tier 3 at $77–$84 with a free item, such as a travel-sized product, a new sample, or branded swag like a tote bag or water bottle. Highlight the value in your rewards bar to motivate customers (e.g., “Spend $84 to get a free tote bag worth $20!”).
Exclusive free gifts work well as Tier 3 rewards because they:
Enhance Value and Cross-Selling: Gifts like samples or best-sellers help customers feel valued and introduce them to new products.
Encourage Higher Spending: Customers are more likely to add items to reach the threshold.
Foster Customer Loyalty: Exclusive rewards make shoppers feel appreciated and encourage repeat purchases.
Tip #3: Effective UpSells, Helping Customers Find Exactly What They Need
Upsells are a win-win: they boost sales while helping customers find complementary items, creating a natural and rewarding shopping experience. Think about pairing a laptop with a case or adding a water bottle to a pair of running shoes.
What Makes Upsells Work
Here are four essentials for creating effective upsells:
Match the Main Purchase: Upsell items related to what’s in the cart, like a mouse for a laptop.
Extra Value: Offer products that improve the customer’s experience, like warranties or accessories.
Keep it Affordable: Offer smaller, lower-cost items to make the upsell feel like an easy choice.
Create Urgency: Use limited-time offers or discounts to encourage quick decisions (e.g., “Add now for 10% off!”).
Choosing AI or Manual Upsells
UpCart offers two ways to set up upsells: AI-recommended and manual. Each has its strengths, depending on your store’s size and goals.
Here's how to choose the right one for your store:
AI Upsells | Manual Upsells |
Perfect for large catalogs | Ideal for smaller product ranges |
Automatically suggests relevant items | Choice of exactly which items to promote |
Saves time by updating based on trends | Great for seasonal or popular products |
Real examples of using each:
AI Upsells: If a customer adds running shoes to their cart, the AI might recommend socks or a water bottle based on shopping trends.
Manual Upsells: A store selling phone cases can manually set upsells for matching screen protectors or chargers to ensure compatibility.
Pro Tip: You can only use one upsell method at a time, so pick the one that best aligns with your business goals, profit margins, and customer needs.
How Many Upsells should I show?
It may be tempting to show a customer a whole collection of upsells, after all, you have a lot to offer! However, best practice is to show 1-3 because the goal is to increase Average Order Value (AOV) without overwhelming customers or causing decision fatigue.
Here’s why 1–3 upsells is the ideal range:
Too few (1 upsell) → May not be enough variety to catch a customer’s interest.
Too many (4+ upsells) → Can feel cluttered, overwhelm customers, and distract from completing checkout actually increasing cart abandonment!
Why Upsells Matter
Upsells aren’t just about increasing cart value—they’re about helping customers find the perfect extras to complete their purchase. Whether you choose AI or manual upsells, a thoughtful approach can make shopping easier for your customers and more profitable for your store. For more steps on setting up upsells, check out our help documentation.
Tip #4: Enhancing Customer Experience with Add-Ons
Add-ons are an easy way to boost customer satisfaction and AOV by giving shoppers extra options like shipping protection or gift wrapping. These features are simple to set up in UpCart and display at the bottom of the cart with an On/Off toggle, making it effortless for customers to add or remove them without disrupting checkout.
Why Use Add-Ons?
Add-ons like gift wrapping or shipping protection address concerns like personalization and delivery security, making the shopping experience more valuable. Research shows that value-added options like these can reduce cart abandonment and increase completed purchases.
Here’s an overview of the key features and best practices:
Shipping Protection or Custom Add-On: Offer shipping protection (note: this makes you responsible for handling claims on lost/damaged packages) or or personalize your cart with options like gift wrapping.
Pricing Tiers: Adjust Shipping Protection add-on costs based on cart value. For example, add a charge of $3 for a $50 cart and $5 for a $100 cart to ensure fair pricing.
Item Count Customization: Decide whether add-ons, like gift wrapping, should count as separate cart items or remain uncounted to streamline checkout.
Quick Tips for Effective Add-Ons
Choose Wisely: You can only add one add-on, stick with a clear option that resonates most with your customers, like shipping protection or gift wrapping.
Transparency: Clearly explain the add-on’s benefits so customers know exactly what they’re getting (e.g., “Covers lost or damaged items up to $100”).
Tiered and Proportional Pricing: Ensure the add-on cost feels reasonable by using tiered pricing based on cart value, showing customers it’s worth the investment.
By keeping add-ons clear and easy to understand, you’ll enhance the customer experience, build trust, and encourage more completed purchases. For setup instructions, check out our UpCart Help Doc.
Bonus Tip: Turning Empty Carts into Shopping Opportunities
Did you know that over 69% of online shopping carts are abandoned? Turn empty carts into opportunities by showing relevant recommendations like best-sellers or seasonal picks to guide customers back into browsing. With UpCart’s empty cart recommendations, you can turn missed sales into new opportunities by displaying relevant products only when the cart is empty.
Maximizing the Impact of Empty Cart Recommendations
The UpCart Recommendations module is flexible and easy to set up:
Choose Relevant Products: Pick items that fit with your store’s style or current trends. Best-sellers and seasonal products work great to spark interest. (Tip: You control this manually in UpCart, so it’s easy to tailor to your audience.)
Enable a ‘Shop Now’ button and link it to a top-performing collection or sale page to encourage browsing and drive engagement.
Pick the Right Layout: Use a block layout for simplicity with 3–5 products, or go for a carousel to show more options without overwhelming the customer.
By adding recommendations to empty carts, you create a more engaging experience that keeps customers exploring your store. For setup help, check out our UpCart Help Doc or email us at support@upcart.app.