Average Order Value (AOV) – the average amount each customer spends per order is a key metric for any e-commerce store. Raising your AOV means more revenue from the traffic you already have, improving profitability without needing to acquire new customers. Many Shopify brands are looking to boost AOV using smart merchandising tactics, especially with the holiday season approaching. In this post, we'll explore how free gift promotions, product add-ons, and upsell pop-ups can help increase your store's AOV. These strategies are proven ways to encourage larger purchases, and now that Shopify has released its "Unlisted" product status this has become much easier and cleaner to do.
Everyone loves a free gift. You can offer a free item when the shopper buys a specific quantity of qualified products (e.g. "Buy 2 or more and get a gift!"). This approach is ideal for merchants who sell consumables, apparel, or any product where customers frequently purchase multiples. Or you can just add a free gift to make the users more enticed to purchase the original item and increase your "Add To Cart" rate. In fact, free gifts can elevate AOV by an impressive 15–30%. The reason it works so well is reciprocity – customers are happy to spend a little more if it means getting something extra at no additional cost.
Here's a couple of examples:
Whether you're trying to increase volume or adding surprise value, free gifts are a simple yet effective tactic to increase customer satisfaction and cart engagement — especially during peak shopping seasons when shoppers are primed to buy more.
A super simple way to boost AOV is by offering product add-ons or upgrades right on the product page. These are essentially product page upsells – additional items or services that complement the main product and increase the total order value. The idea is to present shoppers with relevant extras at the time they're considering a purchase so they are more likely to add more items to their cart.
For example, if a customer is looking at a coffee maker, you might offer an add-on for a premium coffee bean bundle or a travel mug at a discount. If someone is buying a laptop, you could highlight a 1-year extended warranty or accident protection plan. A person buying a gift item might appreciate a gift wrap option as an add-on. In each case, you're providing more value (and convenience) to the customer, while also increasing the order size.
Popular add-ons that Shopify merchants use to increase sales include:
The key with product page add-ons is relevance and simplicity. The offer should feel like a helpful suggestion, not a pushy upsell. By showcasing add-ons that enhance the main product, you make the customer's life easier and increase the perceived value of their purchase. Apps like Smart Upsell make it easy to configure these product page add-ons without any coding.
Arguably, the best moment to increase order value is when the customer has shown strong purchase intent by either adding an item to cart or clicking the "Checkout" button. Pop-ups that appear at this stage can present a timely, relevant offer that's hard to resist. At this point, the shopper has committed to buying something already so suggesting one more item can produce high-converting results.
These pre-checkout upsells are pretty easy. For instance, after a shopper clicks "Add to Cart" for a pair of shoes, a pop-up could suggest "Add a pair of socks for 50% off?" before they proceed. Or when the customer hits the checkout button, you might show a quick offer like "Get a travel-size shampoo for just $5 extra – today only!" The key is that the offer is highly relevant to their cart and is a low-friction add-on (ideally a lower-priced item or a special deal) that feels like a logical addition.
When setting up upsell pop-ups, keep these best practices in mind:
Make the Offer Relevant: The upsell product should complement what's already in the cart. If the customer is buying a smartphone, upsell a case or earphones – not an unrelated item. Relevant offers feel helpful rather than salesy.
Offer a Special Deal: Give the customer a reason to take the upsell now. This could be a limited-time discount ("Save 20% if added now") or an exclusive bundle not available elsewhere. The urgency and exclusivity can boost conversion.
Price it Right: Upsell items should generally be a small fraction of the main purchase price – a common rule is no more than ~25% of the cart's value.
With all these strategies — free gifts, product add-ons, and pop-up upsells — there's always been an annoying challenge: how do you include special offer products without showing them in your storefront or search?
Shopify's new Unlisted product visibility setting solves this perfectly.
Previously, merchants had to jump through hoops to hide upsell-only or gift products: creating custom collections, disabling sales channels, or using workarounds. Now, with Unlisted, it's simple: the product is completely hidden from navigation, collections, search, and feeds, but it's still purchasable via direct link or app logic.
That means:
It's a small change with a big impact: more flexibility for your store layout, less friction in your upsell setup, and a better customer experience overall.
Smart Upsell by Libautech supports all three strategies above — product page add-ons, pop-up upsells, and free gift bundles — and works natively with Shopify's Unlisted visibility. You can get started for free and see your first upsell live in minutes.
A product add-on is an extra item or service shown alongside a main product to increase average order value. Common examples include warranties, gift wrapping, accessories, or complementary items displayed on the product page or in a post-add-to-cart pop-up.
The easiest way is to use an upsell app like Smart Upsell. You configure which products to recommend as add-ons, set any discount, and the app handles the display — no theme editing required. It takes about 10 minutes to set up your first offer.
Unlisted is a Shopify product visibility option that hides a product from your storefront, collections, and search results while keeping it purchasable via a direct URL or app logic. It's ideal for upsell-only products, free gifts, and exclusive bundles you don't want showing up in regular browsing.
Yes. Research shows free gift promotions can increase AOV by 15–30%, primarily through reciprocity — customers feel more inclined to complete (or expand) a purchase when they receive something extra at no additional cost.
A general rule is to keep upsell items under 25% of the current cart value. Lower-priced, high-relevance items convert best because they feel like a logical addition rather than a major extra commitment. A $5–$15 add-on on a $50 order typically performs better than a $40 upsell on the same cart.
Upselling encourages the customer to buy a higher-value version of what they're already considering (e.g. upgrading from a standard to a premium plan). Cross-selling suggests a related but separate product (e.g. recommending a phone case to someone buying a phone). Both increase AOV, and both can be set up with Smart Upsell.
