Post-purchase upsell

Learn how to use the Post-Purchase Upsell feature of the AOV Post Purchase Upsell app to boost your sales and maximize AOV in this step-by-step guide.

Who can use this feature

Store owners and staff with permission to install and manage apps on Shopify.
Merchants who use payment methods supported by post‑purchase offers (Credit card, PayPal, Shop Pay). For other payment providers, use Thank you page upsell or Order status page upsell.

What is Post-purchase upsell?

The Post-Purchase Upsell feature allows you to recommend complementary products to customers after they complete their checkout. It’s an effective way to encourage additional purchases and boost your store’s Average Order Value (AOV).

Why Post-purchase upsell?

Optimize "last-minute" purchase window

Post-purchase upselling utilizes last-minute purchase window where customers already have the momentum of a completed transaction, thereby suggesting products customers didn’t think to buy initially.

Tap into emotional buying

At checkout, customers are already in a buying mindset. Optimizing this psychological state, Post-purchase upsell creates time-sensitive deals that they can't resist.

Enhance customer shopping experience

You can offer useful product recommendations, such as suggesting specific products, applying percentage or fixed amount discounts for their purchases, etc to make the shopping more valued and engaging.

How to set up Post-purchase upsell offer?

Trigger Condition

Step 1: Select Post-purchase upsell

Navigate Offers in the Menu > Choose Create new offer > Click Select on Post-purchase upsell card.

If this is your first time using the feature, you’ll need to embed the app into your post-purchase page. Follow the instructions provided in the yellow banner.

Step 2: Define your Offer information

Offer name

Enter a name for your campaign so that you can easily identify it later on. You customers won't see this name on the storefront.

(Optional) Select Edit discount code to customize the discount applied.

Step 3: Add Trigger conditions

Under Trigger conditions, choose one the trigger conditions so that your post-purchase offers can be shown:

Set conditions: Target specific purchases.
No condition: Show the offer to all customers.

If you select Set conditions, you can build rules using criteria:

Product (or variant) → Show only if the order includes or excludes specific SKUs.
Collection → Target entire collections (e.g., “Winter Skincare”).
Product tag → Include or exclude items tagged in Shopify.
Total order value → Show only if cart subtotal reaches a threshold (e.g., orders above $50).
Total product quantity → Trigger based on how many items are in the cart.
Shipping country → Restrict offers to customers in selected regions.
Specific customer segment → Target Shopify segments (e.g., returning buyers).

For each condition:

Select the Criteria from the dropdown.
Choose an operator (Include / Exclude).
Add the product, collection, or value to match.
Add more rules with + Add ‘AND’ condition.

Review the Summary panel.

Confirm the conditions and note: Offer will show after a payment is made via Credit card, PayPal or Shop Pay.

Click Preview offer to test visibility.

Decision help

Start with No condition if you need to validate the layout and copy.
Use Set conditions when the add‑on should match items in the order (accessories, refills, size‑ups).

Step 4: Advanced settings.

Open Advanced settings.

In Active date, pick a Start date and time. Use the timezone shown in the panel.

(Optional) Select Set end date, then pick the end date and time.

Select Save.

Upsell offer

This step defines what customers see after they pay. Configure each card from top to bottom.

Step 1: Offer settings

Hide items already in the order (checkbox): When enabled, any product that is already in the original order will not appear in the upsell.

Step 2: Set up Upsell #1

It's the first offer customers see on the post‑purchase page.

Choose how to add products

AI recommendation: Let AOV.ai suggest products for this upsell based on your store type and goals. Review the suggestions and confirm. You can edit products later.
Specific product: Pick one or more products/variants manually. Use this when you already know the best add‑on.
Specific collection: Select a collection to auto‑populate from its items (ensure stock is available). Useful for dynamic or seasonal ranges.

(Optional) Open Need upsell strategies?

Explore recommended tactics for your store category and objective (for example, accessory add‑on, bundle, refill). Choose a strategy to prefill suggestions, then review.

Step 3: (Optional) Set up Downsell (if declined)

It is a secondary offer that appears only when the customer declines Upsell #1.

Shows after Upsell #1 is declined; never shows when Upsell #1 is accepted.
Respects Offer settings → Hide items already in the order if enabled.

Turn on the toggle in the Downsell card.

The card is off by default.

Select Add product and choose a source

AI recommendation — Let AOV.ai suggest downsell items. Review and confirm.
Specific product — Search and select one or more products/variants.
Specific collection — Pick a collection to populate items dynamically.

Best practices

Offer a smaller size, lower price, or fewer features than Upsell #1.
Keep the decision easy: short copy, clear price/discount chips (15%, Free shipping).

After adding a product, review the product tile

Check stock status. If you see Out of stock, replace the item or update inventory; OOS items won’t render.
Use the pencil icon to edit the offer; trash icon to remove it.

In the Downsell edit modal

Discounts — Choose a type (for example, Percentage discount) and set the value (for example, 15%).
Shipping — Choose how shipping is handled (for example, Free shipping). A chip ("Free") appears on the tile when enabled.
Use custom description — Check to write a short message that replaces the product description in the widget.
Select Save.

Use Preview offer in Summary to verify layout and logic.

Step 4: (Optional) Set up Upsell #2 (if accepted)

It's a follow‑up offer that appears only when the customer accepts Upsell #1.

Shows after Upsell #1 is accepted; never shows when Upsell #1 is declined.
Works alongside a configured Downsell (each triggers based on customer action).

Turn on the toggle in the Upsell #2 card (Off by default.)

Select Add product and choose a source

AI recommendation — Use suggestions tailored to your store and goals; review and confirm.
Specific product — Manually select product(s)/variant(s) that pair with Upsell #1.
Specific collection — Choose a collection to draw items from.

After adding a product, open the edit modal (pencil icon)

Discounts — Choose discount type and set value (for example, Percentage discount → 10% or None).
Shipping — Pick shipping handling (for example, Free shipping) if you want to sweeten the offer.
Use custom description — (Optional) Replace the product description with a focused message.
Select Save.

This is Step 3 of the new, streamlined offer creation flow. In this step, you design the look, feel, and urgency of your offer in real-time. This new customizer eliminates context switching by allowing you to edit the widget directly while previewing the changes instantly.

When you enter Step 3: Widget content, you will see a three-pane editor: the Structure Panel (Left), the Live Preview (Center), and the Settings Panel (Right).

1. Customize Widget Structure (Left Panel)

The left panel lists all the customizable elements of your offer page in order. Click on any of these elements to reveal its specific settings in the right-hand panel.

Template: Select the overall layout of your offer (e.g., Focus Offer, Side-by-Side, Combo Stack).
Header: Edit the main title and introduction text.
Countdown Timer: Add a time limit to create urgency.
Product Information: Adjust how the product details are shown (title, images, star rating, etc.).
Price & Discount: Customize the appearance of the original price, discount amount, and savings message.
Accept Button: Modify the text (e.g., "Pay Now") and styling.
Decline Button: Modify the text (e.g., "No, thanks") and style (Link or Button).

2. Edit Settings (Right Panel) & Preview (Center)

Edit: Select an element from the Structure Panel, and use the Settings Panel (Right) to change the text, colors, duration, and visibility.
Preview: The Live Preview (Center) will update instantaneously. Use the Desktop and Mobile toggles above the preview to ensure your design looks perfect on all devices.

Offer Summary and Audit

The summary panel on the right acts as an Offer Auditor throughout the 3-step process.

Confirm Conditions (from Step 1) and Offer details (items in Upsell #1/#2/Downsell).
The auditor provides a live checklist to ensure all required fields are filled and products have available inventory.
Use Preview offer to open the test view in a new window.

Final Step: Verify and Launch

Check that the upsell appears and charges correctly to prevent issues in live orders.

Activate app
- In your Shopify admin, go to Settings → Checkout.
- Scroll to the Post‑purchase page.
- Select AOV Post Purchase Upsell as your post‑purchase app.
- Save.
Make an order
- Choose one option:
  - Option 1: Real order (Recommended): Pay with a supported method (Credit/Debit card, PayPal, or Shop Pay). Keep the order value small (e.g., $1). After testing, refund or cancel the order.
  - Option 2: Test order (For test store): Enable Bogus Payment Method in Shopify Payments (test mode). Place an order and avoid $0 totals (no 100% off codes).
View order tracker
- Open Order Tracker (link in the summary panel).
- Find the Order ID you just placed.
- Review the result: Shown (the upsell rendered), Accepted (the item was added and charged), or Declined.
Need help? Select Let us help to contact support.

Final step: Save and launch

Preview the widget on desktop and mobile to ensure it looks appealing. Click Save and ensure the offer is active.

Start using the Post-Purchase Upsell feature today and watch your AOV soar!

Last updated 18 hours ago