How BNPL helps boost cross-selling and upselling for e-commerce businesses

The benefits of upselling

Giving customers opportunities to spend flexibly during their shopping journeys can increase revenue and improve customer retention. According to Forbes, existing customers spend 31% more than new customers,¹ so it may benefit e-commerce businesses to generate more sales from customers they’ve already converted — without the additional cost of customer acquisition.

Common upselling strategies can include personalized product recommendations before and at checkout, tiered products and services, bundles, and upgrades. Successful upselling can add value for both enterprises and customers.

For enterprises:

• Increased average order value (AOV). Upselling can increase the average amount each customer spends in a single transaction.

• Higher customer lifetime value (CLTV). Upselling increases the value of customers an enterprise has already converted and retained. This can reduce reliance on costly customer acquisition strategies.

• Additional revenue streams. Upselling drives profitability by revealing customers who are willing to spend more.

For customers:

• Access to exclusive products or services. Customers can be incentivized to add more to their baskets to unlock free shipping, gift wrapping, and other exclusive perks.

• Personalized recommendations. Tailored offers can simplify decision-making for customers.

• Convenience and speed. The option to buy more from one business can appeal to time-pressed or brand-loyal customers.

• Potential cost savings through bundle deals. With bundles, spending more can lead to savings and introduce customers to new products.

The benefits of cross-selling

Cross-selling strategies focus on encouraging purchases across product categories. Successfully converting new prospects is a major hurdle for e-commerce businesses, so selling more to existing customers has big appeal for large businesses — and benefits customers as well.

For enterprises:

• Increased AOV and CLTV. Cross-selling can increase both AOV and CLTV by diversifying shopping cart contents.

• Additional revenue streams. According to Forbes, existing customers are 50% more likely to try a new product.¹

For customers:

• Personalized recommendations. Meaningful product recommendations across categories can help attract and retain e-commerce customers.

• Potential cost savings through bundle deals. Bundles and add-ons are also a common cross-selling strategy that can add value for customers and drive more sales.

• Reduced friction during the sales process. Simplified decision-making may lead to increased customer satisfaction.

• Greater product awareness. Cross-selling can help increase customer awareness of all of a brand’s products or services.

Cross-selling, upselling, and BNPL

The option to pay for purchases over time, often without interest or fees, enables customers to buy more — and pay flexibly. Among BNPL users surveyed in 2023, 82% said convenience was a primary reason for choosing BNPL at checkout, while 55% said BNPL enables them to buy products they would struggle to afford otherwise.² With PayPal Pay Later, pet supply brand Whisker saw a 58% increase in AOV with Pay in 4,³ and a 98% increase in AOV with Pay Monthly.⁴

Adding BNPL to your cross-selling and upselling toolkit

Appropriate BNPL messaging that highlights the benefits of BNPL to customers helps make successful cross-selling and upselling possible.

Personalized messaging automatically divides the customer’s payment into installments, showing them how much they’ll pay without interest. Messaging should detail how repayments work and use trusted BNPL names to signal reliability and help customers check out with clarity and confidence.