#159: How to build high-converting cross-sells (without AI).

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No. 159: 

Hey all,

How should you decide which products to upsell?

Most brands guess.

Some rely on gut instinct. Others use AI to suggest random add-ons that rarely convert.

But there’s a better way, and it’s already in your Shopify dashboard.

This overlooked report shows you exactly what customers buy together, so you can build a high-converting cross-sell strategy without any tools or guesswork.

Here’s the step-by-step.

In less than 2 minutes, take away:

• An insight to test: This Shopify report maps your cross-sells for you.

• A news highlight: Meta plans to automate ad creation using AI by 2026.

• Useful tips: Order your collections by revenue. Here’s why.

Read time: 1.8 minutes

🎯 WEEKLY INSIGHT

Find your best cross-sell product by using the “Items Bought Together” report.

What’s the best way to decide which products to upsell?

Look at what customers already buy together.

No guesswork. No AI. No tools.

Just open your Shopify analytics and find the Items Bought Together report.

It shows exactly which products are added to cart together so you can create upsells that actually convert.

Here’s how to use it:

1) Open Shopify Analytics

2) Locate the “Items Bought Together” report.

3) Identify your top 10 most commonly paired products

4) Configure Your Cross-Sell Strategy

Configure your cross-sell strategy to recommend products that are frequently purchased together.

5) Apply the 25% rule

For the best conversion rate, cross-sells should be about a quarter of the main product’s price

6) TEST!

It’s recommended to TEST each cross-sell to ensure it improves total revenue (or average revenue per session). Not just AOV.

That’s it.

In under 30 minutes, you’ll have a data-backed cross-sell strategy grounded in REAL behavior.

Why it works:

When cross-sells are based on what buyers actually purchase together, they feel much more intuitive and convert faster.

We’ve seen results like:

• 50% lift in conversion rate (CVR)

• 23% higher average order value (AOV)

• 41% increase in revenue per visitor (RPV)

⭐ Takeaway: Use the Items Bought Together report to build high-performing cross-sells based on your customers' actual shopping patterns.

Try it out!

🕙 WHAT’S BREWING

How this CPG brand saw a 62x ROI in just 90 days.

📣 IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Order your collections by revenue. Here’s why.

Remove all customer “dead ends” from your site.

3 easy ways to lift product page conversions.

🗞️ NEWS HIGHLIGHT

Meta plans to automate ad creation using AI by 2026.

👀 FROM LAST WEEK

#158: Selling in retail, too? Don’t make this mistake.

💡 ALLEN’S QUICK TIP

👊 STOUT SUCCESS

Ready to talk shop? Book a strategy call with me.

Let’s work together. Here are 3 ways I can help:

•  🎯 Like this insight? See all previous wins here and collection of case studies here.​

• 🎓 Want super short daily insights? Follow me on Twitter and LinkedIn.​

•  📈 Ready to work together? Get on my calendar here.

That's all for today.

If you enjoyed this, please consider forwarding it to a friend, founder, or fellow marketer.

And if you have any comments/questions, I'd love to hear them.

Until next time.

— Allen