Upsells or discounts — what works better for you?

BFCM

Topic summary

The discussion explores whether upsells/bundles or discounts are more effective for driving revenue, particularly around high-traffic events like Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM).

Key perspectives:

  • Upsells and bundles are favored for long-term, sustainable growth. They increase average order value (AOV) without eroding profit margins or training customers to wait for sales. Tools like iCart, BiDeal, and Easify Product Options help implement in-cart upsells, product add-ons, and bundle offers.

  • Discounts excel during BFCM and other peak shopping periods when customers actively seek deals. Time-sensitive offers drive quick conversions and attract new shoppers, though overuse can hurt brand value and margins. Apps like Discounty help manage flash sales, quantity breaks, and cart discounts.

  • Hybrid approach is widely recommended: use headline discounts to attract traffic during BFCM, then layer in upsells and bundles to recover margins and boost AOV. Visual cues like product badges (via apps like DECO) make promotions stand out on busy collection pages.

Consensus: Most contributors agree that combining both strategies—discounts for acquisition, upsells for profitability—yields the best results, especially during high-stakes sales events.

Summarized with AI on October 23. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
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Upsells or discounts — what works better for you? Based on our 11y+ of experience in sales promotions, our answer is:

→ If you want to win special events like BFCM (when shoppers expect deep discounts that can easily cut into your profits) while maintaining healthy margins and high customer satisfaction, the best strategy is:

1. Discount to Attract Traffic and Then Upsell High-Margin Products.

:light_bulb: Start with a catchy discount to get customers clicking, then upsell higher-margin items to maximize revenue without sacrificing profitability.

If you want to make it irresistible, add a free shipping threshold and show it through a dynamic progress bar that encourages shoppers to add more upsell products.

:magnifying_glass_tilted_right: Use case: Decathlon

Decathlon discounted its best-selling shirts to capture traffic, then upsold complementary items in the cart. They also used a progress bar to show how close shoppers were to earning free shipping.

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2. Use a Branded Gift Instead of Over-Discounting

:light_bulb:Create branded gifts that cost you little but build emotional connection and deliver real value to customers.

Make them exclusive by hiding these gifts from your store so they are unsearchable or purchased separately. Then add an element of surprise by automatically including the gift in shoppers’ carts once they hit the qualifying threshold.

:magnifying_glass_tilted_right: Use case: Pattakespictures (UK)

This Shopify brand uses a low-cost but exclusive gift, a Lightroom preset package called “HALO CINEMATIC PRESET”. The gift wasn’t available for purchase or search, and was automatically added to qualifying carts, giving it an air of real exclusivity.

Noted: Take a closer look at how it works & what results it delivered in this article.

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If you want to explore more competitive pricing intelligence strategies for this BFCM, we’ve shared all our best-performing tactics in this post on the Shopify Community.

Truly hope our sharing helps :smiling_face_with_three_hearts: