How to Add an Order Bump and Upsell to Your Checkout
Part of: Sales Funnels — our full guide on this topic.
Disclosure: Some links below are affiliate links. If you sign up through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend tools we'd genuinely suggest to a friend. See our full disclosure.
There are only two ways to make more money from a product: get more buyers, or earn more from each buyer you already have. Almost everyone pours all their energy into the first one — more traffic, more ads, more posts — and ignores the second, which is faster, free, and entirely in your control.
Order bumps and upsells are the two simplest tools for the second path. They let you raise your average order value — how much the typical customer spends in one purchase — without finding a single new visitor. Done well, they also make customers happier, because a good add-on is genuinely useful. Done badly, they feel like a sleazy trick. This guide is about doing them well.
Why average order value is the lever nobody pulls
Imagine 100 people visit your sales page and 3 of them buy a $30 product. That’s $90. To double your revenue, you could try to double your traffic or double your conversion rate — both are hard, slow, and partly out of your hands.
Or you could get each of those 3 buyers to spend $45 instead of $30. Same traffic, same conversion rate, 50% more revenue. That’s what order bumps and upsells do: they work on the people who have already decided to buy, which is the warmest audience you will ever have. The hard part — convincing a stranger to trust you and pull out their card — is already done.
This is why average order value is such an overlooked lever. It compounds with everything else you do, and it costs nothing to add.
Order bump vs. upsell: the difference
The two get mixed up, but they’re distinct, and most sellers eventually use both:
- An order bump is a small, optional add-on shown on the checkout page itself, usually as a single tick-box: ”☐ Add the bonus template pack for $9.” The buyer is mid-purchase, card in hand. It’s quick, cheap, and easy to accept or ignore.
- An upsell is a bigger offer shown right after the purchase completes, before the thank-you page. Because the payment details are already captured, it can be a true one-click “yes, add this too” with no re-typing. It’s usually a larger or more valuable offer than the bump.
The pattern that works: a small bump at checkout to nudge order value up a little, then one upsell after payment for a bigger jump. (To turn free subscribers into first-time buyers in the first place, see what is a tripwire offer.) Don’t stack five upsells in a row — that’s where it tips from helpful into exhausting, and customers remember the bad feeling.
What to actually offer
The single rule that keeps you on the honest side of this: offer something that makes the main purchase better. If the add-on genuinely helps the buyer get more out of what they just bought, you’re doing them a favour. If it’s a random unrelated product bolted on to grab a few extra dollars, you’re being a nuisance.
Good order bump ideas:
- A companion resource to the main product — templates or worksheets that pair with a course, a swipe file that pairs with a guide, source files that pair with a design.
- A quick-start or done-for-you version for people who want a shortcut.
- An extended license or commercial-use upgrade if you sell creative files.
- A small themed bundle of related items at a discount.
Good upsell ideas (bigger, post-purchase):
- An upgrade to the next tier — the bigger course, the full bundle, the pro version.
- A related product that’s the natural next step after the one they bought.
- A subscription or membership that continues the value over time.
Keep the bump cheaper than the main product — a small, easy yes — and save the larger ask for the upsell, when the buyer has already committed and is feeling good about it.
How to keep it honest (and why that’s also smarter)
Order bumps and upsells have a bad reputation because some sellers abuse them: fake countdown timers, “are you SURE you want to miss this?” guilt screens, add-ons that are pre-ticked so you pay unless you notice. That stuff works once and poisons the relationship — refunds, chargebacks, and a customer who never comes back.
A few rules keep you clean and, not coincidentally, keep customers happy enough to buy again:
- Make declining effortless. A clear “No thanks, complete my order” link. Never trap someone.
- Never pre-tick the bump. The buyer chooses to add it, on purpose.
- No fake scarcity. Don’t invent a timer or a “only 2 left” on a digital file that’s infinite. If there’s a real reason to act now, say the real reason; if there isn’t, don’t manufacture one.
- Only offer things that fit. The honest test from the FAQ above: would a happy customer thank you for the suggestion, or feel tricked? Build only the offers that pass.
There’s a reason this overlaps with good sales page writing: the whole funnel works on trust, and a manipulative bump at the end undoes the trust the page built. Honesty isn’t just the ethical choice here — it’s the one that protects repeat business.
How to set it up without code
To run an order bump or a one-click upsell, you need a checkout that supports them — and many basic payment buttons don’t. A bare “buy now” link can take a payment, but it can’t show a checkbox add-on at checkout or a one-click post-purchase offer. For that you need a checkout built for selling.
The simplest path for a beginner is an all-in-one tool where the bump and upsell are built-in checkout features you switch on, rather than a separate app you wire in. This is where I usually point people to Systeme.io: its checkout includes order bumps and post-purchase upsells as standard features, and you can build them on the free plan alongside hosting your product and taking payment — all under one login at $0. You create the add-on offer, tick a setting to show it at checkout or after purchase, and it handles the one-click logic for you. (Full disclosure: that’s an affiliate link — if you start a paid plan through it I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. I recommend the free-first route because it’s genuinely what I’d tell a friend.)
If you want to see how it fits the bigger picture first, how to use Systeme.io walks through the toolset, and how to build a sales funnel for free shows where the checkout sits in the wider flow. The order bump and upsell are simply the last, most profitable steps of that funnel.
Where this fits in your funnel
Order bumps and upsells aren’t a standalone trick — they’re the final stage of a sales funnel that starts well before checkout. (New to the idea? What is a sales funnel? explains the stages first.) You still need traffic, a lead magnet or audience, and a sales page that earns the first purchase. The bump and upsell just make sure that when the purchase happens, you capture the full value the buyer is happy to give.
If you don’t have a product to put a bump behind yet, start with how to launch a digital product and how to price a digital product — the pricing matters here, because your bump and upsell prices sit in relation to your main offer. You can even pair a bump with a coupon code at checkout — a small discount on the main item alongside a relevant add-on can raise both your conversion and your average order value. And once buyers are spending more per order, an affiliate program is the next lever: more sellers sending you those higher-value orders.
The honest verdict
Average order value is the most overlooked growth lever in a one-person business, and order bumps and upsells are the two tools that move it. (They’re also rungs in a bigger value ladder.) They work on buyers who’ve already decided to trust you, they cost nothing to add, and a good add-on genuinely improves the customer’s purchase. The only way to get them wrong is to be manipulative — pre-ticked boxes, fake timers, irrelevant junk — which trades a few extra dollars today for refunds and lost repeat customers tomorrow.
Build offers a happy customer would thank you for, keep saying no effortless, and put them on a checkout that supports them. You’ll make more from the exact same traffic, and the people who buy will be glad you pointed the extras out.
Frequently asked questions
What is an order bump?
An order bump is a small, optional add-on offered right on the checkout page, usually as a single checkbox the buyer can tick to add it to their order before they pay. Because the person is already buying and already has their card out, a relevant, low-priced add-on converts surprisingly well. The classic example is the 'add a matching template pack for $9' tick-box under the main order. It doesn't interrupt the purchase — it just gives the buyer one easy yes.
What is an upsell?
An upsell is a bigger or related offer shown immediately after someone completes their purchase, before they reach the thank-you page. Because they've just bought and the payment is already on file, a well-built upsell can be a one-click 'yes, add this too' with no need to re-enter card details. The key is that it's an offer that genuinely complements what they just bought — an upgrade, a bundle, or the natural next step — not a random extra.
What's the difference between an order bump and an upsell?
Timing and size. An order bump appears on the checkout page before payment and is usually a small, cheap add-on the buyer ticks a box to accept. An upsell appears after payment is complete and is usually a larger or more valuable offer accepted with one click. Many sellers use both: a small bump at checkout, then a bigger upsell on the next screen. Together they raise your average order value without you needing a single extra visitor.
Do order bumps and upsells annoy customers?
They annoy customers when the offer is irrelevant, manipulative, or hard to decline. They don't annoy customers when the add-on genuinely helps with what the person is already buying and saying no is effortless. The honest test is simple: would a happy customer thank you for pointing this out, or feel tricked into it? If it's the former, you're helping; if it's the latter, don't run it. A good bump feels like a helpful suggestion, not a trap.
What should I offer as an order bump?
Offer something that makes the main purchase better or easier and costs less than the main product — so it's an easy, low-stakes yes. Good examples: a template or worksheet pack that pairs with a course, a quick-start guide, an extended-license version, or a small bundle of related files. Avoid offering something unrelated, or something so expensive it makes the buyer stop and reconsider the whole order. The bump should feel like 'oh, useful' not 'wait, how much?'
Do I need special software to add an order bump or upsell?
You need a checkout that supports them — not all do. Some all-in-one business platforms include order bumps and post-purchase upsells as built-in checkout features, including on free tiers, so you can switch them on without code or a separate app. If your current checkout can't add an order bump or a one-click upsell, that's usually a sign it's time to use a tool built for selling rather than a bare payment button.