Swapping the cart upsell tool: +6.2% AOV, no conversion drop
Test run byVisuallyTesting and CRO tool
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsReplacing an existing third-party cart upsell widget with Visually's own upsell lifted average order value by 6.2% and revenue per session by 9.2%, with no drop in conversion.
Visually ran this test for Canopy, a humidifier brand, and published it as a Visually case study.
The vendor was testing its own tool against a competitor's, so read the result with that in mind.
- Average order value: +6.2%.
- Revenue per session: +9.2%.
- Conversion rate: no drop reported, so the upsell added value without putting buyers off.
The change
The cart upsell widget is swapped for a different tool's upsell.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
The cart used Canopy's existing third-party upsell widget.
Variant
The cart used Visually's own upsell feature instead. The case study doesn't say how the products or layout differed.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- A different tool may pick better products to suggest, or show them in a cleaner way. The source doesn't say which.
- Cart upsells for devices like humidifiers often pair well with refills or accessories, which lifts order size.
- The vendor ran the test on its own product, so there is a reason to present it in a good light.
Caveats: The vendor tested its own tool against a competitor's, and sample size and significance were not shared. What actually changed in the upsell is not described.
Who ran it
Visually ran this test for Canopy and published the results (Visually case study). The numbers are theirs; the summary and commentary on this page are ours.
Read the original case study on Visually →
How to run this test on your store
- Hypothesis
- If we change how the cart upsell picks and shows products, then average order value will rise because shoppers see add-ons that fit what they are buying.
- Primary metric
- Average order value
- Guardrails
- Conversion rate
- Cart abandonment rate
- Revenue per session
- Who should test it
- Stores with natural add-ons such as refills, filters or accessories. Before switching tools, run your own split test, since vendor-run comparisons are not neutral.
Questions
Can switching upsell apps raise order value?
It can, if the new tool shows better-matched products.
In this vendor-run test, AOV rose 6.2% with no drop in conversion.
Do cart upsells hurt conversion rate?
They can if they distract from checkout. Always watch conversion rate as a guardrail, as this test did.
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