Joint vs dental upsell in add-to-cart popup: +7.80% RPV
Test run byDave DiederenSyntra Labs
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsOffering a joint supplement as the upsell lifted revenue per visitor by 7.80% against control in Dave Diederen's test for a DTC supplement brand. A dental upsell in the same popup did worse than control. Placement and popup were identical; only the product changed.
- Revenue per visitor with the joint upsell: +7.80% ($6.14 to $6.62). The tool estimated about $28,860 more revenue per month.
- Conversion rate with the joint upsell: +4.37% (13.6% to 14.2%).
- Average order value with the joint upsell: +3.28% ($45.26 to $46.75).
- The dental upsell lost to control on every metric: 12.6% conversion, $5.67 revenue per visitor and $44.87 order value. Negative result.
- Profit per visitor was not measured, because product costs weren't entered.
The change
Same popup, different product: the dental upsell (left) against the winning joint upsell (right).
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
The post doesn't describe what the control group saw. The second arm showed a dental product as the upsell in the same popup.
Variant
The winning arm offered a joint product as the upsell. The popup appears when a shopper clicks add to cart without picking the upsell.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- the joint product felt like an obvious next step for buyers of the main product, so it needed no explaining.
- the dental product may have been good, but unrelated to why shoppers came, which made the offer a distraction.
- a second-look popup only helps if the product fits. Here the offer mattered more than the mechanic.
Caveats: Sample size, test length and the control setup were not shared. The ranges cross zero (-7% to +25% on revenue per visitor), and the popup image is a template, not the live design.
Who ran it
Dave Diederen (@DaveDiederen) shared this test on X. The numbers and screenshots are theirs.
View the original post on X
How to run this test on your store
- Hypothesis
- If we test which product we offer as the upsell, keeping the popup the same, then we will find one that earns more because it fits what the shopper just chose.
- Primary metric
- Revenue per visitor
- Guardrails
- Conversion rate
- Upsell take rate
- Average order value
- Who should test it
- Stores with an add-to-cart upsell and several plausible add-on products. If you only have one sensible add-on, test the offer or price instead.
Questions
What matters more for upsells, placement or product?
In this test, only the product changed and the results differed sharply. The joint upsell beat control by 7.80% on revenue per visitor while the dental one lost.
How do I pick the right upsell product?
Dave Diederen suggests choosing something that obviously fits a buyer of your hero product. If it needs explaining, it is probably the wrong one.
Should I show a popup when shoppers skip the upsell?
Diederen's setup showed one more look at the offer after add to cart, with no fake urgency. This test didn't measure the popup on its own.
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