Both order bumps and post-purchase upsells increase average order value on Shopify. But they work at different moments, target different products, and convert at different rates.
Order bumps are checkbox add-ons on the checkout page - the customer ticks a box to include an extra item before they pay. Post-purchase upsells are full-page offers that appear after payment, between checkout and the thank-you page.
This guide breaks down exactly how each one works, when to use which, and which one drives more revenue for most stores.
How Order Bumps Work
An order bump is a small offer embedded directly in the Shopify checkout page. It typically appears as a checkbox with a product name, image, and price - right near the payment button. The customer checks the box, and the item is added to their order before they complete payment.
Key characteristics of order bumps:
- Placement: On the checkout page itself, usually near the order summary or payment button
- Interaction: Single checkbox - check it and the item is included in the order total
- Timing: Before payment. The customer sees the bump while they're still entering payment details
- Product type: Typically low-cost add-ons - warranties, gift wrapping, samples, small accessories
- Price range: Usually $5-$25. Higher prices reduce the impulse to check the box
The strength of order bumps is their simplicity. There's no new page, no pop-up, no redirect. The customer sees a checkbox and either checks it or doesn't. The friction is almost zero.
The weakness is also their simplicity. Because the offer is a small checkbox on a busy page, it's easy to miss. And because the item adds to the total before payment, the customer consciously sees their price go up - which can create hesitation on price-sensitive orders.
How Post-Purchase Upsells Work
Post-purchase upsells appear on a dedicated page between payment confirmation and the thank-you page. The customer has already paid. Their order is locked in. Then they see a full-page offer for a complementary product.
If they accept, the product is added to their existing order using the payment method already on file - a single click completes the transaction. If they decline, they continue to the thank-you page with their original order intact.
Key characteristics of post-purchase upsells:
- Placement: A dedicated page after checkout - the customer's full attention is on the offer
- Interaction: Full product presentation with images, description, discount, and a prominent accept button
- Timing: After payment. The original order is confirmed and cannot be affected
- Product type: Complementary products, bundles, upgrades, subscription conversions
- Price range: Typically 25-50% of the original order value, but can go higher
The key advantage: zero risk to the original sale. Because payment is already complete, showing a post-purchase offer cannot cause cart abandonment. The worst case is the customer declines and you keep the full original order.
Conversion Rate Comparison
This is where the two approaches diverge significantly:
- Order bumps: 5-15% conversion rate. The range is wide because it depends heavily on the product, price, and how visible the checkbox is. A $3 gift wrap option will convert much higher than a $20 accessory
- Post-purchase upsells: 10-15% conversion rate on average, with well-optimized offers hitting 20%+. The full-page format commands attention, and the post-payment psychology works in your favor
At first glance, the conversion rates look similar. But the revenue per conversion is very different - and that's where post-purchase upsells pull ahead.
Revenue Impact: Which Adds More?
Conversion rate alone doesn't tell the story. Revenue per impression does.
Order bump math
A typical order bump offers a $10-$15 product at an 8-10% conversion rate. On 1,000 orders:
- 1,000 orders x 10% conversion x $12 average = $1,200 additional revenue
- That's about $1.20 extra per order across all orders
Post-purchase upsell math
A typical post-purchase upsell offers a $30-$50 product at a 12% conversion rate. On the same 1,000 orders:
- 1,000 orders x 12% conversion x $40 average = $4,800 additional revenue
- That's about $4.80 extra per order across all orders
Post-purchase upsells generate roughly 3-4x more revenue per order than order bumps in most scenarios. The reason is straightforward: order bumps are limited to cheap, impulse-friendly items. Post-purchase upsells can present higher-value products because the full-page format supports a real sales pitch - product images, benefits, social proof, and a compelling discount.
That said, order bump revenue is not trivial. An extra $1-$2 per order compounds over thousands of orders. The point isn't that order bumps are bad - it's that post-purchase upsells should be the priority if you're choosing one to implement first.
Shopify Plan Requirements
This is a practical consideration that matters for many stores:
- Order bumps: Historically required Shopify Plus ($2,000+/month) because they modify the checkout page. Shopify has been expanding checkout extensibility to lower plans, but full checkout customization is still limited on Basic and standard Shopify plans
- Post-purchase upsells: Available on all Shopify plans. The post-purchase page is a separate page that loads after checkout, so it doesn't require checkout customization access
For the majority of Shopify merchants who aren't on Plus, post-purchase upsells are the only option for adding offers to the checkout flow. And even for Plus merchants, post-purchase upsells typically generate more revenue anyway.
Best Products for Each Approach
Best products for order bumps
Order bumps work best with products that are cheap, simple, and require zero explanation:
- Extended warranty or product protection ($3-$8)
- Gift wrapping ($3-$5)
- Sample packets or trial sizes ($2-$5)
- Priority shipping upgrade ($5-$10)
- Small accessories that are universally relevant (screen protector with any phone purchase)
The rule: if it needs more than one sentence to explain, it's not an order bump product.
Best products for post-purchase upsells
Post-purchase upsells can handle more complex, higher-value offers because the full-page format gives you room to sell:
- Complementary products (bought a coffee maker? Here's a bundle of specialty beans)
- Same product, bigger quantity at a discount (bought 1 bag? Get 3 for 25% off)
- Related products from a different category (bought running shoes? Here's moisture-wicking socks)
- Subscription conversion (bought a one-time supply? Switch to subscribe-and-save)
- Premium upgrade (bought the basic version? Upgrade to the deluxe)
For detailed product selection frameworks, see our guide on post-purchase upsell offer ideas.
Using Both Together
The strongest strategy uses both order bumps and post-purchase upsells - each handling what it does best:
- Order bump at checkout: A cheap, universal add-on. Gift wrapping, product protection, or a sample. This captures the impulse buyers who will check a box for $5 without thinking twice
- Post-purchase upsell after payment: A higher-value complementary product with a compelling discount. This captures the real revenue - the $30-$50 add-on that wouldn't work as a checkbox but converts well as a dedicated offer page
Because these happen at different moments in the checkout flow, they don't compete with each other. The order bump doesn't reduce post-purchase conversion rates, and the post-purchase offer doesn't affect order bump acceptance. You get the revenue from both.
One thing to avoid: don't offer the same product as both an order bump and a post-purchase upsell. If a customer skipped the order bump for product protection, seeing it again after checkout feels repetitive. Use different products for each touchpoint.
Which One to Start With
If you're implementing one first, start with post-purchase upsells. The reasons:
- Higher revenue impact: 3-4x more additional revenue per order than order bumps
- No plan restrictions: Works on all Shopify plans, not just Plus
- Zero risk: Cannot affect your checkout conversion rate since it loads after payment
- More product flexibility: You can offer anything from a $10 accessory to a $100 bundle
- Better testing surface: A full page gives you room to A/B test headlines, images, discounts, and layouts
Setting up post-purchase upsells with Kairo takes minutes. The AI builder reads your product catalog and creates offer pages with optimized product pairings, copy, and discounts automatically. You can launch your first offer and start generating additional revenue the same day, with usage-based pricing starting at $8/month.
Once your post-purchase funnel is running and generating data, add an order bump as a layer on top. The combined effect - a small impulse add-on at checkout plus a high-value offer after checkout - maximizes revenue from every single order.
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