Understanding One-Click Upsells: Pre-Purchase vs Post-Purchase Strategies

One-click upsells are a powerful eCommerce strategy that enables businesses to increase their Average Order Value (AOV) without adding friction to the customer journey. For developers, understanding how pre-purchase and post-purchase upsells work internally—and their technical implementations—is key to building seamless and high-conversion experiences.

In this blog, we’ll dive deep into how one-click upsells operate, the workflows involved, and the tools and considerations you need as a developer.

What Are One-Click Upsells?

A one-click upsell allows a customer to accept an additional offer with a single click, without needing to re-enter payment details. This can be implemented at two points in the purchasing journey:

1. Pre-Purchase (Order Bumps): The upsell is presented before the checkout process is finalized, typically on the checkout page.
2. Post-Purchase: The upsell is shown after the initial purchase is completed, leveraging stored payment tokens for a seamless transaction.

Pre-Purchase Upsells: How They Work

Pre-purchase upsells, often referred to as order bumps, are displayed on the checkout page. The goal is to increase the order size before the customer completes their transaction.

Workflow:

1. Customer adds a product to their cart.
2. At the checkout page, an additional offer is presented (e.g., “Add this complementary item for $10!”).
3. If the customer accepts, the upsell item is added to the cart dynamically.
4. The total cart value is updated, and the customer completes the purchase.

Technical Implementation:

• Dynamic Cart Updates: Use WooCommerce hooks like woocommerce_before_calculate_totals to modify the cart in real time.
• Backend Validation: Ensure server-side validation to confirm the upsell was applied correctly and securely.
• UI/UX: Use JavaScript or AJAX to present and update the upsell offer without refreshing the page.

Example Code Snippet:

add_action('woocommerce_before_calculate_totals', function ($cart) {
    foreach ($cart->get_cart() as $cart_item) {
        if ($cart_item['product_id'] == UPSELL_PRODUCT_ID) {
            $cart_item['data']->set_price(10); // Adjust the price for the upsell item
        }
    }
});

Post-Purchase Upsells: How They Work

Post-purchase upsells are presented after the customer’s initial purchase is completed. This approach relies on tokenization—a secure way of reusing payment details—to create a seamless one-click experience.

Workflow:

1. Customer completes their initial purchase.
2. The upsell offer is displayed on a confirmation or thank-you page.
3. If accepted, the stored payment token is used to process a new transaction for the upsell item.

Technical Implementation:

• Tokenization:
  • When the initial purchase is processed, the payment gateway generates a token representing the customer’s payment details.
  • This token is securely stored in WooCommerce, linked to the customer’s profile.
• Triggering the Upsell Transaction:
  • If the customer accepts the offer, the stored token is used to process a new charge via the payment gateway.

Example Pseudocode:

// Step 1: Store the payment token during the initial purchase
add_action('woocommerce_payment_complete', function ($order_id) {
    $order = wc_get_order($order_id);
    $payment_token = get_payment_token_from_gateway($order);
    update_user_meta($order->get_user_id(), 'payment_token', $payment_token);
});

// Step 2: Process the upsell if accepted
if ($customer_accepts_upsell) {
    $payment_token = get_user_meta($customer_id, 'payment_token', true);
    $gateway->charge($payment_token, $upsell_price);
}

Pre-Purchase vs Post-Purchase Upsells: Key Differences

Aspect	Pre-Purchase Upsell	Post-Purchase Upsell
Timing	Before checkout completion	After the initial purchase
Customer Action	Adds upsell to the cart	Creates a new transaction
Payment Handling	Single transaction for all items	Separate transaction for upsell
Use Case	Increase cart size	Leverage momentum to boost AOV
Technical Complexity	Relatively simple	Requires tokenization and PCI compliance

Best Practices for One-Click Upsells

1. Limit the Number of Offers: Avoid overwhelming customers with too many options.
2. Offer Complementary Products: Ensure the upsell item is relevant to the initial purchase.
3. Optimize for Mobile: Ensure the upsell experience is smooth on all devices.
4. Use Clear Messaging: Clearly explain the value of the upsell and its price.
5. A/B Test Offers: Continuously test different upsell strategies to optimize conversions.

Challenges and How to Overcome Them

1. Payment Gateway Limitations: Not all gateways support tokenization. Choose gateways like Stripe, PayPal, or Authorize.Net for seamless post-purchase upsells.
2. Handling Declined Payments: Implement fallback mechanisms to gracefully handle declined transactions.
3. Customer Confusion: Clearly communicate that the upsell is optional and that it is charged separately (in the case of post-purchase upsells).

Conclusion

One-click upsells are a game-changer for eCommerce businesses looking to boost revenue. By understanding the technical workflows of pre-purchase and post-purchase upsells, developers can create seamless and effective implementations.

Whether you’re building custom solutions or leveraging tools, mastering one-click upsells will empower you to deliver value to clients and enhance the customer journey.

Start implementing one-click upsells today to unlock the potential of increased AOV and improved customer lifetime value!