With the holidays upon us, there's never been a better time to think about your upselling strategy and how you can maximize the revenue for your Shopify store this season. Even if you are already upselling, taking a step back to look at your overall strategy can help ensure the effectiveness of your upselling campaigns. Just like the holidays bring a plethora of activities, gifts, food and emotions, upselling doesn't just have to be about your products. We've compiled some ideas for offers you can present to your customers this season to increase your average order value and hit record sales.

Gift Wrap For Your Customers

Did you know that more than 60% of consumers prefer to purchase holiday gifts online? That number is growing and most consumers ship directly to the gift recipient. This means no time for gift wrapping. Amazon knows this and offers gift wrapping as an upsell on all purchases containing a gift. In fact, so many people have taken Amazon up on their offer that they've decided it was creating too much waste through wrapping paper and have transitioned to using bags which run about $5 each. This would be a great option to also offer on any independent store since, for many shoppers, having their purchase gift wrapped can be the deciding factor on where they make their final purchase.

Personalize Your Products

There's nothing quite as special as receiving a gift that has been personalized. To the recipient, it conveys that the gift giver spent money, time, energy and, most importantly, thought in planning and executing this gift giving experience. Something as simple as a person's initials on their gift can make them feel that the gift is more unique, valuable to them and can make them feel cherished in their relationship with the gift giver. Offer your customers the ability to personalize your products for a free. Depending on what you sell, you can find the tools necessary online for fairly cheap. Laser engravers, leatherworking kits, label makers and even stickers can all be used to personalize a variety of products quickly and easily. 

Sell Gift Cards

When shopping for the holidays, everyone has a list. Sometimes we forget people who are important to us. Offer gift cards to all your customers this season on every purchase. Gift cards are a great way to essentially buy insurance against forgetting someone on your list or choosing the wrong present for someone who is on your list. Got an office christmas party and don't know what to get? Get a gift card. Have a niece and don't know what size clothing she wears? Get a gift card. If your cousin into video games and you don't know the first thing about World of Warcraft? - well you get the idea. Selling gift cards is a must all year, but especially around the holidays. There are a million reasons a customer would purchase one, so make sure its easy and evident how and why they should do so.

Something for you, something for me

Holiday shopping sometimes feels like you are spending a lot of money on other people and not getting anything for yourself. Let your customers know you appreciate them by offering a discount on something they can purchase for themselves. This doesn't necessarily need to be related to the original product and you should think of the purchaser when making your decision. For instance, if your product is clothing targeted toward teenage boys, then a parent might likely be making the purchase. In this case you should offer a product that would appeal to the parent - either something they can wear like an adult version that matches their child's gift. This gives you the opportunity to sell on two fronts - the initial holiday purchase the customer came to make and an additional, unplanned purchase that makes them feel like they rewarded themselves for shopping with you.

With the average household spending over $1,500 each year on holiday shopping, this a great opportunity to optimize your sales funnel and include creative upsells that will drive increase revenue. Remember, always put yourself in your customer's shoes. Think emotionally and look for the combination of offers that feels like it really fits together. Strive to make the customer experience as pleasurable as possible and you're sure to have a great holiday season!