Boost Sales With Order Upgrades

Here at SamCart we are obsessed with making your customers worth more to you and your business. For years, we have watched 1-Click Upsells become the single most powerful feature for your bottom line. The Upsell feature that replaced all the complicated tech work with one simple tool just got even better. Introducing, Upgrades.

An Upgrade is a type of one click upsell. Normal upsells allow your customers to add a new product to their order. An Upgrade will replace a product your customers have just purchased with one click. 

Here are some common examples of how upgrades can be used...

1. Upgrading a monthly subscriber to an annual subscription
2. Upgrading a new service client to a premium bundle of services
3. Upgrading a course buyer to a bundle of many courses
4. Upgrading a new member from a basic tier to a premium tier

So your best customers have the option to spend more money. But SamCart intelligently replaces one product with the upgraded version. The cost of purchasing an upgrade is automatically prorated, like you can see in the screenshot above. And the main product is removed from the order altogether.

So you can make more money from your best customers, without creating customer support headaches for you and your team. Your customers never end up with multiple subscriptions. They are never overcharged or need a partial refund. And they 

This new feature increased one SamCart seller's sales by 2.4x! Follow along with the steps below to double (or even triple) your average order value when you put this powerful new tool to use growing your business.

Note: This feature update follows the same process as our tried and true feature, One-Click Upsells, with just a couple of specifications. 

How To Setup Your Upgrade

Step 1: Create The Products You Need

First thing to do is create the products you need. You will need at least two products to use Upgrades. 

1. The Main Product
2. The Upgrade Product

The main product is what your customers will buy at checkout. The Upgrade product is what will be shown right after purchasing. Customers will have the option to choose to buy the Upgrade product you choose. SamCart will automatically prorate the cost, based on what your customers have already purchased. 

Upgrades work with any type of product; one-time payment, recurring subscription, limited subscription, or even pay-what-you-want. The Upgrade Product must charge the customer more than the Main Product. Check out our Creating a Product article to walk through this process step by step!

Step 2: Create Your Upgrade Upsell 

Once you have created the products you need, head over to the Offers tab to get started on adding an upsell to the product. Click the Add an Upsell button! 

This will bring you to the page where you can add or create an upsell! At this point you should have your upsell product created, but you will need to create it as an upsell in order to add it to the main product (check out our One Click Upsells article to learn more about creating upsells). Click on the Create A New Upsell button to get started creating your upgrade upsell! 

This will bring up a pop-up on the side of the screen where you can quickly create an upsell. An Upgrade is a type of upsell. Give your upsell a name, and choose the Upgrade Product you created in Step #1 from the Choose a Base Product search select menu.

Lastly, make sure to expand the Additional Settings and toggle on the "Make This Upsell An Upgrade" toggle. This will tell SamCart that when customers accept this upsell, the price should be prorated based on what a customer has already spent, and the main product will be removed from the order. 

Click Create Upsell to finish the process of creating the upsell. You will land back on the Offers tab of your product, where you can see the upsell that is attached to your main product. Make sure to click the Save Changes button in the top right corner of the screen, then you're done! You have now successfully created an upgrade upsell and attached it to your main product.

If you already have an existing upsell that you would like to turn into an upgrade, you can do that as well! Just head over to your upsells page by clicking the Offers tab on the left hand marketplace navigation menu, and click on the upsell you would like to turn into an upgrade. Turn on the Make This Upsell An Upgrade toggle, and click Save Changes. 

Step 3: Place A Test Order

Toggle your product into Test Mode and click Save Changes. Open up a checkout, and place a test order to see your Upgrade in real time. After you submit your order at checkout, you will be taken to the one click Upgrade page. 

The prorated price will be shown on the page, Your customers can accept the upgrade by clicking the large button at the bottom of the screen. After the order is complete, the Order Summary Page and Order Receipt will reflect that the main product was upgraded, and no longer a part of the order. 

Frequently Asked Questions 

Q: Can I change an existing upsell to an upgrade?

A: Yes! Open any upsell's settings and toggle ON the Make this Upsell an Upgrade option. That will automatically make this upsell into an Upgrade anywhere it is used. 

Q: Can I edit what is on the page when using an upgrade?

A: When using an Upgrade, SamCart applies a standard upsell template for the page. When you create an upsell, you attach a product to the upsell. That product's image, name, and description will be automatically added to your upgrade page. SamCart will also display the prorated price your customer will be charged if they accept. 

You do have the option to switch from the standardized upsell template using our Page Builder. However it will be your responsibility to add text that explains that their charge will be prorated. The prorated price will not be automatically displayed if you do not use SamCart's standard template. 

Q: What integration actions will run when a customer upgrades their order?

A: If a customer accepts an upgrade, the "Product Purchased" actions for the main product will not fire. Instead, SamCart will fire the "Product Purchased" actions for the upgrade product. SamCart ensures that your customers will be added to the right lists, delivered the right products, and fire the right integrations when upgrades are involved. 

Q: Will an upgrade be reflected in their receipts? What about Customer Hub?

A: Yes, the upgrade will be shown on the Order Summary, in email receipts, and in their invoices found inside of Customer Hub as well. These places make it clear that the product was upgraded when purchased! Within the "Payment History" section of the Customer Hub customers will see both the original charge and the prorated, upgrade upsell charge:

Then within the "Subscriptions" section of the Customer Hub customers will see their upgraded upsell subscription only:

And finally, within the customer's order summary after purchase this is how you will see their upgrade purchase: 

Q: If my subscriptions have a free trial period, can they be offered as upgrades?

A: At this time, the Upgrades feature is for higher-priced items! Having your customers upgrade from a $0 free trial to another $0 free trial is not currently possible, regardless of the recurring subscription price.

Q: Will the Upgrade feature work on the 2nd (3rd, 4th, etc...) upsell offer in my funnel?

A: Yes! Upgrade offers can be anywhere in the funnel, but you can only have ONE Upgrade offer per upsell funnel.