18 Product Recommendation Examples to Increase Sales

18 Product Recommendation Examples to Increase Sales

Product recommendations are an important part of any ecommerce store’s strategy. 

If you present the right products at the right time, they can help to improve both your customer satisfaction and average order value

There are many different ways to display personalized recommendations. And in this article, we’ll show you the best approaches.

Let’s take a look!

Would you like to see more examples? Download our free swipe file and get inspired by 18 more product recommendation examples.

What is product recommendation?

Product recommendation, at its core, involves the use of algorithms and data-driven insights to suggest relevant products to users based on their preferences, behavior, and historical interactions with a platform.

Product recommendation algorithms rely heavily on analyzing behavioral data to make informed suggestions.

These algorithms take into account various aspects such as browsing history data, purchase history, and the duration of time spent on different product pages.

By leveraging this data, recommendation systems can create a personalized experience for each user, offering products that align with their preferences and interests.

What are the different types of recommendation algorithms?

There are several types of recommendation algorithms, each designed to cater to specific user needs and platform requirements.

Common approaches include:

  • Collaborative filtering: This method shows product suggestions based on the preferences of users with similar tastes. It relies on the idea that if user A and user B have similar preferences, then the products liked or purchased by user A might be of interest to user B as well.

  • Content-based filtering: This approach recommends products by analyzing the attributes and characteristics of items that a user has previously interacted with or liked. It focuses on matching the features of products with the user’s preferences.

  • Hybrid models: Combining the strengths of collaborative and content-based filtering, hybrid models offer a more robust and accurate recommendation system. These models provide a holistic view, considering both user behavior and product characteristics to generate personalized suggestions.

So which type should you use? 

There’s not one right answer to this question, but numerous studies have been conducted to compare the performance of hybrid methods with pure collaborative and content-based methods. These studies consistently demonstrate that a hybrid recommendation strategy tends to be more accurate than pure approaches.

One of the key advantages of hybrid systems lies in their ability to address common problems such as the “cold start” problem and the issue of insufficient data.

The “cold start” problem refers to situations where there is limited or no information about a new user or item in the recommendation system. Hybrid approaches can handle such scenarios by utilizing the content-based approach to make initial recommendations for new users or items, overcoming the lack of collaborative data.

Similarly, the problem of data paucity, where the available data may not be sufficient to generate accurate recommendations, can also be mitigated by hybrid methods. 

By combining collaborative and content-based approaches, hybrid systems can leverage the information from user-item interactions as well as item characteristics to generate more reliable product recommendations even with limited data.

18 product recommendations for boosting sales in your online store

Now let’s take a look at 18 compelling examples of product recommendations, showcasing innovative approaches that have proven effective in capturing user interest and fostering higher conversion rates.

1. Feature products on your homepage

Your homepage is the most important place for product recommendations. The items you display will set your first-time visitors’ expectations about what your store sells.

Since your homepage gets the most sets of eyes on it, it just makes sense to promote your best sellers or most profitable products. Ensuring clarity in product photos is crucial, which highlights the significance of acquiring an exceptional camera for product photography

Bailly uses a ‘Featured Collections’ panel to show their suggested items on their homepage.

Bailly's recommendation engine promoting products

2. Promote daily offers

If you update your featured products on your homepage every day, it shows that you’re an active online store and that you always have fresh deals. This gives customers a reason to frequently visit your site since they want to see what’s on sale each day.

When your offer is only valid for one day, don’t hesitate to let your visitors know. It adds a sense of urgency that pushes shoppers to buy now.

Best Buy has been doing this with their “Deal of the Day” for years.

Best Buy’s recommendation engine promotes daily deals

3. Personalize recommendations based on customer history

Personalized product recommendations are incredibly effective. They hone into your customers’ search, browsing, and purchase history to recommend relevant products just for their needs and taste.

You can even set up recommendation engines to make use of customer data on your homepage. For example, the Upsell Recommendations app is a great free tool that uses a similar recommendation engine to Amazon. 

Take a look at how Sephora is upfront about tailoring product recommendations for their individual customers.

Sephora’s recommendation engine showing personalized product recommendations

4. Show new arrivals

You can also highlight new arrivals on your online store. This strategy will make your store look active and help to generate more sales from returning customers. 

In the image below, Allbirds promotes their new sneakers.

Allbirds’ recommendation engine helps to drive sales 5. Promote discounts and deals

5. Promote discounts and deals

The fact is that 64% of online shoppers wait to buy things until they go on sale, and more than 59% search for promo codes before buying anything online. 

Displaying these offers on your homepage helps increase sales by saving your visitors the effort of tracking down your deals themselves.

Here’s how Lululemon promotes their discounts.

Lululemon’s product recommendation box helps to boost sales

6. Highlight bestsellers

You can display your hottest items as “Popular Products,” “Customer Favorites,” or “Best Sellers.” This makes them more enticing to consumers who always want to get their hands on the best and most trending products.

Here’s how Urban Outfitters shows off their most popular products.

Urban Outfitter’s approach to product recommendation

You can also use sidemessages to promote “Customer Favorites.”

7. Recommend products based on reviews

You can persuade new visitors to buy by presenting them with products that other customers have evaluated. That’s because shoppers trust reviews from other buyers more than product descriptions since they’re less biased.

So you can show your “Best Reviewed Products” or simply display how many stars each item has received from reviewers.

AVON has done just that and we can take a note out of their book.

8. Dynamic product recommendations

You can display lots of products at once by using dynamic recommendations. Customers will see a “revolving or scrollable product display cycle” of the bestselling or most popular products. This gives online shoppers tons of options while also drawing their eye with motion.

Here’s a good example of dynamic recommendations from Net-a-Porter.

Net-a-Porter’s approach to personalized product recommendations

9. Display product recommendations based on engagement

Featuring products based on your visitors’ engagement is a surefire way of displaying personalized recommendations at the right time. For instance, when a visitor shows exit intent, you can make recommendations on a popup to regain their interest in your products. 

The following product recommendation appears on an exit-intent popup.

10. Use direct wording

Use direct wording to draw attention to your recommended products. Some commonly used examples include “You may also like” or “You may also be interested in.”

Here’s another example on a sidemessage:

11. Similar products on the product page

When a customer is looking at leather gloves, you know that they’re interested in that particular product category. It’s a great time to recommend similar items, just in case they’re not completely satisfied with the one they’re checking out.

Sephora uses this principle for their product page recommendations.

12. Promote what others bought

Instead of basing product recommendations on a visitor’s own browsing history, show items that other customers frequently buy. This adds some social proof to the equation and increases the persuasiveness of your featured products.

You could even use an “Others have also bought” panel for cross-selling complementary products.

Here’s how ColourPop displays its products:

ColourPop promotes what other users bought

The easiest way to cross-sell is by showing related products on your product page. If a customer is looking at a toothbrush, you can also offer them toothpaste. These offers are a tried and true way to increase average order value.

These products don’t need to be a direct accessory, but they should fit with the one customers are currently viewing.

ASOS encourages shoppers to ‘Buy the look’ when they recommend related products.

14. Products frequently bought together

Another cross-selling tactic is to recommend products that are frequently bought together.

Spend some time analyzing what your customers tend to buy together. With that information, you can make better product recommendations to other customers.

Here’s what it looks like on Best Buy’s website:

Best Buy’s approach to product suggestions and product recommendation

15. Package deals

Package deals are groups of related products and accessories that are offered as an entire bundled set for a discounted price. Even though there’s a discount, this still increases the overall cart value. 

If your products make sense together in a bundled package deal, you should encourage your buyers to choose the higher-value goods rather than the lower-priced items. 

Additionally, consider optimizing your packaging for visual appeal and practicality, as aesthetically pleasing and well-designed packaging can enhance the overall customer experience and contribute to the perceived value of the bundled set.

Also, eco-friendly disposables in packaging material will gain you points with environmentally conscious customers.

At Surlatable.com, you can put the same knife into several different sets: 

Surlatable.com uses product recommendation engines to increase conversions

16. Recommendation after adding an item to the cart

When someone adds a product to the cart, you can show a popup with product recommendations. This is a great way for upselling and cross-selling.

Forever 21, for example, shows this popup right after their visitors add something to their cart.

17. Mini cart

A mini cart offers your customers a quick and easy way to view their cart without redirecting them to the cart page.

You can also place product recommendations right into your mini cart to nudge visitors to buy more items.

Here’s an example of a mini cart that shows featured products.

Mini cart product recommendation engines

It’s counterproductive to promote similar products on the cart page because customers have already made a decision on what they want to buy.

However, it’s worth presenting some related, low-cost products and accessories. 

In the case of a high-value purchase, it’s more likely that your customers will add a lower-priced accessory that’s related instead of buying an additional expensive product.

Kylie Cosmetics adds relevant recommendations to the top of the cart with a “Don’t forget” message.

Frequently asked questions

How do you write a product recommendation?

Short and sweet is always best when it comes to writing a good copy for product recommendations.

The most important thing is to establish exactly how the products you’re recommending are relevant to your customer. On the homepage, that might mean you’re showing your “Best Selling Items”. On product pages, you can show products ‘Frequently bought together’ to encourage higher average cart values.

You can then use catchy product descriptions to highlight each product’s value.

In certain cases where appropriate, and where longer phrases are needed for descriptions, you can even make use of an AI writing software.

How can I improve my product recommendations?

There are several ways to improve the outcomes of your product recommendations.

The first way is to perfectly tailor your recommendations to each individual customer. You can use a recommendation engine like LimeSpot Personalizer to improve your data gathering and processing.

You should also A/B test your product recommendations to find out which ones work best. Doing this continuously leads to optimized product recommendations.

If you have a legacy ecommerce website, then you may need to scale your existing system to implement and utilize the full potential of product recommendation & personalization tools like Optimonk. In such cases, it’s recommended to consult an ecommerce development company that can analyze existing systems and help you with scaling and any custom needs.  

How do you recommend someone to buy something?

You should always recommend your products in a way that customers can have an easier and more enjoyable shopping experience. Make sure that you’re truly trying to help them and not just sell.

Summing up

Providing your customers with great product recommendations is an essential part of running an online store. 

These related recommendations help your customers find products they love, and they also help to increase your conversion rate and average order value.

So now that you’ve seen our 18 examples of great product recommendations, it’s time to start applying them to your site. Give them a try and let us know how it goes in the comments!

(Note: Have you heard of OptiMonk? It’s a powerful popup tool that helps you display personalized product recommendations and convert up to 15% of abandoning visitors to sales and leads. Create a free account now and give it a try.)

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