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10 Product Recommendation Strategies for Shopify to Boost Sales

  • Ecommerce
  • 6 min read

Table of Contents

Studies reveal that 91% of online shoppers crave relevant offers and product recommendations.

Ninety-one. That’s a convincing enough percentage, right?

A savvy Shopify store owner understands the power that lies in providing relevant product recommendations. But how should you get started? What type of product recommendations are there? How can you add Shopify product recommendations? What are the key strategies?

We’re covering these questions and more in this article. 

Let’s get started!

What are product recommendations?

Product recommendations are personalized suggestions that act as virtual shopping guides for your customers.

Using data like browsing history, purchase history, and other buying behaviors, these recommendations point customers towards products they might be interested in.

These related products can appear strategically throughout your online store: on product pages, on the checkout page, on the cart page, or even post purchase. 

By showcasing related product recommendations and complementary products (like phone cases alongside phones), you create a tailored shopping experience that can significantly boost your online store’s sales.

What are the benefits of product recommendations?

Let’s get into practicalities and see how product recommendations can benefit your online store.

  • Increased sales: Personalized recommendations guide customers towards relevant products they want, unlocking explosive sales growth.
  • Higher conversion rates: Targeted suggestions eliminate purchase hesitation, leading to higher conversion rates.
  • Decreased cart abandonment rate: When shoppers discover everything they need with relevant recommendations, you’ll see a decrease in cart abandonment rates.
  • Improved customer experience: Product recommendations elevate the customer experience by offering a tailored journey.
  • Enhanced customer retention: Satisfied shoppers return for more if recommendations create an improved customer experience.

Types of product recommendations

If you’ve ever noticed product recommendations while you were browsing online (and you probably have) they weren’t just random!

Let’s unpack the different types and see how they can work their magic on your website.

We can differentiate product recommendations based on 3 things: how they’re presented (type of message), where they appear (page), and what products are suggested (recommended products). Here’s a detailed breakdown: 

1. Type:

  • Embedded: Seamlessly integrate recommendations directly into your page content, providing a smooth user experience.
  • Popup: Catch customer attention with product suggestions that appear in a dedicated popup window.
  • Sidemessage: Use sidebars or side messages to showcase relevant items without disrupting the main content flow.

2. Page:

  • Blog posts: Use content-based recommendations to suggest products that complement specific blog topics.
  • Homepage: Feature trending or personalized products to grab visitors’ attention right from the start.
  • Category pages: Highlight popular or relevant items within a particular category, guiding customers with specific interests.
  • Product pages: Suggest related or complementary products to encourage customers to explore further.
  • Cart page: Remind customers of products they might have missed during their shopping journey.
  • Checkout page: Offer last-minute suggestions to increase average order value and encourage impulse purchases.

3. Products:

  • Relevant products: Showcase related products that are closely tied to what the customer is currently viewing.
  • Bestsellers: Feature popular products that have broad appeal and a proven track record of success.
  • Personalized recommendations: Use customer data to tailor suggestions for a truly unique shopping experience.

10 product recommendation strategies to improve your online store’s sales

There is only one thing left: showcasing some strategies for Shopify product recommendations that can help you improve your online store sales. 

1. Exit product recommender

If you have a wide range of products, first-time visitors might get overwhelmed and have no idea how to get started. This is called analysis paralysis.

By highlighting your best-selling items on an exit-intent popup, you can prevent them from leaving the website and help them discover products other customers love.

Get started now with these templates:

2. Smart abandonment stopper

If the majority of your traffic comes from paid ads, your visitors are probably aware of your pricing. This means that if they’re abandoning your store, discounting likely won’t be an effective solution.

Instead, you should try a different strategy by showing your bestsellers to encourage product discovery.

Take a look at how Canadian-based brand Lammle’s did it:

Lammle's Shopify store uses exit-intent popups to recommend products to visitors.

With this strategy, they were able to increase revenue from these product page visitors by 23.5%!

Learn how Lammle’s boosted their revenue without discounting.

Get started with Smart Abandonment Stopper now!

3. Exit reminder

Here’s another great tactic for Shopify stores: remind those abandoners what they’re leaving behind!

If your visitors have already browsed through different product pages, that’s a sign of buying intent.

How can you use that to your advantage? By showing them what they’re leaving behind (a.k.a. offering them personalized product recommendations based on their previously browsed items).

Get started with your own exit reminder campaign now:

4. Category favorites bar

It’s often hard to get your category favorites in front of your customers. But there is a way to do it…

With a category favorites bar, you can display your favorite products from each category, saving your customers time and energy—no more endless scrolling! 

5. Conversational popup

An ineffective welcome popup is disappointing, to say the least. If you want to spice things up—and get to know more about your customers—then a conversational popup is the way to go!

It’s like a marriage between a traditional welcome popup and a quiz: first, you ask questions about your visitors (like what they’re looking for). Then, you ask for contact details, and finally, you offer them personalized product recommendations.

Let’s take a look at how Crown & Paw implemented product recommendations on their conversational popup.

First, they enticed visitors by offering 10% off and a personalized product recommendation.

Crown & Paw offered 10% off and recommended product to their customers.

Next, they asked a simple question about the customer’s pet.

In the second step they asked questions about their pets.

Then, they asked about the number of pets they own.

In the third step they asked questions about their pets.

Finally, boom! A personalized product recommendation for them, along with a discount code.

Then in the final step they recommended product to their customers.

Compared to their simple Klaviyo popup, they saw a 4.03% conversion rate increase by using this method.

Get started with these templates:

6. Upsell popup

When a customer adds new products to their cart, it means they’re engaged. You can take this a step further by suggesting similar products and complementary items.

This is a great cross-selling method, as it shows them relevant options that complement their purchase. This will have them even more excited about their decision.

Here’s an example from Olive Oil Lovers. When customers added certain products to their cart, a popup appeared offering customers 20% off one of their best-selling items.

Olive Oil's Lover product recommendations at their online store.

This campaign converted at 37%, boosting Olive Oil Lover’s average order value by 15% over 3 months.

Start upselling now with these templates:

Set up your upsell popups and start converting more!

7. Browsing reminder

Online shoppers tend to research before committing, especially for pricier items. Capture returning visitors’ interest by reminding them about the products they viewed on their last visit.

Like Vegetology, you can use a side message with custom product recommendations—a single click lets customers pick up where they left off.

Vegetology product recommendations Shopify store.

Use these browsing reminder templates to set yours up quickly:

Set up your browsing reminder now.

8. New product recommender

Returning visitors are gold for your Shopify store! They’ve already shown interest in your brand, making them prime targets for conversion.

Here’s another example of how Vegetology showed a welcome message for returning visitors, highlighting products that are frequently bought together.

Vegetology product recommendations Shopify store.

Since returning visitors are familiar with your products, use their browsing history to suggest complementary items. 

Craft a personalized message highlighting how these recommendations fit their needs.

Try these new product recommender templates:

Learn how to set up new product recommenders.

9. Embedded product recommender

Is your blog not driving sales as expected? Spice up your content by embedding relevant product recommendations within your articles. 

This can significantly increase conversions, engagement, and cart value.

Include product recommendations into your blog.

Here are some templates to get you started:

Boost your blog’s performance with an embedded product recommender!

10. Smart recommender

Attracting visitors with Google Shopping ads is great, but converting them with traditional discounts can hurt your margins. 

The Smart Recommender offers a smarter solution—and proof that Shopify product recommendations work!

Let’s take a look at how Australian dessert shop Goldelucks used the Smart Recommender.

Visitors who viewed the “Chocolate Christmas Tree with Donuts” product page but were about the leave the store saw this popup:

Generate more traffic with Smart recommendations.

By implementing related products and using smart recommendations, they achieved a 12.27% increase in orders.

Want to achieve similar results? Take a look here!

FAQ

Does Shopify have a recommendation system?

Yes, Shopify offers built-in product recommendations through the Search & Discovery app. You can customize these recommendations to highlight related or complementary products for each item in your store.

Do product recommendations increase sales?

Studies have shown that product recommendations can significantly increase conversion rates and average order value. By suggesting relevant products that customers might be interested in, you can make it easier for them to find what they’re looking for and encourage them to spend more in your store.

How can I track the performance of my product recommendations?

Shopify analytics—and OptiMonk’s built-in analytics—allow you to track the performance of your product recommendation campaigns. You can see metrics like click-through rate (CTR) and conversion rate to see how effective your recommendations are at driving sales.

Wrapping up

By now, you’ve discovered the magic bullet for boosting your Shopify store’s success: personalized product recommendations. 

If you recommend products that are relevant to your audience, you’ll not only boost sales, but also create a dialogue with your customers. Relevant recommendations show them that you understand their needs and interests, fostering a sense of connection that goes beyond a simple sales transaction.

Want to get started with product recommendations straight away? Get your forever-free OptiMonk account today, and treat your customers with a seamless experience!

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Written by
Picture of Barbara Bartucz

Barbara Bartucz

Barbara is a Content Marketer at OptiMonk. She takes pride in creating different forms of content, whether it’s an article, a video, or an e-book.
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