What is an order bump? In short: a small offer that appears on the checkout page, right before the pay button, which the customer adds to their order by ticking a box, without leaving the page or going back to the cart. A screen protector with a phone, a descaling kit with a coffee machine, gift wrapping with a perfume.
It is one of the simplest ways to raise an online store’s average order value, because it arrives when the customer has already decided to buy. This guide covers where the idea comes from, why it works, how to design one that doesn’t put anyone off, and your options for adding one to WooCommerce, which doesn’t include it out of the box.
What an order bump is, in one sentence
An order bump is a complementary product offered at checkout, usually at a special price, that the customer adds to the order with a single click. They don’t have to search for it, open another page or type anything again: they tick the box and the total updates.
The term comes from sales funnels and digital-product platforms such as ClickFunnels and Hotmart, which offer it as a built-in feature. Today it is used by all kinds of online stores, including those selling physical products.
Three traits set it apart from other offers:
- Timing: it shows up when the customer is already paying, not while they are still deciding.
- Effort: accepting it takes one click. No product page, no size picker, no new page.
- Size: it is a small add-on compared with the order. It doesn’t replace what the customer chose; it completes it.
Why it works
The hard decision, whether to buy, has already been made. The customer has chosen the product, typed in their address and is about to pay. At that point, adding something small and useful takes very little mental effort, especially if it is something they were going to need anyway.
Two more things help. First, the offer is relevant: it is picked based on what is in the basket, not at random. Second, it is usually exclusive to that moment: a price they only get at checkout, which gives them a reason to decide now rather than later.
What a good order bump doesn’t do is pressure anyone. If the offer doesn’t fit, the customer ignores it and pays as normal. That is why it is a low-risk technique: done well, it never gets in the way of the main purchase.
Order bump examples by type of store
The best order bump is the one the customer would have bought anyway a few days later, or the one they would miss when opening the parcel.
| Store | The customer is buying | Order bump |
|---|---|---|
| Electronics | A phone | A screen protector or case, discounted only at checkout |
| Coffee | A coffee machine | A descaling kit or a bag of coffee beans |
| Cosmetics | A face cream | The same product in travel size |
| Fashion and footwear | Trainers | Sports socks or waterproofing spray |
| Pet supplies | A bag of dog food | A pack of treats |
| Gifts | Any product | Gift wrapping with a handwritten card |
| Courses and downloads | An online course | A template pack that goes with it |
The pattern is the same every time: the add-on makes sense with what the customer is buying, costs much less than the order and can be explained in one line.
Order bump, upsell and cross-sell are not the same thing
They are often used as synonyms, but they are three different techniques, each with its own moment in the purchase:
- Upsell: offering a better or more expensive version instead of the one the customer is looking at. It usually appears on the product page.
- Cross-sell: suggesting complementary products in addition to what is in the basket. In WooCommerce it appears on the cart page.
- Order bump: a complementary offer at checkout, accepted with a tick box without leaving the page.
We break them down with examples and a comparison table in Order bump vs upsell vs cross-sell: differences and when to use each.
Rules for an order bump that adds value without getting in the way
1. It should complement, not compete
An order bump adds something to what the customer is already buying. Offer an alternative (another model, another size) and you make them doubt the decision they just made, which is the last thing you want on the payment page.
2. It should be small compared with the order
There is no magic number, but the add-on should be an easy yes. If the offer costs as much as the order, it is no longer an add-on: it is a separate purchase and deserves its own product page.
3. It should make sense in one line
Product name, why it helps and how much they save. “Add the screen protector for €6.95 (instead of €12.95)” works better than a paragraph of marketing copy.
4. The box must start unticked
The customer has to tick it themselves. In the European Union, Article 22 of the Consumer Rights Directive requires express consent for any additional payment and entitles the customer to a refund if consent was inferred from pre-ticked options. Rules aside, a pre-ticked box leads to returns and to customers who don’t come back.
5. The special price must be real
If you advertise a saving, it has to exist. The checkout price should beat what the customer would find on the product page, and only for that moment.
6. Few offers at a time
One or two well-chosen offers do better than a whole catalogue in front of the pay button. The more options, the longer the customer takes to decide, and the goal is still for them to pay.
7. It must not break the checkout
This is the rule most often forgotten. If ticking the box reloads the page and wipes the address the customer typed, you have traded a sure sale for an add-on worth a few euros. The order bump has to update the total without touching the rest of the form, and it has to look right on mobile.
How to add an order bump to WooCommerce
Out of the box, WooCommerce has two kinds of recommendations: upsells, shown on the product page, and cross-sells, shown on the cart page. It shows none at checkout. We checked this in the WooCommerce 10.8 source code, where the function that displays cross-sells stops on the checkout page, and in a test store with both the classic and the block checkout.
If your cross-sells don’t appear even in the cart, go through why WooCommerce cross-sells are not showing: it almost always comes down to one of eight specific causes.
To get an order bump at checkout you need custom code or a plugin. Before choosing one, check these points:
- Block checkout. Since WooCommerce 8.3 it has been the default checkout for new stores. A plugin that only works with the classic checkout ties you to it.
- The form stays intact. Accepting the offer must not reload the page or clear the address, order notes or payment method.
- A real order line. The offer should go in as a normal product, with its own stock, tax class and SKU. If it is faked with a negative fee, your invoicing, accounting and any ERP that reads your orders will see odd numbers.
- Server-side pricing. The offer price must not be editable from the browser, or stack with a coupon unless you decide it should.
- Unit caps and stock. If you offer 50 units at a special price, you shouldn’t sell 52 when two customers pay at the same time.
- Rules. It makes no sense to show the same offer to a €20 basket and a €300 one, or to offer something that is already in the cart.
- Statistics. How many saw it, how many added it, how many paid for it and how much extra revenue it brought in.
A WooCommerce order bump that never wipes the form
EHERO Woo Checkout Offers (full disclosure: it’s ours) shows a hand-picked selection of products from your catalogue at checkout, at a special price, with unit caps, rules and statistics. It works with the classic and the block checkout, in the cart and in the mini-cart. One licence per domain, €79.99 a year.
With Checkout Offers, setting up your first order bump takes five steps:
- Pick the product or variation from your catalogue that you want to offer.
- Set the offer price (fixed price, percentage off or amount off) and, if you like, a unit cap.
- Choose who sees it: minimum cart subtotal, products or categories in the basket, new or returning customer, country or campaign dates.
- Choose the layout (cards, list, carousel or a single featured offer) and where it appears. By default it sits above the pay button.
- Let it run for a few weeks and check the statistics before changing anything.
What to measure to know if it works
- Take rate: out of every 100 orders that saw the offer, how many paid for it. If it is very low, the offer doesn’t fit what those customers buy or the price isn’t convincing.
- Extra revenue: what the offer added to your orders. This is the figure that justifies keeping it.
- Average order value: compare it with a similar period without the order bump.
- Checkout conversion: the share of customers who reach the payment page and pay. It shouldn’t drop. If it does, the order bump is distracting people or slowing the page, and it is costing you more than it brings in.
Once you have data, change one thing at a time: the product, the price or the copy. If your tool can A/B test two offers, even better, because it compares both over the same dates.
FAQ
What does order bump mean?
It is a last-minute add-on offered at checkout: the order gets a small “bump” in value when the customer accepts it. The name comes from sales-funnel software.
Is an order bump the same as an upsell?
No. An upsell offers a better version instead of the one the customer is looking at; an order bump adds a complementary product at checkout. Some platforms call any extra offer an upsell, but it helps to keep them apart because they belong to different moments of the purchase.
Where should an order bump go?
On the checkout page, near the order summary and the pay button, which is where customers look before confirming. Some stores also get good results in the cart or the mini-cart.
Can I show more than one order bump at a time?
Yes, in moderation. Two or three related offers can work; more tend to distract.
Does WooCommerce have a built-in order bump?
No. It has upsells on the product page and cross-sells in the cart, but it shows no offers at checkout. You need custom code or a plugin.
Does it work for digital products?
Yes. In fact that’s where it started. A template pack with a course, or an extra licence with a piece of software, are classic order bumps.
Conclusion
An order bump is a small, relevant, easy-to-accept offer placed at the one moment when the customer has already decided to buy. Done well, it raises your average order value without putting the sale at risk: an unticked box, a real price, few offers and a checkout that doesn’t reload. WooCommerce doesn’t include one, so choose a tool that works with the block checkout, leaves the form alone and tells you, with data, whether it is worth it.
Related guides
- Order bump vs upsell vs cross-sell: what each technique is and when to use it.
- WooCommerce cross-sells not showing: the causes and how to bring them to checkout.
- EHERO Woo Checkout Offers: the WooCommerce order bump with special prices, unit caps and statistics.
