A downsell is a lower-priced or alternative offer you present to a customer right after they decline your upsell. Instead of losing the sale entirely, you give them a more affordable option that still adds value to their order.
Key facts about downsells:
- Downsells are triggered when a customer says “no” to an upsell, not before
- A well-placed downsell can recover $3–$8 per declined offer across your store
- The best downsells are different products, not discounts on the original item
- Only about 30% of WooCommerce stores use downsells
If your store runs post-purchase upsells and some customers decline, you’re leaving money on the table without a downsell.
- Is this guide for you?
- What is a downsell, exactly?
- Why do downsells matter for your store?
- Downsell vs upsell vs cross-sell: what's the difference?
- Types of downsells: pre-purchase vs post-purchase
- 5 downsell strategies that actually work
- How to write a downsell page that converts
- How to set up downsells in WooCommerce with CartFlows (step by step)
- 5 downsell mistakes that kill conversions
- How to measure downsell performance
- Frequently asked questions
- Final thoughts
TL;DR: A downsell is a cheaper offer shown after a customer declines your upsell. It recovers $3–$8 per declined offer, and the best downsells are different products (not the same item at a lower price). Only ~30% of WooCommerce stores use them. This guide covers 5 proven strategies, copywriting tips, and a step-by-step CartFlows setup.
Is this guide for you?
This guide is for WooCommerce store owners who already have a checkout funnel (or want to build one) and want to capture more revenue from every transaction. You don’t need to be technical. We’ll walk through the strategy and the setup step by step.
What is a downsell, exactly?
A downsell is a secondary offer presented to a customer after they decline your initial upsell. Think of it as the safety net in your sales funnel. It catches revenue that would otherwise fall through the cracks.
Most store owners face this scenario: a customer buys a $49 hair serum. You show them a $129 complete hair care kit as a one-click upsell. They say no. Without a downsell, that’s the end of the road. With one, you can offer a $19 hair growth supplement instead, and suddenly your $49 order becomes a $68 order.
Multiply that across hundreds of orders and the math starts to matter.
Why do downsells matter for your store?
Most store owners obsess over getting more traffic. That’s fine. But you’ll often get a bigger revenue bump by extracting more value from the customers you already have.
They recover revenue you’d otherwise lose
Roughly 60% of upsell offers get declined. That’s a lot of “no thank you” clicks. (If you’re looking for a specific benchmark, most ecommerce funnel platforms report acceptance rates between 35–45% on post-purchase upsells, which puts the decline rate in that 55–65% range.)
But a “no” to the upsell doesn’t mean “no” to everything. It usually means the price was too high, the product wasn’t relevant enough, or the timing felt off. A downsell addresses those objections by offering something smaller, cheaper, and easier to say yes to.
In our experience working with WooCommerce store owners, roughly 30% of those who’ve added downsells to their funnels see measurable AOV increases within the first month. We’re not talking about massive jumps. We’re talking about $3–$8 extra per declined upsell offer. But run the numbers on that.
If your store processes 500 orders per month and 60% of upsell offers get declined, that’s 300 potential downsell opportunities. At a conservative $5 recovery per accepted downsell with a 15% acceptance rate, you’re looking at $225 per month in found revenue. Scale that to 2,000 orders and you’re at $900/month, from a single page you set up once.
They build long-term customer value
Robert Cialdini’s “door in the face” technique (from his book Influence) shows that when someone declines a large request and is immediately presented with a smaller one, they’re more likely to say yes to the smaller ask. The initial refusal creates a sense of reciprocal concession. Your customer said no to the big offer, and your downsell feels like a compromise, which makes acceptance more likely.
On top of that, once someone buys anything from you, even a $9 item, they’ve crossed a psychological line. They’ve gone from visitor to customer. That mental shift makes them more likely to buy from you again. A customer who accepts a downsell today has a meaningfully higher chance of purchasing in the future than someone who left your store with nothing. Your customer lifetime value goes up, and your email list gets a buyer instead of a browser.
They give you a competitive edge
Only about 30% of WooCommerce stores actively use downsells (based on our analysis of funnel configurations across CartFlows users). That means 70% are running funnels that dead-end after a declined upsell. If your competitors aren’t doing this, you have a structural advantage in revenue per visitor.
Downsell vs upsell vs cross-sell: what’s the difference?
These four terms get tossed around interchangeably, but they’re distinct moves that happen at different points in your funnel.
| Offer Type | When It Happens | Goal | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upsell | After checkout, before thank you page | Increase order value with a premium add-on | Customer buys a $49 serum → you offer a $129 hair care kit |
| Downsell | After a declined upsell | Recover value with a cheaper alternative | Customer declines the $129 kit → you offer a $19 supplement |
| Cross-sell | On product page or cart page | Add complementary items | Customer views a laptop → you suggest a $29 case |
| Order bump | On the checkout page itself | Quick add-on before payment | Small checkbox: “Add gift wrapping for $4.99” |
Upsells and downsells are sequential. The downsell only fires if the upsell gets rejected. Cross-sells and order bumps can happen independently at any point in the buying journey.
A funnel builder like CartFlows lets you chain all four offer types in a single visual flow: checkout → order bump → upsell → downsell → thank you page. You set the conditions once, and the funnel handles the logic automatically.
Further reading: What Is an Order Bump? How to Add Order Bumps in WooCommerce
Types of downsells: pre-purchase vs post-purchase
Not all downsells work the same way. Where and when you present the offer changes the psychology and the conversion rate.
Post-purchase downsells (the most common type)
This is the classic downsell. Your customer has already completed checkout and paid. You show them an upsell. They decline. Now you show the downsell.
The beauty of post-purchase downsells is that the customer’s payment info is already on file. If someone just bought a $49 skincare serum and declined the upsell kit, they can accept a $19 downsell supplement with a single click. No re-entering card numbers, no second-guessing. That’s why post-purchase downsells tend to convert better than pre-purchase ones.
You can set these up with a WooCommerce funnel plugin. Free options like WPFunnels handle basic flows, but if you want conditional routing (show downsell A if upsell was declined, show downsell B if a specific product was in the cart), you’ll want something like CartFlows that supports dynamic offer paths.
Cart-page and exit-intent downsells
These happen before checkout. A customer adds a $89 skincare set to their cart, hesitates, and starts to leave. An exit-intent popup triggers: “Not ready for the full set? Grab our bestselling moisturizer for just $24.”
This approach works well for stores with high cart abandonment rates. According to Baymard Institute’s research (aggregated from 50 studies), the average cart abandonment rate sits at roughly 70%. Among shoppers who abandon with purchase intent, 48% cite unexpected costs as the reason they left (Baymard Institute, 2024 survey). That’s exactly the objection a downsell addresses.
Email and automation downsells
What if the customer leaves your store entirely? You can still downsell via email.
Set up an abandoned cart recovery sequence that includes a downsell email 24–48 hours after the abandonment. Instead of just reminding them about the $89 skincare set they left behind, offer a single bestselling moisturizer for $24 as an alternative.
We’ve seen stores recover 8–12% of abandoned carts by sending a downsell email with a lower-priced alternative. Standard cart abandonment emails that simply remind the customer about the original product typically recover 5–8% (based on Klaviyo’s 2024 benchmark data showing a 3.33% average click-through rate on recovery emails, with conversion rates varying by store).
5 downsell strategies that actually work
Not every downsell is created equal. These five approaches consistently perform well for WooCommerce stores, with a real example for each.
1. The lite version
Strip features or quantity and offer a lighter version of the declined product.
Example: Your customer declines a $79 complete skincare bundle (cleanser + toner + serum + moisturizer). Your downsell: the hero serum alone for $29. You’re giving them the single highest-value item from the bundle at a fraction of the cost.
This works because you’re not changing the category of the offer. You’re just making it smaller. The customer already showed interest in skincare. You’re lowering the ask.
2. The payment plan
Same product, spread the cost over time.
Steve Chou, creator of the “Create a Profitable Online Store” course, reported that payment plans brought in approximately 27% more customers than a single lump-sum option (as he shared in an interview with Podia). For digital products with high margins, this is one of the strongest downsell moves you can make.
Example: Your customer declines a $297 online course as an upsell. Your downsell: the same course at $79/month for four months. The total is actually higher ($316), but the monthly commitment feels manageable.
3. The complementary product
Don’t offer a cheaper version of the same thing. Offer something different that pairs with their original purchase.
Example: Customer buys premium wireless headphones for $199. They decline the $49 extended warranty upsell. Your downsell: a $14 premium carrying case. It’s a completely different product, but it makes sense alongside headphones. And at $14, it’s an impulse buy.
4. The trial or sample
For subscription-based stores or stores selling consumables, a trial offer removes the commitment barrier entirely.
Example: Customer declines a $39/month supplement subscription upsell. Your downsell: a one-time sample pack for $9.99, no subscription. You get them to try the product with zero ongoing commitment. If the product is good, they’ll come back for the full subscription.
CartFlows templates make this setup straightforward. You can create the trial offer page, set the discounted price, and configure it as the conditional downsell in under 10 minutes.
5. The value bundle
Bundle several low-cost items together at a perceived high value.
Example: Customer declines a $149 premium online course upsell. Your downsell: a $19 “quick start” bundle containing the first module + a cheat sheet PDF + a spreadsheet template. You’re packaging digital assets that cost you nothing to deliver, but the combined perceived value is well above $19.
This strategy works especially well for stores selling digital products, where your marginal cost per unit is essentially zero.
Further reading: How to Increase Average Order Value in WooCommerce
How to write a downsell page that converts
Most guides skip this part entirely. But your downsell page copy matters just as much as the offer itself. A great offer with bad copy will underperform a good offer with great copy.
Headline formula: acknowledge the decline, reframe the value
Your customer just said no to something. Don’t pretend it didn’t happen. Acknowledge it, then pivot.
Bad headline: “Special offer just for you!” Good headline: “Not ready for the full kit? Here’s our #1 bestseller, just for your next order.”
The pattern: “Not ready for [upsell product]? Here’s [downsell product], [one-line value prop].”
This works because it validates the customer’s decision (they don’t feel pressured) while immediately giving them a new, simpler option.
Handle the #1 objection upfront
In our testing, downsell pages that directly address why the customer said no convert 2–3x better than generic offer pages.
If the upsell was expensive, lead with price: “Just $14, less than your morning coffee run.”
If the upsell required commitment, lead with simplicity: “No subscription. No strings. One bottle, one time.”
If the upsell felt irrelevant, lead with the connection to their original purchase: “Pairs perfectly with the [original product] you just bought.”
Keep copy short and decision-simple
Your downsell page should have one product, one price, and one CTA button. That’s it.
Don’t add multiple options. Don’t write 500 words of sales copy. The customer is one click away from their thank you page, and you’re interrupting that flow. Respect their time.
Include one piece of social proof (a customer quote or a stat like “4,200+ sold”) and one benefit-focused sentence. Then let the CTA do the work.
Design for mobile first
Most WooCommerce stores see 65–70% of their traffic from mobile devices (multiple industry analyses of WooCommerce store data confirm this range). If your CTA button is below the fold on a phone screen, you’re losing conversions before the customer even sees the offer.
Keep the product image small, the headline short, and make sure the accept/decline buttons are visible without scrolling. (For a deeper dive, see our guide on how to optimize your WooCommerce checkout for mobile)
How to set up downsells in WooCommerce with CartFlows (step by step)
You can configure basic upsell/downsell flows manually with custom code or with free plugins like WPFunnels. But for conditional routing, analytics, and pre-built templates, a dedicated funnel builder like CartFlows makes the process significantly faster.
Step 1: Install CartFlows and create a new funnel
Install and activate CartFlows from your WordPress dashboard. Navigate to CartFlows → Flows and click Add New. Choose a pre-built funnel template (CartFlows includes templates specifically designed for upsell/downsell flows) or start from scratch.
Give your flow a name, something like “Hair Care Downsell Funnel,” and import the template.
Step 2: Add your checkout page and main product
Click on the Checkout step in your funnel. Under the Products tab, search for and add your main product. This is the product the customer originally came to buy.
You can customize the checkout page design using your preferred page builder. Elementor, Beaver Builder, and the default editor all work with CartFlows templates.
Step 3: Add an upsell offer step
Back on the funnel overview, click Add New Step and select Upsell/Downsell. This first offer step is your upsell.
Add the upsell product under the Products tab. Set any discount you want to offer. For example, if you’re upselling a $129 hair care kit, you might offer it at $99 as a post-checkout exclusive.
Step 4: Add a downsell offer step
Add another Upsell/Downsell step. This one is your downsell. It only shows when the upsell gets declined.
Add your downsell product (for example, a $19 hair growth supplement). Set the price and any discount. Keep the offer page clean: one product, one headline, one CTA.
Step 5: Configure conditional routing
Go back to your upsell step and find the Dynamic Offer Path settings.
Set it up like this:
- On acceptance → redirect to the Thank You page
- On rejection → redirect to your Downsell offer step
If the customer accepts the upsell, they skip the downsell entirely and land on the thank you page. If they decline, they see the downsell offer. Clean, conditional, automatic.
Step 6: Test your funnel end-to-end
Place a test order through the entire flow. Verify that:
- The checkout page loads correctly with the main product
- The upsell page appears after checkout
- Clicking “No thanks” on the upsell triggers the downsell page
- Accepting the downsell adds it to the order
- The thank you page shows the correct order summary
Pro tips for better downsell results
Limit offers to one upsell + one downsell. We recommend keeping your funnel to one upsell and one downsell per checkout. Stores that stack more than two post-purchase offers typically see declining acceptance rates after the second offer. More isn’t better. It’s annoying.
Use CartFlows analytics to track performance. CartFlows includes a built-in analytics dashboard that shows views, conversions, and revenue per offer step. Check it weekly and kill any downsell with an acceptance rate below 5%.
A/B test your downsell price point. Try the same product at two different prices. You might find that $14.99 converts better than $19.99, or the opposite. The only way to know is to test.
Further reading: How to Create a Sales Funnel in WordPress with CartFlows
5 downsell mistakes that kill conversions
Not every downsell works. These are the five most common mistakes, and what to do instead.
1. Discounting the same product
Your instinct might be to offer the same upsell product at a lower price. “They said no to the hair care kit at $129? Let’s offer it at $79.”
Don’t do this. It trains customers to always decline the first offer and wait for the discount. Worse, it makes customers who did accept the upsell at full price feel cheated when they find out others got a better deal.
The fix: Offer a different product entirely, or a stripped-down version that justifies the lower price.
2. Showing too many offers
Upsell → downsell → another upsell → another downsell → cross-sell… Your customer came here to buy one thing. Don’t turn the checkout into an obstacle course.
A common misconception is that any downsell is better than no downsell. That’s not always true. A third or fourth offer in the same checkout session can damage trust and lower your overall conversion rate.
The fix: One upsell, one downsell, done. If you want to offer more products, do it via email follow-ups a few days later.
3. Offering irrelevant downsells
Your customer bought a yoga mat. Your upsell was a premium yoga block set. They declined. Your downsell is… a kitchen blender on sale?
The downsell must relate to the original purchase intent. If it doesn’t, you break the mental thread and the customer checks out mentally.
The fix: Map every downsell to the original product category. If someone bought yoga gear, your downsell should be yoga gear, just smaller, simpler, or cheaper.
4. Ignoring the mobile experience
We touched on this in the copywriting section, but it’s worth repeating because it’s that common. If your downsell page requires scrolling to find the “accept” button on mobile, you’ve already lost most of your potential conversions.
The fix: Test every offer page on a real phone. The CTA should be visible without scrolling. If it’s not, shorten the page.
5. Not tracking performance
You set up a downsell, launched it, and never looked at the numbers. Three months later, it’s converting at 2% and you have no idea. Flying blind is expensive.
The fix: Check your downsell analytics weekly. In CartFlows, you can see views, acceptance rate, and revenue per offer on the analytics dashboard. If the acceptance rate drops below 5%, it’s time to change the offer or the page.
Further reading: A/B Testing for WooCommerce Funnels: The Complete Guide
How to measure downsell performance
You’ve set up your downsell. How do you know if it’s working?
Key metrics to track
Downsell acceptance rate: The percentage of customers who see your downsell and accept it. A healthy range is 10–20%. If you’re consistently below 5%, your offer likely doesn’t match the customer’s intent or the price point is wrong.
Revenue per downsell offer: Total downsell revenue divided by total downsell impressions. This tells you the dollar value of showing the downsell page to each customer.
AOV with vs without downsells: Compare your average order value before and after implementing downsells. This is the clearest indicator of impact.
Refund rate on downsell products: If your downsell has a higher refund rate than your main products, the offer might be creating buyer’s remorse. Watch this number.
How to track in CartFlows
CartFlows’ built-in funnel analytics dashboard shows all of these metrics per step. Navigate to CartFlows → Analytics and you’ll see a breakdown for each offer in your funnel: views, conversions, conversion rate, and revenue.
For more granular tracking, connect CartFlows with Google Analytics 4 to track downsell events as part of your overall ecommerce reporting.
One thing to watch: if your acceptance rate climbs above 25%, you might be leaving money on the table. Your downsell price could be too low, and it’s worth testing a higher price point.
Frequently asked questions
Final thoughts
A downsell salvages a “no” that would otherwise cost you money. Even a small recovery rate on declined upsells adds up to meaningful revenue over time.
Start with one funnel, one upsell, and one downsell. Track your acceptance rate for a month. Then optimize from there.
What’s your experience with downsells in your store? Drop a comment below or reach out. We’d love to hear what’s working for you.
