How to increase online sales — start cross-selling

Cross-selling is the act of selling an additional item to a customer. During an online transaction, this could occur with an email follow-up or during the check-out process. Several times in planning meetings our clients, however, have questioned this practice. They have a reasonable concern -- they fear that cross-selling during the shopping experience may distract from the goal of checking out. We have stuck to our guns, though, and normally recommend cross-selling.

We now another study to back up our claims further. The Journal of Marketing Research reports on how three researchers from Duke, Yale, and Stanford Graduate School of Business show that consumers are more likely to buy items when they've already purchased something. As USNEWS puts it -- it's like Newton's First Law of Shopping -- your will continue shopping once you have the momentum going. 78% purchased a suggested item after their initial purchase. Interestingly, giving an item for free doesn't get the same response and is even ineffective -- only half opted for the free gift.