Before you begin
- Use consistent SKUs on the products you want to recommend.
- Choose Product List Upsell, Free Shipping Upsell, or One-Click Upsell as the strategy placement. Mixed or unsupported placements cannot use this module.
- Decide which fixed keywords identify the intended variants.
- The setup preview must find at least one variant before you can save the module.
When to use SKU Matches
SKU Matches searches the catalogue using fixed conditions you configure. The search does not derive a value from the customer's cart.
Use it for groups such as all SKUs that start with an accessory prefix, contain a campaign code, or end with a packaging suffix. Use SKU Similarity instead when the search should change according to the SKU of a product in the customer's cart.
Add SKU Matches
- In the Shopify admin, go to Apps > Order Editing.
- Select Upsell Strategies.
- Create a strategy or open a draft strategy.
- Choose only supported placements: Product List Upsell, Free Shipping Upsell, or One-Click Upsell.
- Continue through market, strategy name, and customer targeting.
- At the product selection step, select Add Module.
- Choose SKU Matches.
- Add the keyword or keywords to include.
- Choose the match operator for each condition.
- Run the preview.
- Refine the terms until the preview returns the intended variants and no obvious unrelated products.
- Set the maximum number of products, quantity, and offer text.
- Save the module and complete the remaining offer, design, and advanced steps.
- Test the customer placement before publishing to a broad audience.
Configure match conditions
The module supports these operators:
Operator | What it does | Example use |
|---|---|---|
Contains | Includes SKUs with the text anywhere in the value | A family or campaign code inside the SKU |
Does not contain | Removes SKUs containing the text | Exclude samples, clearance, or internal variants |
Starts with | Includes SKUs beginning with the text | A product-category prefix |
Ends with | Includes SKUs ending with the text | A size, pack, region, or channel suffix |
Adding more include keywords widens the possible matches. Check the preview after every change. If you need all results to satisfy several characteristics, use the available refinement conditions to narrow the result rather than adding broad include terms alone.
SKU matching uses the current SKU string. Letter case, separators, abbreviations, and whitespace in your catalogue can affect which products are found.
Configure the offer
Setting | What it controls | Default |
|---|---|---|
Include keywords | Fixed SKU text that can qualify a variant | Required |
Refinements | Conditions that narrow or exclude results | None |
Maximum products | The largest number of eligible variants returned | 10 |
Quantity | The recommended quantity for an accepted product | 1 |
Offer text | The message shown with the recommendation | Current module default |
You can set Maximum products from 1 to 10. The customer may see fewer products when the search has fewer eligible results.
Write offer text that describes the returned group accurately. Because results are controlled by SKU conventions, avoid promising a specific collection or compatibility unless your conditions enforce it.
Understand customer-facing results
Order Editing applies your fixed SKU search, then filters the matching variants using current product availability and the strategy context.
A previewed variant can still be omitted for a customer when it is unavailable, hidden, outside the selected market, already excluded by the offer, or blocked by another product rule.
The recommendations remain the same across different carts unless another targeting or availability condition changes. This is the main difference from SKU Similarity, which derives search values from cart SKUs.
Verify it's working
- Run the setup preview and record several intended matching variants.
- Search your Shopify catalogue for the same SKUs and confirm the keyword pattern is accurate.
- Check several variants that should not match.
- Save and publish the strategy for a controlled test audience.
- Open the supported placement with an eligible customer and market.
- Confirm the intended products appear with the expected quantity and offer text.
- Change the cart contents and confirm the fixed SKU group remains consistent unless eligibility changes.
- Test an unavailable or hidden matching product and confirm it is not offered.
FAQ
Why is SKU Matches unavailable?
Every strategy placement must be Product List Upsell, Free Shipping Upsell, or One-Click Upsell. An unsupported or mixed placement selection makes the module unavailable and can remove it.
Why can I not save the module?
The search needs a valid include condition and at least one matching preview result. Refine the keyword and operator until the preview returns a current catalogue variant.
Why did adding another keyword return more products?
Include keywords broaden the search. Use refinements such as Does not contain, Starts with, or Ends with to control the result more precisely.
Why is a previewed product missing for a customer?
Check inventory, availability, market, hidden-product settings, duplicate suppression, strategy targeting, and the maximum product count.
What happens if I rename SKUs?
The module searches current SKU values. Catalogue changes can add or remove matches, so rerun the preview after a SKU migration or bulk product update.
