Beauty and wellbeing customers aren't just buying a product; they're building a routine. That makes them some of the most receptive shoppers to a well-placed upsell: a hero product they already trust, a small add-on that fits neatly into what they use every day, or the next step in a regimen they're already committed to. Here's what that looks like in practice, across four placements, drawn from real merchants putting it to work.
Why beauty and wellbeing are built for upselling
Skincare, haircare, and wellbeing purchases are rarely one-off. Customers are usually replacing something they've run out of or adding to a routine they've already built around a handful of trusted products. That makes low-friction, relevant upsells easy to say yes to: the customer isn't being sold something new so much as being reminded of something that already fits.
Four placements, at a glance
- Checkout Upsell: a low-value, broadly relevant product shown at checkout.
- Free Shipping Upsell: items positioned to help customers close the gap to a shipping threshold.
- One-Click Upsell: a hero or complementary product the customer can add in a single click, right in the cart.
- TY & OS Upsell: a product carousel on the thank-you and order status pages, reinforced by a post-purchase email.
Checkout Upsells
A Checkout Upsell shows a small number of relevant products to the customer at checkout, right before they pay.
This placement is best suited to a low-value product that's easy to add on: something broadly relevant enough that almost any customer could use it, so it doesn't need a discount to earn a yes. OneSkin does this well with a low-value SKU that relates to all customers regardless of what's already in their cart. No discount, just a well-timed prompt, and it converts at 1.7%.
Free Shipping Upsell
A Free Shipping Upsell prompts customers to add an item so they cross a free-shipping threshold, turning a delivery cost into a reason to buy more.
Our Smart Recommendation feature continues to perform well here, automatically surfacing the products that close the gap to the threshold quickest. OZ Hair and Beauty uses it to help customers cross their threshold and sees a 3% conversion rate as a result.
One-Click Upsell
A One-Click Upsell lets a customer add a product to their cart with a single tap, no re-entering payment details or leaving the page.
Jones Road uses this placement to feature their hero product, the Miracle Balm, at full price whenever it isn't already in the customer's cart. It converts at 8%, and it works because the product is already one of their best-known: customers often recognize it on sight, so the upsell just needed to prompt them to add it. OneSkin takes a different angle, using the One-Click Upsell to show products that pair with what's already in the cart and continue the customer's routine. Running several of these routine-based offers at once, they see an average conversion of 8.5% across them all.
Thank You & Order Status Pages
A TY & OS Upsell offers complementary products to the customer after they've already paid, on the pages they see right after checkout or when they return to edit their order.
The best version of this shows products that complete the customer's routine, or simply an array of best-sellers if there's no obvious pairing. It works because customers often return to the order status page to check on delivery, giving the brand a second look and a second chance to show there's more worth adding, especially when it's paired with a discount to help push the conversion. Backing it up with a Klaviyo post-purchase email drives the offer home even after the customer has left the page.
What's actually possible
OneSkin, Jones Road, and OZ Hair and Beauty show that the strongest beauty and wellbeing upsells rarely need to work hard to convince anyone. A low-value add-on almost anyone can use. A hero product customers already recognize. A routine that completes itself. A reminder that shows up right when the customer is already thinking about their order. None of it feels like a hard sell, because it isn't one.
For beauty and wellbeing brands, that's the real opportunity: meet the customer inside the routine they've already built, and the upsell takes care of itself.
