How to Add Shopify Cross Selling to Your Store with Vowelweb Themes

Shopify cross selling is a powerful way to encourage customers to discover complementary products while shopping in your store. By showing relevant product recommendations, you can make it easier for customers to find items that match their purchase and increase your store’s average order value. With Vowelweb Themes, Shopify merchants can use built-in cross selling functionality to create a more engaging and conversion-focused shopping experience. Merchants comparing the best Shopify ecommerce themes should consider how effectively each theme supports product discovery and complementary product recommendations. 

In this blog, we will explain what Shopify cross selling is, why it is important for your online store, its key benefits, and how you can use the cross selling feature in Vowelweb’s premium Shopify themes to recommend relevant products and drive additional sales.

What Is Shopify Cross Selling?

Shopify cross selling is a sales technique that encourages customers to purchase additional products that are related to or complement the product they are already viewing or purchasing. Instead of focusing only on the main product, cross selling introduces customers to other items that can add value to their purchase. For example, when a customer is viewing a handbag, a store can recommend a wallet, scarf, or other accessory that pairs well with it.

The main purpose of Shopify cross selling is to make relevant product recommendations at the right stage of the customer journey. When customers see products that naturally match their interests or current purchase, they are more likely to explore additional products and add them to their cart.

Cross selling can be particularly useful for Shopify stores with multiple products or product categories. It helps merchants showcase more of their catalog without requiring customers to search through the entire store. Instead, relevant products are presented alongside the product the customer is already interested in.

Vowelweb's premium Shopify themes also support cross-selling functionality through a dedicated Complementary Products section. This provides merchants with a convenient way to present related products within the shopping experience. We will explore this section and how to use it effectively later in this guide.

How Shopify Cross Selling Works

A typical cross-selling experience follows a simple process:

• A customer visits a product page.
• The store identifies products that complement the main product.
• Related products are displayed as recommendations.
• The customer discovers additional products without leaving the shopping journey.
• The customer can add relevant products to their cart.

For example, a skincare store selling a face cleanser could recommend a moisturizer or serum. A fashion store selling a dress could recommend matching accessories. Similarly, an electronics store selling a laptop could recommend a laptop bag, mouse, or keyboard.

The key is relevance. Cross selling works best when the recommended products genuinely complement the customer's intended purchase rather than simply displaying unrelated products. Merchants who want more flexibility can also explore a Shopify related products app to manage product recommendations and display complementary items across their store.

Key Benefits of Shopify Cross Selling

Shopify cross selling helps merchants recommend relevant products while customers are already interested in making a purchase. When done correctly, it can improve the shopping experience while creating additional opportunities to increase sales and order value.

• Increase Average Order Value: Encourage customers to add complementary products to their cart, increasing the total value of each purchase.
• Boost Additional Sales: Recommend relevant products that customers may need alongside their primary purchase, creating more opportunities for conversions.
• Improve Product Discovery: Help shoppers discover related products they may not have found through navigation or search.
• Enhance Customer Experience: Make shopping easier by showing useful and relevant products together, reducing the need for customers to search manually.
• Promote Relevant Products: Give complementary products greater visibility by presenting them at the right moment in the customer journey.
• Maximize Existing Traffic: Generate more value from your existing visitors by encouraging additional purchases instead of relying only on acquiring new customers.

Overall, Shopify cross selling is a simple way to connect related products, improve product discovery, and create more opportunities for customers to add valuable items to their carts.

Shopify Cross Selling in Vowelweb Premium Shopify Themes and How to Customize It

Vowelweb's four premium Shopify themes, Adorn, Flaunt, Dynamic, and Renovate, include a dedicated Complementary Products section that can be used for Shopify Cross Selling. The section is available on the single product page and can be customized through the Shopify Theme Editor. Each theme provides its own design and customization options, allowing merchants to adjust the heading, product display, layout, colors, and other visual settings according to the requirements of their storefront.

Choosing suitable Shopify product page templates can help merchants create a product layout where complementary products are clearly visible without distracting customers from the main product.

How to Customize Shopify Cross Selling in Adorn

Shopify theme customization allows merchants to adjust the appearance and layout of complementary product sections to match their store's overall design. In the Adorn Shopify Theme, the Complementary Products section provides several customization options. These settings allow you to control the heading, number of products, quick-add functionality, list-view presentation, and visual elements such as button and border colors.

After installing Adorn, open the Shopify Theme Editor and navigate to the single product page. Locate the Complementary Products section and click on it to open its settings.

The first setting you can customize is the Heading. This determines the title displayed above the recommended products. Adorn can use a heading such as:

SIMILAR BEST SELLERS FROM OUR STORE

You can modify this heading according to the tone and branding of your store. For example, a fashion store may prefer wording focused on styling, while a beauty store could use wording that highlights complementary products.

Configure Products Count

The Products count setting determines how many complementary products are displayed within the section.

This gives you control over how much content appears on the product page. Showing a reasonable number of relevant products can help customers explore additional options without making the section unnecessarily large.

When choosing the number of products, focus on relevance rather than simply displaying as many products as possible.

Enable Quick Add Button

Adorn also provides an Enable quick add button option.

When enabled, customers can quickly add a recommended product to their cart without having to navigate through the complete product page first. This can make the cross-selling experience more convenient, particularly when the recommended products are simple purchases with straightforward options.

The quick add functionality can be especially useful when customers are already familiar with the recommended product and want to add it without interrupting their current shopping journey.

Enable List View

The Enable list view setting allows you to change how the complementary products are presented.

Depending on your store's design and the number of products you want to display, a list-style presentation can provide an alternative to the standard product-card arrangement.

This setting can be useful for merchants who want the recommendations to occupy less visual space while still making the products easy to browse.

Customize Button Colors

Adorn also provides color controls for the interactive elements within the Complementary Products section.

The available settings include:

• Button background color: Transparent
• Button text color: #697976
• Button hover background color: #697976
• Button hover text color: #FFFFFF
• Border color: #CDCDCD

These settings allow you to maintain consistency between the Shopify Cross Selling section and the rest of your store's visual identity.

For example, you can adjust the button colors to match your brand palette, while the hover colors can provide a visual response when customers move their cursor over an interactive button.

The border color can also be adjusted to complement your product cards and surrounding sections.

Save and Check the Adorn Section

Once you have finished configuring the Adorn Complementary Products section, click Save in the Shopify Theme Editor.

After saving, preview the single product page and check how the Shopify Cross Selling section appears on the storefront.

Pay attention to:

• Whether the heading looks appropriate.
• Whether the recommended products are relevant.
• Whether the number of products fits the page.
• Whether the quick add button appears correctly.
• Whether the colors match your store design.
• Whether the section looks good alongside the product information.

This final preview helps you confirm that the configuration works properly before customers see the updated storefront.

How to Customize Shopify Cross Selling in Flaunt

The Flaunt Shopify Theme also includes the Complementary Products section on the single product page. The available settings focus primarily on controlling the section heading, product quantity, desktop presentation, columns, and product image proportions.

After opening Flaunt in the Shopify Theme Editor, navigate to the single product page and select the Complementary Products section.

You will then see the customization settings available for the section.

Customize the Heading

The Heading setting controls the text displayed above the complementary product recommendations.

Flaunt provides a heading such as:

Have a look at these products

You can change this text to suit your store's communication style.

The heading should clearly indicate that the products being displayed are related recommendations. A simple and understandable heading can help customers recognize the purpose of the section immediately.

Set Number of Products to Load

The Number of products to load setting controls how many complementary products the section can retrieve for the recommendation area.

This setting gives you control over the amount of recommendation content available to the section.

Choosing an appropriate number is important because the goal is to provide enough relevant options without making the product page unnecessarily long.

Set Number of Products to Show on Desktop

Flaunt also includes Number of products to show (desktop).

This setting determines how many product cards customers can see at the same time on desktop screens.

You can adjust this based on your preferred product-page layout and the visual space available in your store.

Choose the Number of Columns

The Number of products to show (columns) setting lets you choose how the recommended products are arranged.

The available options are:

• One column
• Two columns

A one-column layout provides a more prominent presentation for each recommendation, while a two-column layout allows multiple products to appear together in a more compact arrangement.

Choose the layout that best fits the overall design of your product page.

Select Image Aspect Ratio

Flaunt also provides an Image aspect ratio setting with the following options:

• Square
• Portrait
• Landscape
• Adapt to image

The image aspect ratio determines how product images are displayed within the complementary product cards.

Square provides a consistent, structured appearance and works particularly well when products have standardized imagery.

Portrait can be useful for products such as fashion items where vertical product photography is common.

Landscape can work well for products that are typically photographed in a wider format.

Adapt to image allows the presentation to accommodate the original image proportions.

Selecting the right image ratio can help maintain a consistent visual appearance throughout the product page.

Save and Check Flaunt

After completing the configuration, click Save.

Then preview the single product page and check the Shopify Cross Selling section. Make sure the product cards, images, heading, columns, and overall spacing work well with the rest of your product page.

How to Customize Shopify Cross Selling in Dynamic

The Dynamic Shopify Theme keeps the Complementary Products customization more streamlined. Instead of presenting a large number of design controls, the section focuses on the core settings required to control the recommendation display.

To configure Shopify Cross Selling in Dynamic, open the theme in the Shopify Theme Editor and navigate to the single product page. Select the Complementary Products section.

You will find two primary settings.

Customize the Heading

The first setting is Heading.

Dynamic provides a heading such as:

Have a look at these products

You can change the heading to suit your store's branding and messaging.

A concise heading works well because the purpose of this section is immediately understandable when customers see the related products underneath it.

Configure Number of Products to Load

The second setting is Number of products to load.

This determines the number of complementary products that can be loaded into the section.

You can choose an appropriate number based on the range of products you want customers to explore. Since the section is intended to complement the primary product, it is generally useful to keep the recommendation selection focused on products that are genuinely relevant.

Once the required settings have been configured, click Save and preview the product page.

The Dynamic theme's approach makes it possible to configure the essential Shopify Cross Selling settings without having to manage a large number of visual controls. 

How to Customize Shopify Cross Selling in Renovate

The Renovate Shopify Theme provides more extensive customization options for its Complementary Products section. In addition to the heading and product quantity, you can control the desktop layout, text alignment, product card style, image aspect ratio, quick view, and card appearance.

To begin, open Renovate in the Shopify Theme Editor, navigate to the single product page, and select Complementary Products.

Customize the Heading

The Heading setting determines the title displayed above the recommended products.

Renovate provides a heading such as:

THE PERFECT MATCH

You can customize the heading to suit your brand and product category.

A heading like this can be particularly suitable for stores where products are naturally purchased together because it communicates the relationship between the primary and recommended products.

Configure Number of Products to Load

The Number of products to load setting controls the number of complementary products available for the section.

Set this according to how many relevant products you want to make available to shoppers.

Set Products Shown on Desktop

Renovate provides a Number of products to show (desktop) setting.

The available options include:

• Two
• Three

This setting controls how many complementary product cards are displayed across the desktop layout.

Two products create a more spacious presentation, while three products allow customers to see more recommendations within the same area.

Choose Text Alignment

The Text alignment setting lets you control how text appears within the section.

The available options are:

• Left
• Center
• Right

Choose the alignment that matches your overall storefront design. For example, a centered product-card layout may work better with centered text, while a more editorial storefront could use left-aligned content.

Select Product Card Style

Renovate provides a Product Card Style setting with two options:

• Style 1
• Style 2

These options allow you to select the product-card presentation that best matches your storefront.

The choice can influence how the complementary products visually fit into the product page, so it is worth previewing both styles before selecting the one that works best with your theme design.

Customize Product Card Settings in Renovate

Renovate also provides a dedicated Product cards area where you can further customize how individual complementary products appear.

Show Card Background Color

The Show card background color setting controls whether the product cards use a background color.

This can help visually separate product cards from the surrounding product-page content and create a more defined recommendation area.

Depending on your storefront design, you can choose a card presentation that either blends naturally with the page or creates a stronger visual distinction.

Configure Product Card Text Alignment

Renovate also allows you to configure Text alignment for product cards.

The available options are:

• Left
• Center
• Right

This provides additional control over the appearance of product names and other textual information within the recommendation cards.

Select Image Aspect Ratio

The Image aspect ratio setting provides:

• Square
• Portrait
• Adapt to image

Choosing Square creates a consistent grid-style appearance, while Portrait provides a taller visual presentation that can work well for certain product categories. Adapt to image allows the presentation to follow the image proportions.

Your choice should generally be based on the type of product photography used throughout your Shopify store.

Enable Quick View

Renovate also includes an Enable quick view option.

When enabled, customers can access product information through the quick-view experience without necessarily navigating away from the current product page.

This can make browsing complementary products more convenient and allow customers to evaluate recommendations while staying within the current shopping experience.

Conclusion

Shopify Cross Selling is a practical way to help customers discover relevant products while creating additional sales opportunities for your store. With Vowelweb’s Adorn, Flaunt, Dynamic, and Renovate premium Shopify themes, you can use the built-in Complementary Products section directly on the single product page. Each theme offers different customization options for headings, product counts, layouts, images, colors, product cards, and other settings.

By installing your preferred Vowelweb theme, configuring complementary products through Shopify Search & Discovery, and customizing the section in the Theme Editor, you can create a seamless product recommendation experience that fits your store design and encourages customers to explore more relevant products. Along with product recommendations, effective Shopify homepage design can help create a consistent shopping experience across different sections of the store.