Digital Upselling: 3 Expert Tips to Boost Restaurant Revenue

Upselling is an important skill for online business owners as well as marketers. To use simple language, upselling is the art of encouraging the customer to increase their order value.

A traditional upselling method is to train the restaurant staff on how to handle customers and make product recommendations while serving. In modern times, restaurant owners and managers need to know how to upsell in a smarter, more efficient, and more digital way on their own ordering website and app.

Join us in this blog as we explore the power of upselling on your digital channel – how it can increase your average order value and store revenue for your own restaurant.

Top Digital Upselling Techniques

There are three major techniques through which you can upsell, such as by a) adding extra options to each menu item, b) offering bigger size or quantity options, and c) by promoting products before the customer places the order.

Adding Extra Options to Each Menu Item

Adding extra options to each menu item can enhance the customer experience as it provides them with the freedom to customize their order as desired. For instance, if a customer orders a pizza, they may want to choose from additional toppings such as pepperoni, mushrooms, or olives. When customers visit your product detail page, they’ll see these options clearly laid out, allowing them to make an informed choice about what to add to their order. Including this in the product detail page is a strategic decision. When a customer clicks on a product, views its details, and adds it to the cart, it shows strong purchase intent. This gives you the perfect opportunity to suggest additional products or upgrades to their selected menu items.

Option groups for upselling

Offering Bigger Size or Quantity Options

Through varied pricing/size options, you provide a dynamic way to showcase your product items and cater to different customer preferences. With price variations, you can create product options from the smallest size, usually one serving, to larger sizes like 10 servings, each with a corresponding price. By effectively using different pricing/size options in your restaurant, you can dramatically increase your average order value. Customers are more likely to choose a larger size, especially when they see an added value or potential savings in doing so. This approach not only increases your revenue but also improves customer satisfaction by giving them more options to match their preferences.

Moreover, by offering a wide range of sizes and prices for your menu items, you allow your customers to customize their order to suit their taste and budget. This flexibility can attract more orders and encourage customer retention.

Price variants for upselling

Promoting Products Just Before Placing the Order

In addition, you can promote products that go well along with the menu items selected by the customer prior to checkout. This idea is primarily anchored on the order value. You may want to ask your customers if they would like to add a certain item to the order if the value of their cart is between a certain range (e.g. 20 and 49 Euros). Customers can benefit from a free or discounted giveaway (that they are eligible to according to their order value) at checkout.

Ordering rules for upselling

Tips to Follow When Upselling with Options

Manage the price increment for upselling items

Most people will look at the fee they need to pay for the extra item before adding it to their order. Also, customers are likely to agree to a 30% price increment, but anything beyond this may backfire on customers. We recommend that the prices of items you want to upsell are 30% less than the main item, but you can always experiment with what works best for your customers.

Choose the Right Upsell Offers

While implementing upsell offers in your store can be very effective, it’s important to realize that not all upsell offers are right for your business. Also, you may not want to use every product to sell more. For best results, it’s important to carefully select products that add to the main item or offer a compelling upgrade.

When choosing an upsell, consider its relationship to the main item. Upselling should serve as a natural accompaniment to the main product or offer an attractive upgrade option. For example, if you sell pastries, you can use size changes as an upselling tactic, giving customers the option to upgrade to a larger cake. Likewise, offering a variety of non-alcoholic beverages as a gift for the cake can be an attractive upselling strategy. Free items are items that can be placed with the main item to enhance the overall experience.

Avoid Adding More Than Three Upsell Items

When looking at upsell offers for your main item, it’s natural to include multiple options. However, you may be surprised to learn that in most cases you don’t need more than three upsell offers. For best results, you should limit the number of upsell offers to between three and five, ensuring they are perfectly organized to meet the needs of your customers. Whether it’s options in an option group, price variations, or options listed in the ordering rules, following this approach will avoid overwhelming and confusing your important customers. tangled.

For maximum effect, consider applying gradual price changes between upsell offers while keeping in mind the 30% price increase rule. This means ensuring that the price difference between the items on offer is not too large, maintaining a balanced range of choices for your customers.

Be Consistent

Consistency is essential while using upselling methods. It is preferable to offer upsell products consistently inside a single category rather than arbitrarily distributing promotional items throughout several categories. Customers will be able to simply find the promotions each time they visit your store. The key to successful upselling is to ensure that the promotional products are relevant to the primary commodities and that their pricing matches the preferences of the clients. Allowing consumers to choose the specific ingredients or alternatives they want for their items is another great method that leads to increased order value overall.

Upselling with GonnaOrder

GonnaOrder is an online ordering platform that has all the upselling features you need.

Use Option Groups

You can enhance your menu items with GonnaOrder by adding new options to each item. These extra options allow your customers to customize their orders and create a one-of-a-kind eating experience. Whether it’s pizza toppings, burger sauces, or salad add-ons, you can simply manage and modify these extras within the GonnaOrder platform. The platform makes it easy to add and manage these new options, providing a smooth and delightful ordering experience for both you and your consumers.

Use Price Variants

GonnaOrder also accommodates consumer requests by allowing them to select larger sizes or quantities for their orders. Customers may quickly select their desired alternatives right from the ordering interface, whether it’s an oversized drink, a larger portion of a beloved dish, or numerous quantities of an item. They can tailor their orders with a few clicks to properly match their tastes and needs. This ease and flexibility lead to higher customer satisfaction because they may enjoy their favorite dishes exactly how they desire. The platform handles these size and quantity options flawlessly, offering a simple and user-friendly ordering process for your valued consumers.

Use Ordering Rules

Lastly, GonnaOrder makes use of intuitive promotional features that display products right before customers place an order. It shows carefully selected and relevant product recommendations as clients move to conclude their order, inviting them to discover more items that match their choices. This promotion allows customers to discover new menu items or special deals that they may have missed previously, increasing the possibility of upselling and raising the entire order value.

Conclusion

In conclusion, upselling through options can increase your restaurant’s revenue. By offering different pricing/size options, using option groups, and providing applying checkout guidelines in the digital catalogue, you can increase your order value and customer satisfaction.

We strongly recommend you start using these popular upselling strategies for your GonnaOrder store. Also, don’t forget to visit our help center to see how to configure option groups, manage to different pricing/size options and apply checkout guidelines.

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