Order bump

What is an order bump?

An order bump is a single checkbox or toggle on the checkout page that adds a small, related item to the order the instant it's checked. There's no new page, no second cart, and no fresh payment form: the extra item just rides along on the same transaction. That one click is what separates an order bump from almost every other add-on-sale tactic.

Order bump vs upsell vs downsell

These three tactics get lumped together, but they happen at different moments in a purchase and ask for different things.

Term	When shown	Interaction	Typical use
Order bump	On the checkout page, before payment	One click, added to the same order	A cheap, related add-on (extra prints, a bonus file, a warranty)
Upsell	After payment, usually on a follow-up page	A separate offer, sometimes a second charge	A higher-tier version or a bigger quantity of what was just bought
Downsell	After an upsell is declined	A cheaper alternative offer	A lower-priced version shown to recover a lost upsell

An order bump is won or lost before the sale is even complete. An upsell and a downsell only exist because the sale already happened, offered to a customer who has already trusted the seller enough to pay once. Sellers who want all three usually start with the order bump, since it carries the least risk of derailing the original purchase.

Why do order bumps work?

• Timing beats persuasion. A small, related add-on is an easy yes once a customer has already decided to buy; the same offer earlier in the browsing session competes with that primary decision instead of riding on it.
• No added cost to run. An order bump captures incremental revenue with no added ad spend and no separate marketing message, since it rides on an order that was already going to happen.
• The decision stays small. Ticking a box doesn't feel like starting a new purchase, which keeps the friction close to zero.

How do order bumps work?

Mechanically, an order bump is simple by design:

• A checkbox or toggle appears on the checkout form, usually above or beside the payment button.
• The offer's price is added to the order total the instant the box is checked, updating the total the customer sees before they pay.
• Everything settles in one transaction: one card charge, one confirmation, one line item added to the receipt.
• Declining costs nothing. The customer simply leaves the box unchecked and checks out as normal.

There's no redirect, no new payment form, and no risk of the customer abandoning the purchase to consider a separate offer.

Order bump examples

• Photographer, $200 portrait session. A bump offers a set of retouched prints for $40, shown as a single checkbox above the payment button with one line describing what's included.
• Digital course, $150 course. The same mechanic sells a $27 companion workbook. Physical or digital, the bump is still one checkbox, added to the same charge, framed as making the main purchase more useful rather than a separate thing to think about.

How to set up an order bump

1. Pick one add-on that is obviously related to the main product, not a second, unrelated item competing for the customer's attention.
2. Price it low relative to the main purchase, generally under a third of the primary item's price, so accepting it never feels like a second buying decision.
3. Write one sentence describing what the customer gets and why it pairs with what they're already buying, rather than a generic label like "add extra."
4. Place the bump where it's visible without competing with the payment button, typically directly above or beside it.
5. Confirm the bump total updates the order summary immediately so nothing about the final charge is a surprise at the payment step.

In Checkout Page, an order bump is configured directly on the checkout builder as part of the page itself, so the offer, its price, and its copy live alongside the rest of the checkout rather than in a separate app or plugin. That also means the bump inherits the same branding and layout as the rest of the checkout, instead of looking like a bolted-on widget.

Order bump best practices

• Keep the offer relevant. A bump should feel like a natural companion to the item already in the cart, not an unrelated product competing for attention.
• Price it low. A bump priced close to the main item's price stops reading as an add-on and starts reading as a second decision.
• Say it in one line. If the offer needs a paragraph to explain, it belongs on its own product page, not a checkbox squeezed into the checkout form.
• Show one or two bumps at most. Stacking several offers turns a quick yes into a slow evaluation.
• Frame it as a completion, not a new purchase. Copy like "add matching prints to your session" reads as finishing the order; a separate pitch breaks the one-click framing.

What goes wrong with order bumps

• The offer is unrelated. A bump with nothing to do with the main purchase reads as an ad, not a convenience, and can make the whole checkout feel less trustworthy.
• Too many bumps at once. Showing three or four add-ons forces the customer to evaluate options instead of making a quick decision.
• The price is too close to the main item. A $180 bump on a $200 purchase feels like buying two things, not adding one small extra.
• No clear value statement. A vague label like "add extra" gives the customer nothing concrete to say yes to.
• The bump competes with the payment button. A checkbox that competes visually with the payment button, or a cluttered page, can hurt conversion instead of helping it.
• Set once and forgotten. An offer that converts well for one product doesn't automatically work for another. A bump copied across every checkout without a re-check tends to fade in performance over time.