What Is an Order Bump? Checkout Add-On Math

What an Order Bump Looks Like

Picture the checkout page. Next to the order summary there's a small box: "Yes, add a spare filter for $9." One tick and the filter's in the order. No new page, no second payment.

Most bumps are cheap little extras tied to the cart, like gift wrap, a refill or a longer warranty. The item itself might be a cross-sell (something different) or an upsell (a bigger size of the same thing). It's a bump because of where and how you offer it.

Order Bump vs Post-Purchase Upsell

It comes down to timing. An order bump shows up before payment and lands in the same order. A post-purchase upsell waits until the buyer has paid, and it often runs as a one-click upsell on its own page.

That changes the risk. Once the buyer has paid, the main sale is safe. A bump sits right by the pay button, so a confusing offer there can cost you the sale. We compare the two moments in our guide to pre-purchase vs post-purchase upsell timing.

Where an Order Bump Can Sit on Shopify

On most Shopify plans, apps can't add anything inside the checkout steps. Only Shopify Plus stores can, with a checkout UI extension. On other plans, the closest you can get is the cart drawer or cart page, right above the checkout button.

Our offer data covers 250 stores and 66M offers from January to June 2026. Offers inside checkout were accepted 9% of the time, but only 28 Shopify Plus stores are behind that number. Cart drawer offers got 12%. Not all of these were order bumps, and it wasn't a controlled test. The stores and offers differed by spot, so the gap doesn't prove one spot is better. You'll find the full numbers in our roundup of the best Shopify upsell and cross-sell apps.

Margin Math: A Spare Filter on a $48 Bottle

Say a store sells a filter water bottle for $48. At checkout, it offers a spare filter that normally sells for $12, at 25% off. The filter costs the store $3 and fits in the same box.

Bump price: $12 × 0.75 = $9.
Gross profit per tick: $9 − $3 = $6.
If 7 of every 100 buyers tick the box, that's $63 more in sales and $42 more gross profit per 100 orders.
Average order value goes from $48.00 to $48.63 ($4,863 ÷ 100).

Now swap in a $9 bottle strap that costs you $8. You make $1 per tick. The order gets bigger, but your profit barely moves.

Figures don't include payment fees. We picked "7 of 100" for this example. It's not a benchmark.

When an Order Bump Backfires

The box comes pre-ticked. Buyers who miss it pay for something they didn't choose. In the EU, a paid extra needs the buyer's clear yes. A pre-ticked box doesn't count, and they can get their money back.
It's too big an ask. A $40 add-on on a $50 order is a whole new buying decision.
It has nothing to do with the cart. A candle next to running shoes looks like a sales trick.
There's more than one. Stack three boxes by the pay button and checkout turns into another shopping page.
The margin's thin, like the strap above.

The Mix-Up: "It's Optional, So It Can't Hurt"

A bump feels risk-free, since the buyer can just ignore it. But it sits at the last step before payment. If it makes the total look confusing, some buyers may leave, and the bump's take rate won't show you that. So watch your checkout conversion rate too, and judge the bump by profit per order.

How Growth Suite Handles Checkout Add-Ons

Growth Suite, our app, has checkout extensions for Shopify Plus stores. They show upsells inside checkout, plus a checkout offer progress bar. Outside checkout, the Product Add-Ons widget works a lot like a bump, just on the product page. You pick the extras for each product. Shoppers switch them on with a toggle or checkbox, and a single Add to Cart click adds everything.