Add-ons

What are add-ons?

Add-ons are the products a web store suggests in a small box on the product page, typically right below the “Buy” button. The customer checks the boxes next to the add-ons they want, and both the main item and the add-ons are added to the cart in a single step. In Shoporama’s themes, the box is labeled “Add to Cart.” Add-ons can also appear as checkboxes in the cart and on the final step before checkout, such as gift wrapping for the entire order. This is described further below.

Add-ons are a form of cross-selling. The accessories appear exactly where the customer is already making their purchase decision, and the customer doesn’t have to leave the product page or search for the item themselves. Unlike product recommendations, which are generated automatically based on customer behavior, you choose which items appear in the box yourself.

How add-ons work in Shoporama

You specify the add-ons using product IDs in a field on the main product page. If the product itself hasn’t filled in the field, the theme searches within the product’s main category and then works its way up through the parent categories. This means you can apply the same add-ons to an entire product group in one place instead of editing each product individually.

• Each add-on becomes its own order line with its own price and item number; it is not included in the main product’s price.
• The add-on is added to the cart as 1 item. The customer can increase the quantity later in the cart.
• Products that are offline do not appear as add-ons, even if their ID is entered in the field.
• The add-on box appears only on the product page itself, not in product lists or category views.

Add-ons with Variants

If the add-on has variants such as color or size, a dropdown menu appears the moment the customer checks the box. The customer selects their variant without leaving the product page, and the selected variant is included in the order with its own item number. If there is only one possible value, it is selected automatically.

The selector requires that the variant field be set up as a list of values—in other words, a standard color or size selector. If the variant field is instead free text, a number, or a yes/no field, the item cannot be added to the cart from the add-on box.

Add-on, bundle, or up-sell?

Each term serves a different purpose:

• Add-ons are accessories you choose yourself, displayed on the product page. Each item has its own price and its own line item.
• Add-ons in the cart and at checkout are options that apply to the entire order, such as gift wrapping, a greeting card, or delivery to your doorstep. They appear as checkboxes under the heading “Add to Your Order” in the cart and on the final step before payment, and they are located in a product profile marked as an Add-on Profile. Each add-on becomes its own order line with its own price, but has no variants and does not appear in the store’s lists, search results, or feeds.
• A bundle is a single product that contains multiple items and is sold at a single, combined price.
• Post-purchaseupsells are the offers customers see on the receipt page, i.e., after payment has been completed.
• Product recommendations automatically select items based on what your customers actually do.

Add-ons are a theme feature

The add-on box is not a setting that works everywhere. It must be built into the theme that the online store is running. In Shoporama’s own themes, it is available in Delaware, DelawareDK, Montana, and MontanaB2B. If you’re using a custom-built theme, your theme developer must add the box to the product page before the field with upsell IDs will have any effect.

The same applies to add-ons in the cart and at checkout. The “Add to your order” block (in the English Delaware theme) is available in the same four themes, and in a custom-built theme, the theme developer must add it before the add-on profile’s products are displayed to the customer.