Product Recommendation Sources

Checkout Components offers multiple ways to source products for your upsell components. Choose the method that best fits your strategy, from complete manual control to advanced AI-powered recommendations.

desc - Configure product sources from manual selection to AI-powered recommendations for upsells.

Overview

Product sources determine which products appear in your upsell components. Each source has different strengths, and you can use different sources for different components based on your goals.

Manual Selection

Hand-pick exactly which products to recommend. Complete control over product selection with ability to search and select products from your catalog, add multiple products, and reorder them.

Best for:

• Strategic product promotions
• Curated product selections
• Campaign-specific recommendations
• When you know exactly what to show

How it works:

1. Browse or search your product catalog
2. Select specific products to include
3. Drag to reorder products by priority
4. Disable/enable specific products without removing them

Advantages:

• ✅ Complete control over recommendations
• ✅ Perfect for promotions and campaigns
• ✅ No algorithm dependency
• ✅ Immediate implementation

Limitations:

• ❌ Manual updates required when changing products
• ❌ Not personalized per customer
• ❌ If products run out of stock, they will not be shown to customers so this component may result in no recommendations showing

Example Use Case:

Scenario: Holiday gift bundle promotion
Products: Hand-picked gift items
Why Manual: Specific promotion requires exact product set
Update Frequency: Once per campaign

Collection-Based

Automatically pull products from one or more Shopify collections. Products update automatically when you change the collection contents.

Best for:

• Dynamic recommendations that change with inventory
• Seasonal collections
• New arrivals
• Sale or clearance items
• Upselling accessories

How it works:

1. Select one or more Shopify collections
2. Set how many products to display
3. Products automatically pull from selected collections
4. Updates when collection membership changes

Advantages:

• ✅ Automatically updates with collection changes
• ✅ Easy to manage through Shopify
• ✅ Perfect for seasonal rotation
• ✅ Supports multiple collections

Limitations:

• ❌ Not personalized per customer
• ❌ Limited control over product order
• ❌ Shows same products to all customers

Example Use Cases:

Seasonal Rotation:

Collection: "Summer Collection"
Products: Automatically updates as you add summer items
Why Collection: Easy seasonal management
Update: Change collection when season changes

New Arrivals:

Collection: "New Arrivals"
Products: Always shows newest products
Why Collection: Keeps recommendations fresh automatically
Update: Add products to collection as they arrive

Sale Items:

Collection: "On Sale"
Products: Current sale items
Why Collection: Dynamically updates with sale changes
Update: Collection management handles recommendations

Shopify AI (Automatic Recommendations)

Built-in AI product recommendations from Shopify. Zero configuration required - Shopify analyzes your product catalog and customer behavior to suggest relevant products.

Best for:

• Quick setup with no configuration
• Stores wanting hands-off recommendations
• Testing upsells before advanced setup
• Complement to other strategies

How it works:

1. Select "Automatic" as product source
2. Shopify's algorithm analyzes catalog and customer behavior
3. Recommendations update automatically
4. No ongoing maintenance required

Advantages:

• ✅ Zero setup and configuration
• ✅ Automatic updates as catalog changes
• ✅ Considers customer behavior
• ✅ Good default choice

Limitations:

• ❌ No control over algorithm
• ❌ Limited customization options
• ❌ Generic (not highly personalized)
• ❌ Cannot configure fallbacks

Example Use Case:

Scenario: New store getting started
Goal: Test upsells with minimal effort
Why Automatic: Quick implementation, no maintenance
Strategy: Start here, optimize later with advanced sources

Performance:

• Works best with 100+ products in catalog
• Improves over time with more sales data
• Reasonable relevance for general recommendations
• Good starting point before advanced AI

Product Mapping

Create custom product-to-product recommendations. Map specific products (or combinations) to trigger automatic recommendations of other products you've defined.

Best for:

• Accessories recommendations
• Product bundles
• Specific cross-sell strategies
• Complete control with automation

How it works:

1. Create product mappings (trigger product → recommended products)
2. When trigger product in cart, show mapped recommendations
3. Support for quantity thresholds and multiple trigger products
4. Bulk import via CSV for large catalogs

Advantages:

• ✅ Precise product-to-product control
• ✅ Supports complex logic (multiple triggers, quantities)
• ✅ Bulk CSV import for scale
• ✅ More control than AI, more automated than manual

Limitations:

• ❌ Requires Pro+ plan
• ❌ Setup time for large catalogs
• ❌ Manual mapping creation
• ❌ Needs maintenance as catalog changes

Example Use Cases:

Camera Accessories:

Trigger: Canon EOS Camera in cart
Recommendations: 
  - Canon Memory Card (64GB)
  - Camera Case
  - Lens Cleaning Kit
Why Product Mapping: Specific accessories for specific products

Phone Bundles:

Triggers: iPhone 15 Pro AND quantity > 1
Recommendations:
  - iPhone Case (multi-buy)
  - Screen Protector Pack
Why Product Mapping: Bundle logic based on quantity

Cross-Sell Strategy:

Trigger: Running Shoes in cart
Recommendations:
  - Athletic Socks
  - Shoe Insoles
  - Shoe Cleaner
    Why Product Mapping: Strategic cross-sell plan

Learn more: Product Mapping Guide

Integration-Powered Recommendations

Advanced AI and search-powered recommendations through third-party integrations. These provide sophisticated algorithms beyond Shopify's built-in AI.

Boost Commerce AI

Plan Required: Pro or Enterprise

Advanced AI-powered product recommendations with multiple AI models and recommendation types.

Features:

• Multiple recommendation types (Bestsellers, FBT, Trending, Personalized)
• Multiple AI models (Complementary, Alternative, AI-Related, FBT)
• Configurable confidence thresholds
• Primary and fallback algorithms

Best for: Stores wanting advanced AI without enterprise complexity

Learn more: Boost Commerce Integration

Athos Commerce (formally Searchspring)

Plan Required: Pro or Enterprise

Enterprise-grade search and recommendation engine.

Features:

• Advanced search-powered recommendations
• Sophisticated merchandising control
• A/B testing capabilities
• Advanced analytics

Best for: Large stores with existing Athos Commerce (formally Searchspring) implementation

Learn more: Athos Commerce (formally Searchspring) Integration

Algolia

Plan Required: Pro or Enterprise

Fast, relevant recommendations powered by Algolia's search platform.

Features:

• Ultra-fast recommendation engine
• Advanced relevance tuning
• Real-time personalization
• Powerful analytics

Best for: Stores prioritizing speed and relevance

Learn more: Algolia Integration

Nosto

Plan Required: Enterprise

Advanced personalization platform with AI-powered recommendations.

Features:

• Enterprise personalization engine
• Sophisticated AI models
• Cross-channel consistency
• Advanced segmentation

Best for: Enterprise stores wanting comprehensive personalization

Learn more: Nosto Integration

Comparison Matrix

Choosing the Right Source

By Store Size

Small Stores (<100 products):

• Start: Manual or Collection
• Consider: Shopify AI for variety

Medium Stores (100-1,000 products):

• Start: Shopify AI or Collection
• Upgrade to: Product Mapping or Boost Commerce (Pro or Enterprise plan)

Large Stores (1,000+ products):

• Use: Boost Commerce (Pro or Enterprise)
• Consider: Athos Commerce (formally Searchspring), Algolia, or Nosto (Enterprise)

By Strategy

• Control-Focused: Manual → Product Mapping → Boost Commerce

• Automation-Focused: Shopify AI → Boost Commerce → Nosto

• Speed-to-Market: Collection → Shopify AI

• Personalization-Focused: Boost Commerce → Nosto

By Resources

• Limited Time: Shopify AI or Collection

• Some Setup Time: Manual or Product Mapping

• Development Resources: Enterprise integrations (Athos Commerce (formally Searchspring), Algolia, Nosto)

Using Multiple Sources

You can use different sources for different components:

Example Strategy:

Homepage Upsell: Collection-based (New Arrivals)
Cart Page Upsell: Product Mapping (Accessories mapping)
Checkout Upsell: Boost Commerce AI (Personalized)
Post-Purchase: Manual (Strategic promotion)

Advantages:

• Optimize each touchpoint separately
• Test different approaches
• Balance automation and control
• Maximize relevance across journey