Product bundling is one of the most effective strategies for increasing your WooCommerce store’s average order value. Instead of selling items individually, you group complementary products together at a combined price — giving customers a better deal while you move more inventory per transaction. McDonald’s figured this out decades ago with the combo meal. The same psychology works in ecommerce.
According to McKinsey & Company, product bundling can increase revenue per customer by 10-30% when implemented correctly. For WooCommerce stores specifically, bundling reduces decision fatigue, introduces customers to products they might not discover on their own, and creates perceived value that drives conversions.
This guide covers every bundling method available in WooCommerce — from native grouped products to advanced bundle plugins, mix-and-match configurations, force sells, and pricing strategies that maximize profit margins. If you’re looking at broader strategies to boost revenue, our guide on abandoned cart recovery strategies pairs well with bundling.
Why Product Bundles Work: The Psychology
Bundling works because of three well-documented psychological principles:
- Perceived value: Customers see bundled pricing as a deal, even when the discount is modest. A camera + lens + bag bundle at $899 feels like savings compared to buying each at $450 + $350 + $120 ($920 total) — even though the actual discount is only $21
- Reduced decision fatigue: Instead of evaluating five separate products, customers make one purchase decision. Research from Columbia Business School shows that reducing choices increases conversion rates by up to 40%
- Cross-selling without friction: Bundles introduce products customers might not have found through browsing. A coffee store bundling beans with a grinder and filters exposes customers to accessories they would not have searched for
“Bundling is the simplest pricing strategy that most ecommerce stores overlook,” says Patrick Campbell, founder of ProfitWell (now Paddle). “The math is straightforward — even a 5% increase in average order value compounds dramatically over a year.”
Method 1: WooCommerce Grouped Products (Free, Built-In)
WooCommerce includes a native Grouped Product type that lets you display multiple simple products on a single product page. Customers can adjust quantities and add individual items to their cart from one page.
How to Create a Grouped Product
- Go to Products > Add New
- In the Product data dropdown, select Grouped product
- Click the Linked Products tab
- In the Grouped products field, search for and add the simple products you want to include
- Add a product image, description, and publish
Limitations of Grouped Products
- No bundle pricing: Each product keeps its individual price. There is no built-in way to offer a bundle discount
- No variable products: You can only group simple products, not variable ones with size/color options
- Basic display: Products appear in a simple table format without advanced layout options
Grouped products work for basic “frequently bought together” displays, but for real bundling with pricing strategies, you need a dedicated plugin.
Method 2: WooCommerce Product Bundles Plugin
The official WooCommerce Product Bundles extension ($79/year) is the most comprehensive bundling solution. It supports fixed bundles, customizable bundles, and mixed product types (simple + variable) in a single bundle.
Key Features
- Bundle pricing: Set a fixed bundle price or apply per-item discounts (percentage or fixed amount)
- Variable products in bundles: Customers can choose sizes, colors, and other variations within the bundle
- Optional items: Mark some bundle items as optional — customers can include or exclude them
- Quantity controls: Set minimum and maximum quantities for each bundled item
- Inventory management: Bundle stock syncs with individual product inventory — selling a bundle decrements each item’s stock
- Shipping flexibility: Ship bundle items together (one package) or individually
Setting Up a Product Bundle
- Install and activate the Product Bundles extension
- Go to Products > Add New
- Select Product bundle from the Product data dropdown
- Click the Bundled Products tab and add items
- Configure each item: set quantity, mark as optional, apply per-item discounts
- Under General, set the overall bundle pricing strategy
- Publish the product
Pricing Strategies with Product Bundles
| Strategy | How It Works | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed price | Set one price for the entire bundle regardless of individual product prices | Starter kits, gift sets, curated boxes |
| Per-item discount | Apply a percentage or fixed discount to each item in the bundle | “Save 15% when you buy together” promotions |
| Regular pricing | No discount — bundle is just for convenience | Frequently bought together, convenience bundles |
Method 3: Mix-and-Match Products
Mix-and-match bundles let customers build their own bundle by choosing from a selection of products. Think of it like a build-your-own box where the customer picks 6 items from a list of 20 options.
The WooCommerce Mix and Match Products extension ($79/year) handles this. It works alongside Product Bundles and adds:
- Customer-curated bundles: Shoppers pick from a predefined set of products to fill their bundle
- Minimum and maximum item counts: Require exactly 6 items, or between 3 and 12
- Per-bundle pricing: One price for the whole box regardless of which items the customer selects
- Volume discounts: Larger bundles get bigger discounts
Use Cases for Mix-and-Match
- Snack boxes: “Pick any 8 snacks for $24.99”
- Wine clubs: “Choose 6 bottles from our selection”
- Cosmetics: “Build your beauty box — pick 5 products”
- Meal kits: “Select 4 meals for your weekly delivery”
Method 4: Force Sells (Automatic Add-to-Cart)
Force sells automatically add related products to the cart when a customer adds a specific item. Unlike bundles, the customer does not need to interact with the additional products — they are added silently or with a notification.
The WooCommerce Force Sells extension ($49/year) offers two modes:
- Force sell: The linked product is always added and cannot be removed from the cart
- Synced force sell: The linked product is added but the customer can remove it if they choose
When to Use Force Sells
- Mandatory accessories: A phone case that requires a screen protector
- Service fees: Installation or setup fees automatically added with a product
- Warranty products: Extended warranty options synced with electronics purchases
- License keys: Software that requires a support license
Force sells work best when the added product is genuinely necessary or highly complementary. Overusing them — especially the non-removable mode — can feel manipulative and increase cart abandonment.
Method 5: YITH Product Bundles (Alternative Plugin)
If you prefer a third-party solution, YITH WooCommerce Product Bundles is a popular alternative with a free tier. The premium version ($99.99/year) includes:
- Fixed and per-item pricing
- Optional items in bundles
- Variable product support
- Bundle-specific shipping rules
- “Frequently Bought Together” widget for product pages
The free version handles basic fixed-price bundles and is worth testing if you are not ready to commit to the official WooCommerce extension.
Pricing Strategies That Maximize Bundle Revenue
The discount you offer on bundles directly impacts both conversion rate and profit margin. Here are proven pricing approaches:
Tiered Discounting
Offer increasing discounts for larger bundles:
- Buy 2 items: 5% off
- Buy 3 items: 10% off
- Buy 5+ items: 15% off
This encourages customers to add more items to reach the next discount tier. Shopify’s research shows that tiered discounts increase average order value by 12-18% compared to flat discounts.
Anchor Pricing
Show the total individual price crossed out next to the bundle price. A bundle showing $149.97 $119.99 creates a clear value perception. The original price serves as an anchor that makes the bundle feel like a bargain.
Loss Leader Bundles
Include one high-margin product with one low-margin (or even at-cost) product. The perceived value of the bundle increases because of the “free” item, while your overall margin stays healthy. This strategy works particularly well for consumables paired with durable goods — a coffee maker bundled with a month’s supply of premium beans.
Displaying Bundles for Maximum Conversions
Where and how you show bundles matters as much as the pricing:
- Product pages: Show “Frequently Bought Together” bundles below the main product — Amazon drives 35% of revenue from this placement
- Cart page: Suggest bundles as upsells before checkout: “Complete your setup — add the matching accessories for 10% off”
- Category pages: Feature curated bundles alongside individual products
- Homepage: Promote seasonal or themed bundles (back-to-school, holiday gift sets)
- Email campaigns: Send bundle offers to customers who purchased one of the bundled items individually
Bundle Inventory and Shipping Considerations
Bundling creates inventory management complexity. When a bundle sells, every component product’s stock must decrease. Most bundle plugins handle this automatically, but verify the behavior in your specific setup:
- Stock synchronization: If Product A has 5 units left and it is in a bundle, the bundle should show as out of stock when Product A sells out
- Backorder handling: Decide whether bundles can be ordered when one component is on backorder
- Shipping weight: Bundle shipping should calculate based on combined item weights, not a flat bundle weight (unless items ship in a special bundle package)
For shipping, the WooCommerce Product Bundles plugin lets you choose between assembled (one shipment) and unassembled (individual shipments) modes. Assembled shipping works for gift sets and kits. Unassembled shipping works when bundle items ship from different warehouses or have different delivery timelines.
Measuring Bundle Performance
Track these metrics to evaluate whether your bundles are working:
| Metric | What to Track | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Average Order Value (AOV) | Compare AOV before and after introducing bundles | 10-20% increase |
| Bundle conversion rate | Percentage of product page visitors who add the bundle vs. individual item | 15-25% of total sales |
| Revenue per visitor | Total revenue divided by unique visitors | Higher than pre-bundle baseline |
| Bundle vs. individual margin | Profit margin on bundles compared to selling items separately | Within 5% of individual margin |
Use WooCommerce Analytics or Google Analytics 4 with enhanced ecommerce tracking to monitor these numbers. If your bundle conversion rate is below 10%, experiment with pricing, product combinations, or placement on the page.
For more ways to increase WooCommerce sales, explore our guide on multichannel selling software that helps you reach customers across platforms. Product bundles are one of the highest-impact, lowest-effort strategies for growing WooCommerce revenue. Start with one or two curated bundles on your best-selling products, measure the impact on average order value, and expand from there. The bundling plugins handle the technical complexity — your job is choosing the right product combinations and pricing that your customers find irresistible.
