Use consistent, meaningful SKU patterns across the variants you want to relate.
Choose Product List Upsell, Free Shipping Upsell, or One-Click Upsell as the strategy placement. Mixed or unsupported placements cannot use this module.
You need at least one catalogue variant with a SKU to build and test the rule.
The setup preview must return at least one matching variant before you can save the module.
SKU Similarity extracts useful values from a cart variant's SKU, then uses those values to search for related variants. This is helpful when your SKU structure encodes attributes such as range, style, material, or family.
For example, if several compatible products share a family code inside their SKUs, you can extract that code from the cart product and recommend other products whose SKUs contain it.
Use SKU Matches instead when you want a fixed keyword search that does not depend on the customer's cart SKU.
In the Shopify admin, go to Apps > Order Editing.
Select Upsell Strategies.
Create a strategy or open a draft strategy.
Choose only supported placements: Product List Upsell, Free Shipping Upsell, or One-Click Upsell.
Continue through market, strategy name, and customer targeting.
At the product selection step, select Add Module.
Choose SKU Similarity.
Select a cart variant with a representative SKU for the setup preview.
Define the value or values to extract from that SKU.
Add the extracted variables and any fixed keywords to the SKU search.
Choose whether search terms use AND or OR logic.
Run the preview and confirm at least one appropriate variant is returned.
Set the maximum number of products, quantity, and offer text.
Save the module, complete the remaining strategy steps, and test before publishing.
The preview variant helps you prove that the SKU pattern works. Identify the parts of the SKU that carry reusable meaning, not values that are unique to only one variant.
If the strategy evaluates more than one cart SKU, Order Editing compares the extracted values and uses the common matching value. Design the pattern so related cart items resolve consistently.
Avoid extracting separators or incidental characters unless they are required to distinguish the intended family. Broad values can return unrelated products, while overly specific values can return no products.
Add one or more terms to the search builder. A term can be a variable extracted from the cart SKU or a fixed keyword that every matching result should satisfy.
Setting | What it controls | Default |
|---|---|---|
Preview cart variant | The example SKU used to build and validate the rule | Required during setup |
Extracted variables | Reusable values taken from cart SKUs | None |
Fixed keywords | Literal SKU text included in the search | None |
Term logic | Whether all terms or any term must match | Based on the chosen search builder option |
Maximum products | The largest number of eligible variants returned | 10 |
Quantity | The recommended quantity for an accepted product | 1 |
Offer text | The message shown with the recommendations | Current module default |
You can set Maximum products from 1 to 10.
Use AND when a result must satisfy every configured term. Use OR when any configured term is enough. Test both the desired matches and likely false matches before saving.
The module searches variant SKUs using the resolved terms, then applies availability and strategy checks. The cart variant used to derive the search is excluded from its own recommendations.
A result can also be removed because it is unavailable, hidden, already represented in the offer, outside the selected market, or blocked by another applicable product rule.
SKU Similarity is only as reliable as your SKU structure. Renaming SKUs or introducing inconsistent patterns can change results without changing the strategy.
Choose a test cart variant whose SKU represents a common real-world pattern.
Confirm the setup preview returns the intended related products.
Check that unrelated SKUs are not returned.
Save and publish the strategy for a controlled test audience.
Open the supported customer placement with the test variant in the cart.
Confirm the recommended products match the intended SKU relationship.
Repeat with at least one different SKU pattern.
Confirm the cart variant itself is not recommended.
Test an SKU with no intended relationship and confirm the experience remains usable when the module has no result.
Check that every selected strategy placement is Product List Upsell, Free Shipping Upsell, or One-Click Upsell. Selecting an unsupported or mixed placement makes the module unavailable and can remove it from the strategy.
Select a preview cart variant with an SKU, complete the extraction and search terms, and run the preview. At least one matching variant is required during setup.
The extracted value or OR search may be too broad. Use a more meaningful SKU segment, add a fixed keyword, or change to AND logic.
Check the exact variant SKUs, availability, market, hidden-product rules, and maximum product count. Also confirm the common extracted value is the one you expected.
Results can change immediately because the module searches current variant SKUs. Reopen the module and rerun its preview after a major SKU migration.
