Upsell products not showing in checkout
In short
An upsell block hides itself completely when it has no products to show. The usual causes are Custom Products with nothing selected, Shopify returning no Related or Complementary recommendations for the first product in the cart, every product already being in the cart, or the products not being available on your Online Store.
✓ Applies to
- Upsell, Featured Upsell, Promo Banner Upsell and Quick Add Upsell blocks
- Shopify Plus checkout
✕ Doesn't apply to
- Other blocks that don't show. Use the general block checklist
All four upsell blocks work the same way. They load a list of products, remove any that are already in the cart, and render nothing if the list is empty. There’s no error or placeholder at checkout, so an empty list looks like a missing block.
First confirm the block itself is live: Status is Active, the Block ID is pasted into a Custom Block in the checkout editor, and any visibility conditions match. Put a simple Heading block in the same checkout block to test. If the heading shows and the upsell doesn’t, the cause is on this page.
Custom Products is selected but empty
The product source defaults to Custom Products in Featured, Promo Banner and Quick Add Upsell. If no products are picked, the block has nothing to show. It doesn’t fall back to recommendations, even though the help text under the picker suggests it does.
How to check: open the block in Checkout Ninja and look under Product Source (or Recommendation Type in Upsell). If Custom Products or Custom Product is chosen, make sure at least one product is listed.
Fix: select products, or switch the source to Related Products or Complementary Products.
In the Upsell block, Custom Products is a premium option. On plans without it, the picker shows Premium Feature and Upgrade to Unlock instead, so no products can be picked. See feature upgrade required.
Shopify has no recommendations for the cart
Related Products and Complementary Products come from Shopify’s product recommendations, for the first product in the cart only. Shopify decides what’s returned.
- Complementary Products are empty unless you’ve set complementary products in Shopify’s Search & Discovery app for that first product.
- Related Products can be empty for new stores and for products with little sales history.
How to check: note the first product in your test cart. In the Search & Discovery app, look at its recommendations.
Fix: add complementary products for your key products in Search & Discovery, or use Custom Products to choose the products yourself.
Every product is already in the cart
Products already in the cart are always removed from the list. If your custom list has two products and the buyer added both, or Shopify’s recommendations are all in the cart, nothing is left.
How to check: remove the upsell products from your test cart and reload checkout.
Fix: add more products to your custom list, and raise No of Products or Maximum Products if the list is short.
After a buyer clicks Add, Featured, Promo Banner and Quick Add Upsell keep the product on screen for about two and a half seconds to show “Added”, then remove it. That’s expected.
The products aren’t available to buyers
The blocks load products the same way your storefront does. A product that’s a draft, archived, or not available on your Online Store sales channel isn’t returned, so it’s silently skipped.
How to check: open each product in your Shopify admin. Its status must be Active, and Online Store must be ticked under sales channels.
Fix: set the product to Active and make it available on the Online Store.
The products show, but can’t be added
This isn’t a hidden block, but it’s often reported as one. A product with every variant sold out stays in the list:
- In Featured, Promo Banner and Quick Add Upsell, the button shows Sold out and is disabled. In Featured Upsell, choose Show next available product under When the product is unavailable to skip it.
- In Upsell, the card stays, but the button does nothing.
Fix: restock the product, set it not to track inventory, or remove it from your custom list.
Frequently asked
Why does the upsell show in the app preview but not in checkout? +
The preview uses a sample cart. At checkout, recommendations depend on the buyer's real first cart product, and products already in the cart are removed.
Does an empty Custom Products list fall back to recommendations? +
No, although the help text in the app says it does. With Custom Products selected and nothing picked, the block shows nothing.
Do out-of-stock products hide the block? +
No. Sold-out products still show, with a Sold out button or no working add button. Featured Upsell can skip them with Show next available product.