The Sports & Outdoors vertical serves a broad spectrum of shoppers, from performance-driven athletes to casual weekend explorers. Buyer behavior is influenced by the type of sport, experience level, seasonal weather, location, and the gear lifecycle. Shoppers often browse by sport (e.g., hiking, running, cycling), goal (fitness, performance, leisure), or need (clothing, equipment, nutrition).
Recommendations in this vertical should inspire activity, highlight relevant gear bundles, and drive repeat purchases across different sports seasons.
What you can achieve with Smart Recommender
Seasonal sports highlights on homepage
Showcase collections like “Get Ready for Hiking Season” or “Winter Training Gear” based on local climate and top seasonal activities.
Sport-specific starter kits for beginners
Help newcomers get started with bundles such as “Trail Running Essentials” or “Beginner Camping Kit.”
Boost AOV with cross-sells on gear pages
Recommend add-ons like socks with shoes, hydration packs with hiking boots, or yoga mats with resistance bands.
Win back inactive users with goal-oriented campaigns
Reconnect dormant shoppers with campaigns aligned to their past purchases and current fitness trends.
Impulse buys at checkout
Suggest small, high-margin items like protein bars, gloves, or headbands on the cart page to increase order size.
Personalized experiences by activity type
Adapt homepage and product carousels to each user’s preferred sport—cycling, hiking, or yoga—using behavioral segmentation.
Attribute-based product boosting
Apply Attribute Affinity to surface items by fit, size, material (e.g., waterproof, breathable), or brand loyalty.
Built-in A/B testing across pages
Test widget placement, product themes (trending vs. staff picks), or bundled vs. standalone items to see what drives conversions.
Walkthrough: Boosting AOV with Cross-Sells
One of the most effective ways to increase your store’s Average Order Value (AOV) is by encouraging customers to add complementary products to their purchase. In the sports and outdoors space, purchases are often part of a broader activity or training goal, such as preparing for a hiking trip or starting a new fitness routine. Therefore, recommending related gear at the right moment can drive powerful cross-sell opportunities.
In this example, we’ll walk you through how to create and test a cross-sell campaign on bike product pages to boost the AOV of customers who currently have low AOV. The goal is to test and compare which complementary category—helmets or hydration gear—leads to a higher AOV when recommended alongside shoes.
By setting up two separate strategies—one recommending socks, the other recommending hydration packs or bottles—you’ll be able to run an A/B test and identify which category performs best.
1. Create your Recommendation Strategy
It's time to create your first recommendation strategy. Navigate to the Recommendation Strategies and click Create.
Select your page type as Product Detail Page.
Select your algorithm as Purchased Together to recommend suitable products for cross-selling.
Enter the number of products you want to recommend.
Exclude the recently purchased products in the last 4 weeks to keep your customer engaged.
Add a filter for the category attribute to display recommendations from the “Helmets” category.
Then, create your second strategy that you want to test against.
Select your page type as Product Detail Page.
Select your algorithm as Purchased Together to recommend suitable products for cross-selling.
Enter the number of products you want to recommend.
Exclude the recently purchased products in the last 4 weeks to keep your customer engaged.
Add a filter for the category attribute to display recommendations from the “Hydration Gear” category.
2. Launch your campaign
Now, launch your first campaign using your strategies.
Go to the Web Smart Recommender page and click Create.
Select your integration method for the widget.
On the Segments step, pick the audience.
For this example, you can select customers with a low AOV under Purchasing Behavior and set your threshold.
On the Rules step, decide where and when to show your campaign.
Use Page Rules to target the product detail pages of cleanser products.
On the Design step:
Assign your two strategies to the variants.
Assign traffic allocation for each variant.
Now you’re ready to design your widget. Click Edit Design to open the Advanced Product Card Designer. Here, you can customize your product cards however you like.
Make sure all the attributes you want to display are included in your product catalog. If you need to show more information on your product cards, you can create custom attributes from Product Attributes page.
After finalizing your campaign design, the next step is to select the locales and stores where you want the campaign to appear.
Once your targeting is set:
Review the campaign details.
Confirm that all settings match your objectives.
Click Launch to activate your first campaign.
3. Track your campaign metrics
You’ve launched your campaign—great work! Now it’s time to track how it’s performing.
Go to the Smart Recommender Analytics page.
Locate your campaign under the Campaign and Variant Metrics table. Once the experiment duration ends, click your campaign name.
Compare key metrics, including Direct Revenue, Average Order Value (AOV), and Conversion Rate.
You can see which product category—Helmets or Hydration Gear—led to higher AOV for low-spending customers.
If one variant is clearly winning, adjust the traffic allocation to 100%. This ensures the best-performing strategy receives all traffic and maximizes impact.
You can also test and compare additional cross-sell strategies by adjusting the rules and filters based on other product categories across other Sports categories.
4. Optimize your campaigns
Once your campaigns are live and running, it’s time to review results and apply data-driven improvements.
Go to the Smart Recommender Analytics page.
Evaluate campaign performance based on engagement metrics.
Track Engagement Funnel Metrics: Understand how users interact with your recommendations at every step. View product impressions, clickthrough rate, add-to-cart rate, and conversion rate for each campaign to pinpoint where you’re driving engagement and where there’s room to improve.
Compare Campaign and Variant Performance: Use the Campaign and Variant Metrics table to review key KPIs like AOV, Conversion Rate, and Direct Revenue. Identify which strategies are delivering the best results and refine or scale your winning variant accordingly.
Analyze Product-Level Impact: Visit the Top 100 Product Analytics to see which products are performing well within your campaigns. Consider giving extra visibility to low-performing but strategic items by highlighting them in future recommendation widgets.
Review Category Trends: Use the Category Analytics view to assess which product categories drive the most conversions. You can prioritize high-performing categories to maximize conversions or spotlight underperforming categories to help boost their visibility and performance.
Use cases based on the page types
Home Page
Seasonal Gear Highlights
Help users gear up for the season by surfacing popular picks aligned with current weather and trending activities. For example, highlight spring trail essentials like hiking shoes and hydration packs, or showcase winter running must-haves like thermal leggings and gloves based on seasonal trends and user engagement.
Create a strategy with the Trending Product algorithm to highlight top-viewed popular products on your homepage.
Enable the “Enhance recommendations based on Attribute Affinity” toggle to personalize recommendations based on your customer’s affinities.
Add Season + is + Spring filter to your strategy to display popular items of the season.
Create widget titles like “Spring Trail Favorites” or “Winter Running Must-Haves”.
Fresh picks of the week
Help users discover what’s fresh and in demand this week to inspire their next grocery run. For example, highlight trending items such as seasonal fruits or popular snacks based on current-week shopping trends.
Create a strategy with the Trending Products algorithm.
Add Category + is + Grocery filter to your strategy to display products from the groceries.
Set segments for returning users on the campaign to address the right audience for starter kits.
Use dynamic widget titles like “Spring Greens Everyone’s Loving.”
New to the Outdoors? Start Here
Support beginners with curated starter kits to make getting outdoors easier and more approachable. For example, when a first-time visitor browses hiking gear, recommend top-selling beginner-friendly bundles like trail shoes, water bottles, and daypacks—framed under inviting headlines like 'Outdoor Starter Pack' or 'Your First Trail Adventure Kit.'
Create a strategy with the Top Sellers algorithm.
Add Category + is + Starter Kits filter to your strategy to display products from the starter kits.
Set segments for new users on the campaign to address the right audience for starter kits.
Headline A/B test: “Outdoor Starter Pack” vs. “Your First Trail Adventure Kit”.
To recommend kits, create a custom attribute called Kit ID on the Product Attributes page. Assign the same Kit ID (e.g., Sports Kit 01, Beginner Routine 02 ) to all items in the kit. Then, use the Kit ID attribute in your filters to recommend other products from the same kit.
Product Detail Page
Outfit the whole activity
Help your users gear up fully by recommending items that complete their planned activity. For example, when shopping for a bike, suggest essentials like a helmet, gloves, or a water bottle. Alternatively, if they’re eyeing a tent, consider adding surface sleeping mats and a lantern to complete their setup.
Create a strategy with the Purchased Together algorithm to feature popular items in the sports environment.
Add Category + matches currently viewed item and Category + contains currently viewed category filter. Connect these two filters with an OR connector to recommend relevant products.
You can use the dynamic name on your widget title to match the activity type to encourage the customers.
You can create a new custom product for activity types from the Product Attributes page to use it in your recommendation strategies and recommend related products based on the activity types.
Similar products you might like
Help users explore alternatives that align with their preferences by suggesting similar products with familiar features. For example, if someone is viewing a pair of trail running shoes, recommend others with comparable fit, design, or from brands they’ve shown interest in.
Create a strategy with the User-Based Recommendations with Attribute Affinity.
Match based on fit, features, or customer traits like brand preference.
Category Page
Best sellers by sport
Guide users with confidence by showcasing what’s most popular in the sport they’re exploring. For example, if someone is browsing tennis gear, consider expanding the selection to include best-selling rackets or shoes, especially if the current selection is limited, and include top products from the broader racquet sports category.
Create a strategy with the Top Sellers algorithm to recommend viral products of the category.
Apply Category + contains the currently viewing category’s attribute filter.
If your category type is hierarchical, enable the “Expand the category filter to include recommendations from the next category if there aren't enough products to display.” checkbox to make sure recommendations are shown even though there aren’t enough products to recommend from the category the user is visiting.
Enable the “Enhance recommendations based on Attribute Affinity” toggle to personalize recommendations based on your customer’s affinities.
Enable “Expand Category” if needed to pull from broader activity groups.
Price drops for active lifestyles
Highlight great value by surfacing the biggest discounts in the category a user is browsing. For example, if someone is exploring yoga gear, show recently marked-down mats, blocks, or apparel to catch their attention with timely deals.
Create a strategy with the Highest Discounted algorithm to recommend viral products of the category.
Apply Category + contains the currently viewing category’s attribute filter.
If your category type is hierarchical, enable the “Expand the category filter to include recommendations from the next category if there aren't enough products to display.” checkbox to make sure recommendations are shown even though there aren’t enough products to recommend from the category the user is visiting.
Enable the “Enhance recommendations based on Attribute Affinity” toggle to personalize recommendations based on your customer’s affinities.
Design tip: Add “Limited Time Deal” badge or “Today’s Outdoor Offer” banner.
Cart Page
Don’t leave without these essentials
Help users round out their purchase by surfacing commonly needed essentials that are easy to overlook. For example, while they browse or prepare to check out, recommend popular items like gloves, performance socks, energy gels, or basic safety gear to ensure they're fully equipped.
Use the Most Popular algorithm.
Add a Category + is one of + Gloves, Socks, Nutrition, Safety Gear filter to suggest practical add-ons.
Upsell to Reach Free Shipping
Encourage users to maximize value by suggesting smart add-ons that help them qualify for free shipping. For example, if they’re a few dollars short, recommend relevant outdoor gear like water bottles or trail snacks with a message like 'Just $15 more for free shipping on outdoor gear!
Use Checkout Recommendation algorithm with a spend threshold (e.g., $100).
No filters required; affinity is optional.