Free BBQ recipe e-book with knife orders: +48.71% revenue per visitor
Test run byOliver KenyonConversionwise
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsOffering a free summer BBQ and grilling recipe e-book with knife purchases lifted revenue per visitor by 48.71%. Oliver Kenyon ran this test for a store selling cooking knives. The e-book was sent by email after purchase, so it cost almost nothing to deliver.
- Revenue per visitor: +48.71%. This is the only number shared, and it is very large for a single change.
- Conversion rate, order value and profit were not shared, so we cannot say where the extra revenue came from.
The change
A free recipe e-book offer added on the product gallery.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
The product page sold the knife bundle with its discount and product benefits, but no free gift.
Variant
The product gallery showed a "Free E-book" label and a cover image for a summer BBQ and grilling recipe cookbook. Buyers received the e-book by email after ordering.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- the gift matched what knife buyers already picture, such as grilling and hosting in summer, so it felt valuable.
- a useful extra can feel worth more than a small discount, without cutting into the price.
- the gift was shown on the main product image, so shoppers saw it before deciding.
- timing may have helped, since the store was running a seasonal sale at the same time.
Caveats: Only one metric was shared, with no sample size, test length or confidence range, so treat the 48.71% as a single store's result. The test ran around a seasonal sale, which may not repeat at other times of year.
Who ran it
Oliver Kenyon (@oliverkenyon) shared this test on X. The numbers and screenshots are theirs.
View the original post on X
How to run this test on your store
- Hypothesis
- If we offer a free digital guide that matches how buyers will use the product, then revenue per visitor will rise because the offer adds perceived value without discounting the price.
- Primary metric
- Revenue per visitor
- Guardrails
- Average order value
- Profit per visitor
- Refund rate
- Who should test it
- Stores whose products lead to a clear use, like cooking, coffee brewing or training, where a guide helps buyers get more from the purchase. It is less likely to work if the guide feels generic or unrelated to the product.
Questions
Do free digital gifts with purchase increase sales?
In this test a free BBQ recipe e-book lifted revenue per visitor by 48.71%. Only that one metric was shared.
What kind of free gift works best?
This one was tied closely to how buyers would use the product, recipes for new knives. A gift that fits the purchase is likely to feel more valuable than a random extra.
How was the free e-book delivered?
It was emailed after purchase, so there was no shipping or packing cost.