Savings in the add-to-cart button: +14.41% revenue per visitor
Test run byDave DiederenSyntra Labs
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsShowing the customer's savings in the add-to-cart button, as in "Add to Cart - Save 50%", lifted revenue per visitor by 14.41% in the best version Dave Diederen tested. That version, labelled "Hybrid", also raised profit per visitor by 14.72% and conversion rate by 10.22%. A simpler "Show Savings" version also beat the control.
- Revenue per visitor (Hybrid): +14.41% ($1.25 to $1.43). The range shown is -5% to +36%, so the lift is likely but not certain.
- Profit per visitor (Hybrid, the main metric): +14.72% ($1.04 to $1.19). Margin held up, so the gain was not just from selling more at a loss.
- Conversion rate (Hybrid): +10.22% (1.89% to 2.08%). More visitors placed an order.
- Average order value (Hybrid): +3.80% ($66.45 to $68.97). A small rise with a wide range of -9% to +18%.
- The "Show Savings" variant also beat control, with revenue per visitor at $1.34 and conversion at 2.03%, but less than Hybrid.
The change
The variant adds the savings to the add-to-cart button text.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
A plain "Add to Cart" button. The discount was shown elsewhere on the page.
Variant
The button text added the savings, for example "Add to Cart - Save 50%". The test had two variants, "Show Savings" and "Hybrid"; the post does not explain how they differed.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- shoppers scan, and many miss the offer shown above the button. Putting it in the button brings it back at the moment of decision.
- the button now explains both the action and the reward, which gives a reason to click, not just an instruction.
- framing the purchase as a saving may make leaving feel like a loss, as Diederen suggests.
Caveats: The post does not describe what made the Hybrid variant different from Show Savings. Sample size and test length were not shared, and the ranges for all metrics include a small loss.
Who ran it
Dave Diederen (@DaveDiederen) 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 show the discount inside the add-to-cart button, then more visitors will buy because the value of the offer is clear at the moment they decide.
- Primary metric
- Profit per visitor
- Guardrails
- Average order value
- Gross margin
- Refund rate
- Who should test it
- Stores running a real, sizeable discount that is a key reason to buy. If you rarely discount or sell on brand and quality, adding savings to the button may cheapen the product.
Questions
Should the add-to-cart button mention the discount?
In this test it paid off. The best version lifted revenue per visitor 14.41% and profit per visitor 14.72%.
Does showing savings in the button hurt margin?
Not here. Profit per visitor rose by about the same amount as revenue, because the discount itself did not change, only how it was shown.
What should the button say?
Keep it short and accurate, such as "Add to Cart - Save 50%". The savings figure should match the real offer on the page.
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