Countdown to the Christmas 2-day shipping cutoff: +32.4% RPS
Test run byVisuallyTesting and CRO tool
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsBefore Christmas, Benchmade Knife Co. added a sitewide timer counting down to the last order time for 2-day shipping to arrive before the holiday, and revenue per session went up 32.4%.
Visually ran the test for the premium knife brand and published it as a Visually case study.
- Revenue per session: +32.4% while the countdown ran.
- This was a seasonal test before Christmas, so expect a smaller effect, if any, the rest of the year.
- Sample size, test length and statistical confidence were not shared.
The change
A sitewide countdown to the 2-day shipping cutoff for Christmas delivery. Exact placement was not shared.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
The site showed no holiday shipping deadline.
Variant
A sitewide countdown showed how long shoppers had left to order with 2-day shipping and still get it before Christmas.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- The deadline was real. Gift buyers need the item before a fixed date, so a countdown helps them act in time.
- It answers a key holiday question, 'will it arrive in time?', before shoppers have to look for it.
- Showing it on every page meant shoppers saw it wherever they were browsing.
Caveats: Seasonal test that ran before Christmas. This comes from a testing vendor's own case study, and sample size, test length and significance were not shared.
Who ran it
Visually ran this test for Benchmade Knife Co. and published the results (Visually case study). The numbers are theirs; the summary and commentary on this page are ours.
Read the original case study on Visually →
How to run this test on your store
- Hypothesis
- If we show a sitewide countdown to our last shipping cutoff for holiday delivery, then more shoppers will order now because they can see exactly how long they have.
- Primary metric
- Revenue per session
- Guardrails
- Conversion rate
- Late-delivery complaints
- Revenue in the week after the cutoff
- Who should test it
- Stores that sell a lot of gifts and can ship reliably by a stated date. Don't use a fake or rolling deadline, and skip it if your carriers can't keep the promise.
Questions
Do countdown timers increase holiday sales?
They can when the deadline is real. Benchmade saw a 32.4% lift in revenue per session from a countdown to its Christmas shipping cutoff.
Should I keep a shipping countdown up all year?
Benchmade planned to use it for holiday promotions, where a real delivery date matters.
Outside those dates the urgency is weaker, so test it separately.
Where should a shipping cutoff timer go?
Benchmade showed it on every page. A bar at the top of the site is a common choice because shoppers see it everywhere.
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