Limited-time free shipping bar over $250: +20% revenue
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsA promotional bar offering free shipping for a limited time on orders over $250 lifted revenue by 20%, about $16,000 extra during the test.
Brave One ran this A/B test for a luxury handmade glass brand, and it was published as a Convert case study.
Brave One said the extra sales more than covered the added shipping costs.
- Revenue: +20%, about $16,000 more than the control during the test.
- Confidence: 99.26%.
- Brave One reported that the gain outweighed the cost of free shipping, though margin figures were not shared.
The change
Variant adds a limited-time free shipping promo bar.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
The site with no free shipping promotion.
Variant
A promotional bar at the top of the site offering free shipping on orders over $250, for a limited time.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- Shoppers dislike paying for shipping, and a free offer removes a reason to hesitate at checkout.
- The $250 threshold suited high-priced glassware, so many orders already qualified or came close.
- The time limit gave visitors a reason to buy now instead of later.
Caveats: The test ran for 15 days with about 25,000 visitors per version. Profit figures were not shared, so check the margin effect on your own numbers.
Who ran it
Brave One ran this test for a luxury handmade glass brand and published the results (Convert.com case study). The numbers are theirs; the summary and commentary on this page are ours.
Read the original case study on Brave One →
How to run this test on your store
- Hypothesis
- If we offer free shipping above a threshold in a bar at the top of the site, then revenue will rise because shoppers are no longer put off by shipping costs.
- Primary metric
- Revenue per visitor
- Guardrails
- Gross margin after shipping costs
- Average order value
- Conversion rate
- Who should test it
- Stores with high-value products and shipping costs they can absorb above a threshold. If your margins are thin or shipping is heavy and costly, the extra orders may not cover it.
Questions
Does free shipping pay for itself?
Sometimes. In this test, the extra revenue outweighed the shipping cost, but you should measure margin, not just sales.
How do I set a free shipping threshold?
Start near or a little above your average order value.
That way many orders qualify and some shoppers add more to reach it.
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