'You unlocked FREE shipping' cart copy: +13.93% RPV
Test run byDave DiederenSyntra Labs
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsChanging the cart message to "Congrats! You unlocked FREE shipping!" lifted revenue per visitor by 13.93% in Dave Diederen's test. Conversion rate rose 11.08% and profit per visitor rose 11.07%. The old copy said free shipping would be applied at checkout.
- Revenue per visitor: +13.93% ($3.07 to $3.49). The tool estimated about $89,190 more revenue per month.
- Conversion rate: +11.08% (2.82% to 3.14%). More cart viewers completed an order.
- Profit per visitor: +11.07% ($2.47 to $2.74).
- Average order value: +2.56% ($108.60 to $111.38). Roughly flat, with a wide range of -14% to +22%.
The change
Only the free shipping message changed, from passive to celebratory copy.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
Once the cart passed the free shipping threshold, it said free shipping would be applied at checkout.
Variant
At the same point, the cart said "Congrats! You unlocked FREE shipping!" instead.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- "will be applied at checkout" asks shoppers to trust a future step. "You unlocked" confirms the benefit right now.
- framing free shipping as something earned makes it feel like a reward, not a policy line.
- the cart is where people check totals and hesitate. Clear confirmation removes one more reason to pause.
Caveats: Sample size and test length were not shared. The ranges are wide and cross zero (for example -7% to +32% on conversion), so the true lift could be much smaller.
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 confirm free shipping in the cart with 'You unlocked FREE shipping!' instead of saying it will apply at checkout, then more shoppers will check out because the reward feels certain.
- Primary metric
- Revenue per visitor
- Guardrails
- Average order value
- Share of orders above the threshold
- Shipping cost per order
- Who should test it
- Stores with a free shipping threshold and a cart message for those who pass it. It won't apply if shipping is always free with no threshold.
Questions
What should the cart say when a customer qualifies for free shipping?
In this test, "Congrats! You unlocked FREE shipping!" beat a line saying it would be applied at checkout. Revenue per visitor rose 13.93%.
Does free shipping copy really affect conversions?
Here it did. Only the wording changed, and conversion rate rose 11.08%, though the range was wide.
Why does 'unlocked' work better than 'applied at checkout'?
Our reading is that it confirms the benefit now and makes it feel earned. The passive version asks shoppers to wait and trust.
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