Free-gift progress gauge on basket page: +31% revenue
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsA visual gauge on the basket page, showing how much more shoppers needed to spend to get a free product, lifted total revenue by 31% and purchases by 25%.
The Kiehl's digital team ran this A/B test, published as a VWO case study.
- Total revenue: +31%, and revenue per visitor: +31%.
- Purchases: +25%.
- Average basket size: up almost 5%.
- Clicks on the "Continue" button: +7%.
The change
Variant adds a progress gauge toward a free gift on the basket page.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
The basket page with no free-gift offer or progress display.
Variant
A gauge on the basket page showing how close the shopper was to the spend needed for a free Kiehl's product.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- A visual bar makes progress toward the gift easy to grasp at a glance.
- A free branded product is a tangible reward, which may feel more valuable than a small discount.
- The offer appeared just before shoppers moved on to checkout, when they decide whether to add more.
Caveats: No sample size, duration or confidence level was shared. The 31% revenue lift is large next to a 5% rise in basket size and a 7% rise in Continue clicks, so treat the headline number with care.
Who ran it
Kiehl's ran this test for Kiehl's and published the results (VWO case study). The numbers are theirs; the summary and commentary on this page are ours.
Read the original case study on Kiehl's →
How to run this test on your store
- Hypothesis
- If we show shoppers a progress gauge toward a free gift on the basket page, then order value and purchases will rise because the reward feels close and concrete.
- Primary metric
- Revenue per visitor
- Guardrails
- Checkout completion rate
- Gift cost per order
- Average order value
- Who should test it
- Brands with a desirable gift product and baskets often just under a sensible threshold. It won't help much if the gift isn't wanted or if most baskets are far from the threshold.
Questions
Is a free gift better than free shipping as a threshold reward?
It depends on your shoppers and margins. A branded gift can feel more special, but free shipping removes a common reason to abandon. Test both if you can.
Why use a progress bar instead of text?
A bar shows progress at a glance and makes the remaining gap feel smaller.
Kiehl's credited the visual itself for part of the effect.
Where should the gift threshold be?
Usually a bit above your current average order value.
Check that the gift cost still leaves a profit on orders that only just reach it.
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