Free-shipping threshold message: +2.7% revenue per visitor
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsAdding a 'Free shipping over 30 euros' message to purchase pages lifted revenue per visitor by 2.7% for La Redoute Portugal.
A second version, showing how much more to add to reach 30 euros, lifted it by 1.9%, and both raised average order value by 3.7%.
La Redoute Portugal ran the six-week test, published as a VWO case study.
- Revenue per visitor: +2.7% for the plain threshold message (variant 1).
- Revenue per visitor: +1.9% for the 'amount left to add' message (variant 2).
- Average order value: +3.7% for both variants, so shoppers added more to reach the threshold.
- Variant 1 brought in about 11,600 euros of extra revenue during the six weeks.
The change
The variant adds a free-shipping threshold message near the price.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
Purchase pages showed no free-shipping message at all.
Variant
Variant 1 showed a plain line: 'Free shipping over 30 euros'. Variant 2 told shoppers how much more they needed to add to their cart to reach the 30-euro mark.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- The team knew Portuguese shoppers had smaller baskets and often abandoned carts, so a clear reason to add one more item fit their behavior.
- A fixed, easy number (30 euros) gives shoppers a simple target without making them do maths.
- The plain message may have won over the progress version because it was shorter and read as an offer, not a nudge to spend more.
Caveats: The source projects about 100,500 euros a year from variant 1, but that is an estimate, not a measured result. Sample size and confidence levels were not shared.
Who ran it
La Redoute Portugal ran this test for La Redoute 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 La Redoute Portugal →
How to run this test on your store
- Hypothesis
- If we show a clear free-shipping threshold on purchase pages, then revenue per visitor will rise because shoppers just below the threshold will add an item instead of paying for shipping.
- Primary metric
- Revenue per visitor
- Guardrails
- Conversion rate
- Average order value
- Shipping cost per order
- Who should test it
- Stores whose typical basket sits a little below the free-shipping threshold. It probably won't help if most orders already clear the threshold, or if shipping is free for everyone.
Questions
Should I show the free-shipping threshold or the amount left to reach it?
In this test the plain threshold message beat the 'amount left' version on revenue per visitor, 2.7% vs 1.9%.
Both raised order value by the same amount, so test both on your own store.
How do I pick a free-shipping threshold?
Set it a little above your current average order value so it pushes baskets up.
Check that the extra margin covers the shipping cost you absorb.
Does a free-shipping message raise order value?
It did here: average order value rose 3.7% for both versions.
The effect depends on how close typical baskets are to the threshold.
Similar tests
@DaveDiederen@DaveDiederen@DaveDiederen@DaveDiederen
Convertibles
Surefoot