# Countdown timer during a flash sale: +9% conversion rate

- Outcome: Won
- Page type: Site-wide (Ecommerce)
- Elements: Countdown timers, Sales, urgency & limited-time offers
- Test run by: [Liquid Death](https://liftarchive.com/practitioners/liquid-death/)
- Commentary by: LiftArchive (our analysis, not theirs)
- Original source: https://www.shoplift.ai/case-studies/liquid-death
- Page: https://liftarchive.com/test/liquid-death-flash-sale-countdown-timer/

Showing a countdown timer during a flash sale raised conversion rate by 9% for canned water brand Liquid Death. Liquid Death's in-house team ran the test, which was published as a Shoplift case study. The timer counted down a real, limited-time sale.

## Result

**+9% conversion rate**

- Conversion rate: +9% with the timer.
- No sample size, duration or confidence level was shared.

## Control

The flash sale ran on the store with no countdown timer.

## Variant

A countdown timer showed shoppers how much time was left in the flash sale.

## Why it likely won (our reading)

- Visitors arrived to buy a limited-time drop, so the timer answered a question they already had.
- The deadline was real, which makes a timer helpful rather than pushy.
- A clear end time nudges shoppers who are on the fence to buy now instead of later.

## Caveats

The source does not say where the timer appeared or give sample size, duration or confidence. The result comes from a real, time-limited sale and may not carry over to fake or always-on timers.

## How to run this test

- Hypothesis: If we show a countdown timer during a real limited-time sale, then conversion rate will rise because shoppers can see how long they have left to buy.
- Primary metric: Conversion rate during the sale
- Guardrail: Average order value
- Guardrail: Revenue per visitor
- Guardrail: Returns or refunds after the sale
- Who should test it: Brands that run real flash sales or limited drops. Skip it if the deadline is fake or resets, as shoppers notice and trust drops.

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Credit: Liquid Death ran this test and owns the result. Summary and commentary by LiftArchive (https://liftarchive.com/test/liquid-death-flash-sale-countdown-timer/).
Usage: Free to use, quote and build on, with credit and a link: name the practitioner or organization that ran the test and link to its LiftArchive page. The results belong to the practitioners who ran and shared them; the summaries and commentary are LiftArchive's.