Shipping protection choice in the cart: +14.4% conversion rate
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsOffering shipping protection in the cart raised Sip Tequila's conversion rate by 14.4% and revenue per visitor by 21.8%.
SavedBy, the shipping protection app, ran this test with Sip Tequila, and it was published as a Shoplift success story.
The test ran for eight days with more than 44,000 visitors.
- Conversion rate: +14.4%.
- Revenue per visitor: +21.8%. Part of this may be the protection fee itself, so it overstates extra product sales.
- No order value or opt-in rate figures were shared.
The change
The variant splits checkout into two buttons, with and without shipping protection.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
The standard cart and checkout, with no shipping protection offered.
Variant
The cart showed two checkout buttons: one that added SavedBy shipping protection and one that went ahead without it.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- Tequila ships in glass, so worry about breakage is a real reason to hold back on a pricey order.
- Two clear buttons let shoppers choose, which can feel fairer than a pre-ticked add-on.
- Seeing protection offered may signal that the store will make things right if a bottle arrives broken.
Caveats: The test ran for only eight days and no confidence level was shared. It is a partner-app marketing story, and the protection fee may lift revenue per visitor on its own.
Who ran it
SavedBy ran this test for Sip Tequila and published the results (Shoplift success story). The numbers are theirs; the summary and commentary on this page are ours.
Read the original case study on SavedBy →
How to run this test on your store
- Hypothesis
- If we offer shipping protection as a clear choice in the cart, then conversion rate will rise because shoppers worried about damage or loss feel covered.
- Primary metric
- Conversion rate
- Guardrails
- Revenue per visitor excluding protection fees
- Cart-to-checkout rate
- Customer complaints about fees
- Who should test it
- Stores selling fragile, high-value or theft-prone products, like glass bottles or electronics. It probably won't help for cheap, sturdy items where shoppers don't worry about delivery.
Questions
Does shipping protection hurt conversion rates?
Not in this test. Offering it as a clear choice in the cart raised conversion rate by 14.4% for a store selling bottled tequila.
Should shipping protection be opt-in or opt-out?
This store gave shoppers two buttons, one with protection and one without.
That lets people choose without hunting for a hidden checkbox.
Does shipping protection raise revenue per visitor?
Usually a little, because the fee is added to the order.
Check product revenue separately so the fee doesn't hide the real effect.
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