The quick version

A skincare brand already offered free shipping over $50, with a progress bar in the cart. It tested adding one more goal: a free branded hat on orders over $80. Shoppers went for it. Order value rose about 5%, conversion held steady, and profit per visitor rose about 5% too, even after paying for every hat.

The setup

A free shipping threshold gives shoppers a reason to reach $50. The brand wanted to see whether a second, higher reward would be just as compelling. They added a free branded hat at $80, and it paid off: shoppers spent more to reach it, and the brand came out ahead even after covering the gift's cost.

What they tested

Two groups ran simultaneously for 28 days. The offer and the cart progress bar were the only differences.

Control: Free shipping over $50, with a progress bar showing how far the shopper was from free shipping.

Variant: Free shipping over $50, plus a free branded hat over $80. The progress bar showed both goals.

The results

The test ran for 28 days, with roughly 114,000 visitors and just over 6,000 orders split evenly between the two groups.

• Gross profit / visitor: +5%

• Revenue / visitor: +5%

• Average order value: +5%

• Gross profit / order: +5%

• Conversion rate: flat

Conversion didn't move. The same share of shoppers bought, and each order was worth more.

The takeaway

The free hat didn't change the conversion rate. The same share of shoppers bought in both groups, but what changed was how much they spent. Shoppers in the free gift group put more in their carts, and the average order went from about $66 to about $71.

Profit per order also rose about 5%. This means that the bigger orders covered the cost of the hats and still left the brand with more profit per order.

Why it worked

• A second goal gives shoppers a reason to keep adding to their cart. Free shipping at $50 stops being a reason to add items once a shopper reaches it. A free gift at $80 gave shoppers who'd already passed $50 something new to aim for.

• Success was measured by profit per visitor, because it accounts for both the extra order value and the cost of the free gifts.

Test your own free gift offer

With Smart Merchandising, you can A/B test free gifts, volume discounts, and progress bars, the same way this brand did. Set a gift threshold above your average order value, run it against your current offer, and compare profit per visitor. Once you have a winner, you can roll it out to everyone or apply it only to specific audiences. Get started here.