How a Simple Free Shipping Progress Bar Boosted Conversion Rate by 15% (and Added £150k/Month in Sales)
Most Shopify brands offer free shipping.
But here’s the kicker: many customers don’t realise it.
That was the case for one of our clothing brand clients. They already offered free shipping, but we kept seeing the same support tickets roll in:
“Do you offer free shipping?”
“How much do I need to spend to get it?”
“Why didn’t I qualify for free delivery?”
We realised something important:
It wasn’t enough to offer free shipping — we had to make it impossible to miss.
The Problem: Free Shipping Wasn’t Converting
Despite clearly listing it on their site, most customers didn’t see the free shipping threshold until after checkout. A missed opportunity.
This is a common issue for DTC brands. They put free shipping in the footer or at the top of the page, but it’s not reinforced where it matters most — in the cart.
So we decided to test a small but powerful idea…
The Test: Add a Dynamic Free Shipping Progress Bar
We introduced a progress bar inside the cart drawer. Here’s what it did:
✅ Showed how much more the customer needed to spend to unlock free shipping
✅ Used clean, on-brand animation to fill the bar as the cart total increased
✅ Gave a clear message once they hit the free shipping threshold
Think of it like gamification:
A mini-reward system that creates positive momentum.
The Results: +15.1% Conversion Rate & £150k Extra Revenue
After 30 days, the test data was unmissable:
🚀 15.1% uplift in conversion rate
💸 Over £150,000 additional revenue
📉 Reduced customer service queries related to shipping
All from a simple UX enhancement that took less than a day to implement.
Why It Worked
People love progress.
When shoppers see they’re just £7 away from free shipping, it creates urgency and incentive to add another item. It removes doubt. It reinforces value.
And most importantly — it shows up at the right time, when the customer is already engaged in buying.
The Takeaway: Make Free Shipping Part of the Experience
If you’re offering free shipping, don’t hide it.
Make it part of your conversion strategy — just like you would a discount, bundle, or limited-time offer. A well-placed, well-designed progress bar is one of the highest ROI changes you can make.
Want This on Your Store?
If you're a Shopify brand and want help testing conversion lifts like this — whether it’s a nav redesign or a free shipping upgrade — we can help.