Turn Your Cart Into an AOV-Boosting Machine

Hey I’m Harry, and this is CRO 1 2 3 where each week I break down:

👉 1 Incredible DTC website example

👉 2 Winning A/B tests that added 5 figures

👉 3 Actionable Tips based on over 1,000 A/B tests our team has run whilst building 8-figure e-commerce stores

Today’s theme is: Carts

Let’s get into it!

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1 Incredible DTC Cart Example 👨‍💻

I. The Feed’s cart is an upsell incentive machine

The cart is a critical point for introducing upsells and incentives.

But space is limited, so balance is key.

Too much information can overwhelm and hurt conversions.

The Feed nails this balance perfectly with the focus on their incredible store credit incentive:

Here’s what works:

Store membership upsell
Right at the top, it offers free shipping for members. It’s visible but not pushy.

Exclusive cart offers
Free product on orders over $75. Perfect for nudging users to increase their cart value.

3-Tier Progress Bar
It shows how close users are to unlocking rewards. It actively encourages higher spending.

Subscription upsell
A simple toggle to subscribe and save. Great for turning one-time buyers into repeat customers.

Feed Credit balance
Users can see how much store credit they’ve earned in real time.

Each element is clear, and valuable, and enhances the checkout process.

It’s a great example of using cart space without overwhelming the user.

2 Winning A/B Tests 🧪

I. Cart Incentive Boosts Revenue Per Visitor by 8.25%

A strategic gift-with-purchase offer led to significant improvements in key metrics, notably an 8.25% increase in revenue per visitor.

Test details:

• Added a gift with purchase offer in the cart

• Free gift for orders over a specific threshold

• Prominently displayed incentive to all cart visitors

Here's how the test looked:

Original Cart:

Free shipping at $100

New and Improved Cart:

Free shipping at $100

Free gift at $115

Results:

• Revenue Per Visitor: +8.25%

• Average Order Value: +5.66%

• Conversion Rate: +2.45%

• Profit Per Visitor: +5.72%

Why did this work?

The free gift offer successfully motivated customers to increase their spend.

By setting a strategic threshold above the free shipping offer, it encouraged further cart value growth without deterring conversions.

Importantly, the chosen gift complemented the main products well.

This logical pairing increased the perceived value of the offer, making it more attractive to customers.

Key takeaway:

Strategic incentives can significantly boost revenue per visitor.

When implementing similar offers, ensure the gift complements your main products and consider layering incentives at different thresholds to maximize appeal and effectiveness.

​II. Cart Guarantee Slashes Hesitation, Lifts Revenue per Visitor 9.98%

A strategically placed "Hassle-Free Returns" message in the cart area transformed customer uncertainty into confidence.

Test details:

• Added a guarantee banner highlighting hassle-free returns in the cart

• Targeted final customer objections before purchase

Results:

• Revenue Per Visitor: +9.98%

• Conversion Rate: +8.78%

• Average Order Value: +1.09%

• Additional Transactions: +120

Why did this work?

The guarantee banner effectively addressed potential customer concerns about trying the product.

By reducing perceived risk at a crucial decision point, it encouraged more visitors to complete their purchases.

Key takeaway:

Strategic placement of risk-reducing elements, such as guarantees, can significantly boost revenue per visitor and conversion rates.

Consider testing similar trust-building messages at key decision points in your purchase funnel to overcome customer objections and increase sales.

3 Cart Learnings from 1,000+ eCommerce Experiments 🔬

I. Automatically apply discount codes in the cart drawer:

​II. The cart is the perfect location to win subscribers

III. Don’t skip the cart on landing page funnels

Want to chat about how we can help you scale your brand? Our team handles full-service CRO for brands like Jambys, Happy Mammoth, Laundry Sauce, and many more. If you’re running an 8 or 9 figure brand that could use a lift in website performance we want to chat with you.

If you have a question for me about your store simply reply to this email and I’ll get back to you ASAP.

If not, please rate the quality of this issue by replying with one of the following emojis:

🤑 = I will be applying these tips to my store!

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If you know someone else in the DTC space who you think would be interested in tactical CRO advice then go ahead and forward them this email.

Until next time,

Harry Molyneux
​Founder of CRO Agency, DTC Pages​
Operator of Top Secret DTC Brand