Cart Drawer Free Gift Tiers: $50K/Month Case Study

If you have a great offer, show it everywhere that matters.

We tested cart drawer messaging for an 8-figure slime brand. They had a free gift tier structure: buy more slimes, unlock more free gifts. Up to 7 free gifts available.

Problem was, this offer only showed on product pages. By the time customers reached the cart, they'd forgotten or never noticed.

The fix? Surface the free gift progress directly in the cart drawer.

Results: +$50,099/mo revenue.

The Problem With Hidden Incentives

The brand had a compelling offer: buy slimes, get free gifts. The more you buy, the more you get. Up to 7 free gifts.

But the offer only appeared on product pages. Once customers added to cart and opened the drawer, the free gift messaging disappeared.

The cart drawer just showed: your product, upsell recommendations, checkout button. No reminder about the gifts they'd unlocked. No nudge about the gifts they were one slime away from.

That's a missed opportunity at the most critical moment of the journey.

The Hypothesis

If we surface the free gift tier structure (currently only shown on individual product pages) directly within the cart drawer, we will reduce customer confusion and increase motivation to add more items.

By clearly communicating how many slimes are needed to unlock additional gifts, customers will be more likely to increase their cart size to reach the next reward threshold, resulting in higher average order value (AOV) and a greater percentage of multi-slime orders.

Test Setup

Page: Cart Drawer
Location: Sitewide
Platform: Intelligems
Test Type: A/B/n with 5 variations

Control

Basic cart drawer:

• "YOUR CART(1)" header
• Product image, name, price, size
• Quantity selector
• "YOU MIGHT LIKE THESE" upsell section with product recommendations
• "ADD - $15.99 USD" buttons on upsells
• "CHECKOUT - $15.99 USD" button

No free gift messaging anywhere.

Variation 1 (Winner)

Added free gift progress at the top of the cart:

• Gift icon with "You've got 4 Free Gifts!"
• "Add 1 more slime to get more Free Gifts. See details"
• Same "YOU MIGHT LIKE THESE" upsell section below

Clear progress message. Specific next action. Generic upsell framing.

Variation 2

Same free gift progress message at top as V1. Changed upsell section headline to "ADD 1 MORE SLIME TO UNLOCK MORE FREE GIFTS!" instead of generic "You might like these."

Double emphasis on the free gift incentive.

Variation 3

No progress bar at top. "Add 1 more slime to get more Free Gifts!" text. Standard upsell section. Added visual progress indicator at bottom: "UNLOCKED 4 OUT OF 7 FREE GIFTS!" with thumbnail images of the gifts.

Visual proof of unlocked rewards.

Variation 4

"Add $14.01 more to get Free Shipping" at top (different incentive entirely). "ADD 1 MORE SLIME TO UNLOCK MORE FREE GIFTS!" upsell framing. "UNLOCKED 4 OUT OF 7 FREE GIFTS!" visual at bottom.

Testing free shipping threshold vs. free gift messaging.

Results

Winner: Variation 1 (Top Progress Message + Generic Upsells)

Metric	Improvement
Monthly Revenue	+$50,099

Simple top-of-cart progress messaging won. More complex variations with visual gift displays and double emphasis didn't outperform.

Why It Worked

1. Surfaced the offer at the decision point

The cart drawer is where customers decide to checkout or keep shopping. That's exactly when they need to know about incentives.

"You've got 4 Free Gifts! Add 1 more slime to get more" reframes the decision. It's not "do I checkout?" It's "should I add one more to unlock more free stuff?"

Right message, right moment.

2. Progress creates momentum

"You've got 4 Free Gifts!" shows what they've already earned. Loss aversion kicks in. They don't want to miss out on what's available.

"Add 1 more slime" makes the next tier feel achievable. Just one more. That's easy.

Progress plus proximity to the next reward is a powerful combination.

3. Simpler messaging beat complex visuals

Variation 3 showed thumbnails of unlocked gifts. More visual. More information. Didn't win.

The winning variation was clean text at the top. Sometimes less is more. Customers don't need to see every detail. They need to understand the incentive and know the next step.

4. Generic upsells beat incentive-focused upsells

Variation 2 changed the upsell section to "ADD 1 MORE SLIME TO UNLOCK MORE FREE GIFTS!" It didn't beat Variation 1's generic "YOU MIGHT LIKE THESE."

Why? Maybe the double emphasis felt pushy. Or maybe separating the incentive message (top) from the product recommendations (middle) worked better than combining them.

Let the progress bar do the motivating. Let the upsells just show products.

5. Free gifts beat free shipping (for this brand)

Variation 4 led with free shipping instead of free gifts. It didn't win.

Free gifts are tangible. Customers can see what they're getting. Free shipping is nice but abstract, especially for a brand where shipping cost isn't the main consideration.

When you have a strong gift offer, lead with that over generic shipping thresholds.

What This Means for Cart Drawer Optimization

Your cart drawer is prime real estate. Don't waste it on just product details and a checkout button.

If you have tiered incentives (gift with purchase, quantity discounts, free shipping thresholds), surface them in the cart.

Elements to test:

• Progress messaging: "You've unlocked X. Add Y to unlock Z"
• Threshold proximity: "Just $10 away from free shipping"
• Tiered rewards: Show what's been earned and what's next
• Upsell framing: Generic recommendations vs. incentive-tied suggestions

The cart drawer is where AOV is won or lost.

FAQ

Should the incentive message be at the top or bottom of the cart?

Top won in this test. It's the first thing customers see when they open the cart.

Bottom placement (like Variation 3's visual progress) means customers might not scroll to see it. Lead with the incentive, then show products.

What if we don't have a free gift program?

Use whatever tiered incentive you have. Free shipping thresholds, quantity discounts, bundle savings.

Even "Add $15 more for free shipping" is better than no progress messaging. Give customers a reason to add more.

How specific should the messaging be?

Specific enough to be actionable. "Add 1 more slime" is better than "Add more items." "4 Free Gifts" is better than "Free Gifts."

Numbers create clarity. Clarity drives action.

Does this increase cart abandonment from people adding more?

It can slightly increase time in cart. But if they're adding more, AOV goes up even if some abandon.

In this test, revenue increased significantly. The net effect was positive even if some additional browsing occurred.

This test was run using Intelligems as part of a CONVERTIBLES personalization program. Want to see what cart drawer optimizations could do for your store? Book a call to get 3 personalized recommendations for your store.