Skip to main content

Increase Revenue and Average Order Value with Smart Progress Bars

Learn how to use Smart Progress Bars to motivate customers, unlock higher cart values, and drive more revenue with personalized, goal-based incentives.

Updated yesterday

Smart Progress Bars help you increase conversions and average order value (AOV) by motivating customers to reach key cart milestones that unlock rewards such as free shipping, discounts, or free gifts.
​

Below are five proven strategies to boost your store’s revenue and engagement using Smart Progress Bars.

1. Accelerate First-Time Purchases with Free Shipping

Convert first-time visitors faster by offering Free Shipping when their cart value exceeds a certain amount.

💡 Use Built-in Template

Select the “Offer Free Shipping” built-in template to set up this campaign in seconds.

Steps:

  1. Go to LimeSpot Admin → Progress Bars → Create Progress Bar Campaign.

  2. Update your Campaign Title (e.g., “Free Shipping for First-Time Visitors”).

  3. Under Audience, select First-time Visitors.

  4. In the Tiers section, set:

    • Minimum Cart Value: $50 (example)

    • Offering: Free Shipping

    • Message: You’re {{remaining_amount}} away from Free Shipping

  5. Click Save, then open the Designer to preview and style the bar.

  6. Position the bar on your product and cart pages so it remains visible as customers shop.

When published, shoppers will see a dynamic message like:

“You’re $25 away from Free Shipping”

This motivates them to add one more item and complete checkout sooner.

2. Boost AOV by Offering Discounts Above a Cart Value

Encourage customers to increase their order size by unlocking a discount once their cart exceeds a specific amount.

💡 Use Built-in Template

Choose the “Offer Discounts” built-in template for quicker setup and Go To Market.

Steps

  1. Create a new Progress Bar Campaign and choose the Offer Discounts.

  2. Add a title such as 10% Off When You Spend $100.

  3. Under Audience, select All Visitors or specify the your segments.

  4. In the Tiers section, enter:

    • Minimum Cart Value: $100

    • Offering: Percentage Discount

    • Discount: 10%

    • Message: You’re {{remaining_amount}} away from 10% off

  5. Enable Show Final Message to display a “You unlocked 10% off!” confirmation.

  6. Save and open the Designer to style your bar.

When customers increase their cart, the bar will dynamically update, showing how close they are to earning the discount.

Example message:

“You’re $35 away from 10% off”

3. Increase Revenue and Customer Satisfaction with Free Gifts

Reward shoppers who reach a higher cart threshold with a free gift — boosting AOV and delighting your customers.

💡 Use Built-in Template

Select the “Offer Free Gifts” built-in template to launch quickly.

Steps

  1. Go to Progress Bars → Create Progress Bar Campaign.

  2. Choose the Offer Free Gifts.

  3. Add a campaign title such as Free Gift When You Spend $150.

  4. In the Tiers section:

    • Minimum Cart Value: $150

    • Offering: Free Gift

    • Message: You’re {{remaining_amount}} away from your Free Gift

  5. Save, then open Designer to preview your bar on relevant pages.

  6. Coordinate with your fulfillment or discount rules to automatically add the gift at checkout or include it during order fulfillment.

Example message:

“Add $20 more to get your FREE gift!”

4. Offer Different Incentives Based on Customer Location

Personalize your incentives by visitor location to reflect local shipping costs, currencies, and buying behaviors. For example, you might offer free shipping to U.S. shoppers, a free gift to Canadian visitors, and a percentage discount to European customers.


💡 Quick Setup Tip

You can duplicate an existing campaign, update its Audience Location segment, and adjust thresholds and currencies for each region. This saves time and ensures consistent design and logic across all your localized progress bars.

Steps

  1. Create audience segments per location

    • Go to Audience Segments and create a new segment for each target region (e.g., United States Visitors, Canada Visitors, European Visitors).

    • Define location criteria based on country, state/province, or city.

  2. Create a Progress Bar Campaign for each region

    • Go to Progress Bars → Create Progress Bar Campaign.

    • Use the same campaign template for each region (e.g., Offer Free Shipping, Offer Discounts, or Offer Free Gifts).

    • Under Audience, select the corresponding location segment created in step 1.

  3. Configure region-specific thresholds and incentives

    • Example setup:

      • US: Free Shipping over $50

      • Canada: Free Gift over $120 CAD

      • EU: 10% off over €90

  4. Localize your currency and messaging

    • Adjust the incentive text and symbols for each region (e.g., $, CAD, €, £).

    • Example message variables:

      • You’re {{remaining_amount}} away from Free Shipping in the US

      • Spend £90 to unlock 10% off for UK shoppers!

  5. Preview and test each campaign

    • Use a VPN or location testing tool to confirm that the correct progress bar appears for each region.

    • Check that thresholds, currency, and reward messages display accurately.

Example Messages

  • US Visitors: “You’re $20 away from Free Shipping in the U.S.”

  • Canadian Visitors: “Add $30 more to receive your free gift!”

  • UK Visitors: “Spend £90 to unlock 10% off — exclusive for UK shoppers!”

5. Boost AOV with a Multi-Tier Progress Bar (Free Shipping → Discount → Free Gift)

Encourage customers to keep shopping by unlocking multiple rewards as their cart grows. As an example:

  • Tier 1: Free Shipping at $50

  • Tier 2: 10% off at $100

  • Tier 3: Free Gift at $150

💡 Use Built-in Template

Select the “Offer Free Shipping, Discounts and Gifts in Three Tiers” built-in template to set this up quickly.

Steps

  1. Create a new Progress Bar Campaign and add three tiers.

  2. Edit your Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 values:

    • Tier 1: Free Shipping at $50

    • Tier 2: 10% off at $100

    • Tier 3: Free Gift at $150

  3. Update each tier’s offer message (e.g., You’re {{remaining_amount}} away from 10% off).

  4. Save and open Designer to style the bar.

When live, the bar will progressively update as customers add items, motivating them to reach the next milestone.

Measuring Performance

Visit Smart Progress Bar Campaigns Analytics to monitor:

  • Renders: how many times your bar was shown

  • Clicks: how often shoppers engaged

  • Net Sales, AOV, Conversation rate & other KPIs: direct impact on revenue

Best Practices

  • Keep messages short and clear: “You’re $25 away from Free Shipping.”

  • Use visible placement (top of page or sticky header).

  • Align reward thresholds with your average order size and profit margins.

  • Test single-tier vs. multi-tier bars to find the best fit for your store.

  • Use built-in templates to save setup time and reduce manual configuration.

  • Localize incentives for international audiences.

Next Steps

Try combining Smart Progress Bars with LimeSpot’s Product Recommendations and Personalized Discounts to further improve cart engagement and conversions.

Related Articles
Increase revenue with Personalized Discounts
Increase customer engagement and conversion rate with Smart Collections
Did this answer your question?