Quick wins while I’m out 🌴

I’m keeping it brief this week. I’m on spring break and trying to perfect my SPF-to-sandwich ratio.

It feels out of touch (ironically?) to not talk about tariffs this week. But, I’m not going to do that.

Instead, I’m going to talk about quick ways to be more profitable. Rather than throwing tariff fees on your cart summary try these four profit boosters.

Revenue lift without a redesign.

Here are four things you can test or analyze to boost revenue and profitability, without touching your homepage, PDP, or checkout.

1. Free Shipping Threshold Optimization

Have you really pressure-tested your free shipping threshold?

• Are shoppers adding filler items just to hit it? (Good)

• Or is the threshold too high, causing abandonment? (Bad)

• Or too low, leaving margin on the table? (Worse)

A/B test new thresholds, and watch both AOV and transactions. The sweet spot isn’t always obvious.

2. UPT & AOV via “Staff Picks”

Try adding a “Staff Recommended” product in cart or as a modal after add-to-cart.

It builds trust, and it’s surprisingly persuasive.

• Make it personal (“Lisa’s pick for spring hikes”)

• Choose complementary SKUs (not just more of the same)

• Play w/ the pricing parameters in relation to the item just added to cart

Bonus: rotate them monthly and email the highlights.

3. GWP Thresholds

Gift With Purchase = great motivator. But many brands just pick a number and move on.

Better approach:

• Tiered GWP (“Spend $75 / $100 / $150 for better rewards”)

• Time-limited GWP (“This weekend only”)

• Product-based GWP (“Buy X, get Y free”)

Especially strong for replenishable categories or when launching new SKUs.

4. Cart Recommendations That Actually Work

Most cart rec engines are… not good. They either repeat what’s already in the cart, or they show random SKUs.

Instead, build logic like:

• Frequently bought together (duh, but underused)

• “People who bought this also…” but filtered by high-margin SKUs

• Add a “More like this” tile for bundles or variants

Test different recommendation algorithms against each other. Get wild and change them according to the shopper’s stage in the buying cycle.

These ideas don’t require a full CRO program to start testing. You can model thresholds and placements right now.

Then start testing your way to more profitable carts.

My fiancé is telling me it’s time for more sunscreen. 🏖️

Looking forward,

Brian

P.S. Ready to grow revenue without having to grow traffic? Let’s talk.