Does a countdown timer at mobile checkout lift completed orders?
Mobile checkout had nothing telling shoppers to finish now. We added a countdown timer showing how long the cart was held. Conversion rose 8.0% in 18 days, and we implemented it.
Won Mobile 18 days Called at 90% Reviewed
The hypothesis
By adding a countdown timer that shows how long the cart is reserved, we will add urgency at the final step, resulting in more shoppers completing their order on mobile.
An earlier desktop checkout test tried a cart timer. It showed a steady lift but did not have enough traffic to reach our confidence bar. Mobile checkout has more traffic, so we brought the idea there.
Shoppers who reach checkout have already decided they want the product. A timer gives them a reason to finish now instead of leaving and coming back later.
What we changed
We added a cart reservation countdown timer to mobile checkout.
The control showed the mobile checkout with no timer. Var A added a countdown timer showing how long the cart was reserved. Var B used the same timer with an emoji and the line that the cart was reserved for the time shown. Nothing else on the checkout changed.
- Timer showing the cart hold time
- Same timer with an emoji
- Line saying the cart is reserved
The result
Conversion rose 8.0% in 18 days with the countdown timer.
Var A, the plain timer, led from early in the test. It lifted conversion 8.0% and revenue per visitor 15.0%. Average order value rose about 6%.
Var B, the emoji version, trailed Var A. We rolled out the plain timer to all mobile shoppers through the testing tool while the store worked on a full implementation.
What we took from it
A plain timer gave mobile shoppers a reason to finish now.
Shoppers on this checkout were already close to buying. The timer turned a vague later into a clear now. The plain version worked better than the emoji version, which likely read as less serious at a step where shoppers are about to pay.