The $10 Bump

How It Works

You’re going to use two Caddy features together. Each one works on its own, but combined they create a one-two punch that consistently pushes order values higher.

Feature 1: Free Shipping Meter. This is the progress bar that appears at the top of the side cart. It shows customers exactly how much more they need to spend to unlock free shipping. It turns “maybe I’ll add something” into “I’m only $8 away, let me grab one more thing.”

Feature 2: Product Recommendations. These are the suggested products that appear inside the side cart after a customer adds an item. Instead of making customers leave the cart to browse, you serve up relevant products right where they’re making purchase decisions.

The meter creates the motivation. The recommendations remove the friction. Together, they make it effortless for customers to spend more.

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The Setup

Step 1: Find Your Current AOV

Go to WooCommerce > Analytics > Revenue. Look at your average order value for the last 30 days. Write it down. You need this number because your free shipping threshold depends on it.

Step 2: Set Your Free Shipping Threshold

Your threshold should be 15-20% above your current AOV. This is the sweet spot. Too close to your AOV and most customers already qualify (no incentive to add items). Too far above it and the goal feels unreachable (customers give up).

Examples:

• Current AOV is $45: set threshold at $52-54
• Current AOV is $75: set threshold at $86-90
• Current AOV is $120: set threshold at $138-144

In your WooCommerce settings, go to WooCommerce > Settings > Shipping and create a free shipping method with a minimum order amount matching your chosen threshold.

Then in Caddy > Settings, scroll to Free Shipping Meter and enter that same threshold amount. Select your shipping country.

If your prices include tax, toggle “Include taxes in the shipping calculation” on so the meter stays accurate.

Step 3: Configure Product Recommendations

In Caddy > Settings, scroll to Product Recommendations and toggle them on.

Now pick your recommendation type. You have three options:

Option A: Caddy Recommendations (best for curated stores). Go to each product’s edit page. In the “Linked Products” section, find “Caddy Recommendations” and select 3-4 complementary products. A phone case with a screen protector. A coffee maker with filters. A dress with matching earrings. This takes more setup time but gives you total control.

Option B: Cross-sells (good for stores with existing WooCommerce data). If you’ve already set up cross-sells in WooCommerce product settings, select “Product Cross-sells” and Caddy will pull those in automatically.

Option C: Upsells (good for upgrade paths). If your products have natural upgrade paths (small to large, basic to premium), select “Product Upsells” to show higher-value alternatives.

For most stores, Option A delivers the best results because you can match products strategically to close the gap between cart total and free shipping threshold.

Step 4: Price Your Recommendations Strategically

This is where the playbook gets powerful. Look at your free shipping threshold and work backward.

If your threshold is $55 and your best-selling product is $42, the gap is $13. Your recommended products for that item should include options in the $13-20 range. Products priced right at or slightly above the gap.

The customer sees: “You’re $13 away from free shipping.” They see a recommended product at $15. The math does itself. They add it because the shipping they save ($5-8) makes the $15 product feel like it only costs $7-10.

That’s the power of framing. The free shipping meter reframes the recommended product’s price. Customers don’t think “should I spend $15 more?” They think “I’m saving money by adding this.”

Step 5: Verify the Experience

Add your best-selling product to the cart on your store’s frontend. The side cart should open showing:

1. The free shipping meter at the top with a message like “Spend $13.00 more to get free US shipping!”
2. Your recommended products in a carousel below the cart items
3. An “Add to Cart” button on each recommendation

Click “Add to Cart” on a recommendation. The meter should update instantly. If the cart total now exceeds your threshold, you should see “Congrats, you’ve activated free US shipping!”

If that’s working, you’re done. The $10 Bump is live.

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Why It Works

This playbook works because of three psychological principles happening simultaneously.

Goal Gradient Effect. People accelerate their behavior as they get closer to a goal. When a customer sees they’re “$8 away” from free shipping, they’re far more motivated than if you just said “free shipping over $55.” The progress bar makes the goal visual and the proximity tangible.

Loss Aversion. Paying for shipping feels like losing money on something that adds zero value. Customers will spend $15 on a product to avoid paying $7 in shipping. It’s irrational, but it’s how humans work. The meter makes the potential “loss” of paying for shipping impossible to ignore.

Reduced Friction. Without recommendations in the side cart, a customer who wants to hit the free shipping threshold has to close the cart, browse your store, find something, and add it. Most won’t bother. Recommendations remove every step except one: clicking “Add to Cart.” You went from 5 steps to 1.

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Expected Results

Based on industry benchmarks and how similar stores perform with threshold-based incentives:

• AOV increase: $8-15 per order (depends on your product mix and threshold positioning)
• Free shipping qualification rate: 35-50% of orders (up from whatever your current rate is)
• Recommendation click-through: 8-12% of customers who see recommendations will add one
• Revenue impact: If you process 300 orders/month and increase AOV by $10, that’s $3,000/month in additional revenue. $36,000/year. From a 15-minute setup.

These numbers aren’t guaranteed. They depend on your products, your traffic, and how well you match recommendations to your threshold gap. But the direction is consistent: stores that use threshold-based free shipping with in-cart recommendations see higher AOV than stores that don’t.

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Variations by Store Type

Fashion/Apparel: Recommend accessories (belts, jewelry, socks) priced to close the shipping gap. These are low-consideration add-ons that don’t require size selection. Set recommendation type to “Caddy Recommendations” and hand-pick accessories for each main product.

Food/Supplements: Recommend trial sizes or complementary products. Someone buying protein powder sees a sample pack of energy bars. Set threshold slightly above a single-product order since food customers often already buy multiple items.

Home/Decor: Recommend coordinating items. A throw pillow buyer sees matching curtains or a complementary candle. Higher price points mean your threshold can be more aggressive (20-25% above AOV).

Digital Products: Free shipping meters don’t apply to digital-only stores. Skip this playbook and use “The Upsell Ladder” instead, which focuses on upgrade-path recommendations.

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Common Mistakes to Avoid

Setting the threshold too high. If your AOV is $40 and you set free shipping at $100, customers won’t even try. The gap needs to feel achievable, not aspirational.

Recommending unrelated products. If someone adds a dog collar and you recommend a yoga mat, you’ve broken trust. Recommendations must make logical sense for the product in the cart.

Forgetting to match WooCommerce shipping settings. Your Caddy threshold must match the free shipping minimum in WooCommerce > Settings > Shipping. If they’re different, customers will see the “free shipping unlocked” message but still get charged for shipping at checkout. That’s worse than not having the meter at all.

Ignoring the data. After two weeks, check your AOV in WooCommerce > Analytics > Revenue. Compare to the number you wrote down in Step 1. If it hasn’t moved, your threshold might be too high, your recommendations might not be relevant, or your shipping costs might already be priced into your products (meaning customers don’t care about “free” shipping).

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Next Steps

Once The $10 Bump is running and you’ve seen your AOV increase, consider these upgrades:

Inside Caddy:

• The Bundle Builder (Pro): Add multi-tier rewards using the Rewards Meter. “Spend $50 for free shipping. Spend $75 for free shipping + a free gift. Spend $100 for free shipping + 10% off.” Stacks on top of this playbook to push AOV even higher.
• The Upsell Ladder (Free): Configure category-specific recommendations so every product type has a logical upgrade path, not just gap-fillers.
• The Data-Driven Cart (Pro): Use Caddy’s analytics dashboard to see exactly which recommended products customers are adding and which they’re ignoring. Then refine your recommendations based on real data instead of guesses.

Beyond Caddy:

The $10 Bump increases what customers spend per order. To maximize its impact, pair it with strategies that increase order frequency and customer lifetime value.

• Post-purchase email sequences. After a customer buys, send a follow-up sequence: order confirmation, shipping update, review request, and then a “you might also like” email featuring products related to what they purchased. This is where those same recommendation pairings you set up in Caddy become email content.
• Replenishment reminders. If you sell consumable products (supplements, food, skincare, coffee), set up automated emails timed to when the product runs out. “Time to restock your [Product]?” with a one-click reorder link. Klaviyo and AutomateWoo both support this.
• Cross-sell campaigns. Use your Caddy recommendation data to build targeted email campaigns. If customers who buy Product A frequently add Product B in the side cart, send an email to everyone who bought Product A but didn’t buy Product B.
• Loyalty programs. Once you’ve increased AOV with Caddy, layer a points-based loyalty program on top. Customers earn points per dollar spent, redeemable for discounts. This incentivizes higher spend per order AND repeat purchases. WooCommerce Points and Rewards or plugins like Smile.io handle this.