Addy 
Addly 
Goalify 
Monet 
Reviso 
Key takeaways
- Remaining amount beats target amount. "You're $14 away" is a task; "Free shipping over $70" is a policy.
- Once the goal is met, change the line. A bar that still talks about the threshold after it is unlocked feels broken.
- Do not mix currency, percentage and gift copy in one sentence. One number, one outcome.
- Translate the line per market. A US remaining-amount line pasted into a EUR store looks lazy and often rounds wrong.
A free shipping threshold is a rule. A progress bar is a task. Shoppers complete tasks. They do not memorise rules.
That is why "Free shipping over $70" is weak copy even when the maths is perfect. It describes your policy. "You're $14 away from free shipping" describes their next move.
The three states
Write three lines, not one:
- Empty cart / far from goal. "Free shipping at $70 — add $70 to get it." (Only here is the target useful, because remaining ≈ target.)
- In progress. "You're $14 away from free shipping."
- Unlocked. "Free shipping unlocked on this order."
If you have a second goal, the unlocked state becomes the setup for it: "Free shipping unlocked. $6 away from a free gift."
One number
Do not write "You're 18% away" or "Add 2 more items". Percentages hide the actual spend; item counts break as soon as prices differ. Money remaining is the only number that matches the checkout the shopper is about to see.
Match the currency and the rounding of the cart. If Shopify shows €11.40, the bar cannot show €12.
Markets
Every market needs its own threshold and its own sentence. Translating "You're $14 away" into a language that does not use that construction, or leaving the dollar sign on a kroner store, is how bars start to look like apps.
If you cannot staff translations, keep the structure and swap the currency. Structure travels. Slang does not.
What not to say
- "Spend more to save on shipping" — lecture.
- "Hurry, almost there!" without a number — noise.
- "Free shipping" when they still have $40 to go — a false unlock.
The bar has one job: tell them how much is left. Do that job in the fewest honest words.
Frequently asked questions
Should the bar show the target or the remaining amount?
Remaining amount, always, until the goal is met. After that, a confirmation ("Free shipping unlocked") plus the next goal if you have one.
How precise should the remaining amount be?
To the cent in the shopper's currency, using the same rounding as the cart. A bar that says "$12 away" when the cart says $11.40 left is a small lie with a large cost.
Can I add humour?
A little, if it is on-brand and the number stays first. Humour that hides the remaining amount is decoration, and decoration gets skipped.
Where does the bar go if copy is this important?
Top of the cart, and optionally a slim bar on the product page that uses the same remaining-amount logic. Different copy in two places is how you get two numbers.
