There are plenty of strategies online retailers can implement on their ecommerce sites to increase sales. One of the simplest, yet most important, is A/B testing.
With the number one goal of an ecommerce site being to bring in more sales, we know brands are dedicated to doing everything possible to improve a customer’s experience while on their website. Read on for a quick look at what A/B testing is and our recommended top five website variables to test to help drive more sales.
What is A/B Testing
Just to make sure we’re all on the same page, let’s take a quick look at what A/B testing is. Instead of reinventing the wheel, we’ll turn to our friends over at Shopify for a quick definition.
“A/B testing, sometimes referred to as split testing, is the process of comparing two versions of the same webpage, email, or other digital asset to determine which one performs better. “
A word of warning before we dive into our top A/B testing variable recommendations, A/B testing shouldn’t be rushed. We feel that’s important enough to say just once more, A/B testing shouldn’t be rushed. Productive and effective A/B testing is a continual process that incorporates a sufficient number of users to make a determination (Convertize provides a great walkthrough of how to determine your sample size).
And, while we’re in warning mode, let’s also mention that just because something appears on another ecommerce site, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s working nor that it’ll work on your website. It’s great to see what other retailers are doing and use those ideas as “inspiration”, but you always need to test it with YOUR audience to determine if it’s the best option for your ecommerce site.
Now let’s dive into our A/B testing recommendations.
5 A/B Testing Variables for Ecommerce Site Quick Wins
1) Placement of “Add to Cart/Bag” button on the product page
Like many A/B testing variables, just a slight difference in the placement of your “Add to Cart/Bag” button can have a huge impact on your ecommerce site’s conversion rate. Below are two examples of different button placements, one on bebe.com and one on another client’s product page.
Bebe has opted to place their “Add to Bag” button above the product details. Meanwhile, we tested placing the button below the product description for another client. This may not be something your website shoppers would ever notice or think about, however, it can have a significant impact on the number of clicks it receives.
2) Font color of call outs
Let’s take a quick look below at examples we found on ShopJustice.com and Hurley.com.
Justice has kept the font color of their pajama promotion consistent with their main brand font color. Hurley, however, has chosen a color that compliments their main brand colors. This strategy ensures the discount and the callout to be notified when the product is back in stock, are in a color that stands out from the other text on the product page.
3) Announcement/callouts to create a feeling of urgency
For this variable, let’s look at two very different examples. Bebe.com offers a pop up on their product page after a set amount of time notifying the website visitor how many other website visitors are considering that product. But they didn’t stop there, it also includes the fact product availability is limited.
Meanwhile, another client includes a callout right under their product name. This callout alerts the shopper how many other shoppers have viewed that product in the last 24 hours. Before discovering the price, size availability or product description, the shopper is made aware of how popular the product is with other website visitors.
4) Promo placement on homepage/callout through interior pages
For this variant, we’ll take a look at Hurley.com again but also take a glance at CPG retailer, Silipint.com.
Hurley’s Winter promotion is front and center on their homepage, giving the entire header image (aka prime real estate) to the promotion. Meanwhile, Silipint offers a pop up offer in exchange for an email address. Silipint is ready if the pop up is closed out without a submission, a persistent offer in the bottom left corner appears just in case the website visitor changes their mind.
5) Shop Now/Start Shopping button on homepage
Not every ecommerce site has a promotion running all the time, so we also need to look at ways a brand can test their homepage to push visitors to shopping quicker.
Taking a look below, you’ll see how Junk Food Clothing offers their navigation menu at the top of the page but also encourages website shoppers to checkout their newest selections. They not only include a “Shop Now” CTA (Call-To-Action), but also a headline encouraging shoppers to find something for themselves and add it to their cart ASAP (these folks clearly don’t feel the need to beat around the bush).
Meanwhile, KennethCole.com tries to get the right shopper down the right path as quickly as possible. Their homepage offers a “Shop Men’s Shoes” CTA as well as a “Shop Women’s Shoes” CTA. This could be a great variable to test to see which one leads to not only more items in cart, but also which leads to a higher number of actual purchases.
And, as always, don’t forget to test these variables on mobile. With more and more shoppers visiting ecommerce sites from their mobile devices, it’s imperative to find what resonates best with that unique audience.
Markets change. Consumer buying habits change. Competitors’ strategies change. It can be difficult for brands to keep up with it all. However, by implementing A/B testing on your ecommerce site, you not only decrease your risk of falling behind the changes, but increase your ability to stay ahead of the changes. And for more on optimizing your product pages, check out “How to Optimize Your Product Pages for More Sales”.
