Where to apply A/B testing in an online store?
Posted: Mon Jan 06, 2025 8:32 am
Now that you know the process for testing, here are some suggested experiments for a sales website.
If your pages are experiencing low conversion and click rates, high cart abandonment and bounce rates , A/B testing is a great strategy to improve metrics with minor tweaks. Let's see where you can do it:
Home and categories
In this first case, there are endless possibilities for doing an A/B test , since the home page has several elements, such as the category menu, banners, and featured products.
Here are some ideas for testing in your store:
In the header , you can experiment phone database with color changes and the position of the search bar.
In the banner section , modify the CTA texts to see which one performs better.
Change the composition and focus of the photos : in version A you show the products alone and in B you post images with people using them.
In the featured items section , test between new releases and best-selling products to see which option generates an increase in conversion rate.
If a category isn't bringing the results you expected, change its position in the menu to measure whether it generates more clicks and conversions.
I included digital trust seals , such as trade associations (with CACE , for example), the logo of the hosting you use, and security marks.
Product pages
On product pages, we recommend A/B testing item descriptions and CTA buttons.
In this sense, we suggest:
Modify colors, fonts, and the contrast between the button background and the CTA.
Add a size chart.
Resize and position images.
Include customer ratings and reviews as a form of social proof.
Shopping cart and checkout
Attention should be paid to both the CTAs and the submission and registration form fields .
One of the changes on the checkout page is to highlight the text that indicates that shipping is free or progressive discounts, that is, when the buyer gets greater discounts as they add more items to the cart.
You can also run an A/B test on the registration form at checkout . This will help you understand whether reducing the data requested and modifying the payment fields will change consumer behavior .
Another option is to add a related products field to see if it has an impact on cross-selling and upselling rates , that is, if you achieve cross-selling and additional sales with the aim of increasing the average ticket.
So far, we've shown you several possibilities for A/B testing for e-commerce , but you can run these experiments on a variety of channels and formats.
Boost your brand by creating your own online store.
Tools for A/B testing
Below, we share 3 tools to do your A/B test .
1. Optimizely
Optimizely is the most popular platform for A/B testing. Its clients include brands such as Microsoft, eBay, and Sony. The platform offers experiments segmented by audience, traffic source, and device .
It also integrates with Google Analytics and offers courses and certificates through its academy. To see examples of A/B tests and learn how to perform them, you have to access the Optimizely help center .
This is a paid solution and is only available in English and German .
Optimizely Admin Panel.
2. VWO
VWO is a widely used tool by large companies for general conversion optimization. It is ideal for carrying out more complex experiments and allows you to test different URLs, layout and placement of banners, texts and buttons.
It also features heat and click maps and features for cross-referencing hypothesis results.
The platform is only available in English and offers a 30-day free trial .
VWO tool notification on the performance of A/B test variants.
3. A/B Testing on Facebook Ads
If your goal is to A/B test your social media ads, Facebook has a dedicated feature in its Ads Manager. Through it, you can compare performance for different audiences and segmentations, designs, and products .
If your pages are experiencing low conversion and click rates, high cart abandonment and bounce rates , A/B testing is a great strategy to improve metrics with minor tweaks. Let's see where you can do it:
Home and categories
In this first case, there are endless possibilities for doing an A/B test , since the home page has several elements, such as the category menu, banners, and featured products.
Here are some ideas for testing in your store:
In the header , you can experiment phone database with color changes and the position of the search bar.
In the banner section , modify the CTA texts to see which one performs better.
Change the composition and focus of the photos : in version A you show the products alone and in B you post images with people using them.
In the featured items section , test between new releases and best-selling products to see which option generates an increase in conversion rate.
If a category isn't bringing the results you expected, change its position in the menu to measure whether it generates more clicks and conversions.
I included digital trust seals , such as trade associations (with CACE , for example), the logo of the hosting you use, and security marks.
Product pages
On product pages, we recommend A/B testing item descriptions and CTA buttons.
In this sense, we suggest:
Modify colors, fonts, and the contrast between the button background and the CTA.
Add a size chart.
Resize and position images.
Include customer ratings and reviews as a form of social proof.
Shopping cart and checkout
Attention should be paid to both the CTAs and the submission and registration form fields .
One of the changes on the checkout page is to highlight the text that indicates that shipping is free or progressive discounts, that is, when the buyer gets greater discounts as they add more items to the cart.
You can also run an A/B test on the registration form at checkout . This will help you understand whether reducing the data requested and modifying the payment fields will change consumer behavior .
Another option is to add a related products field to see if it has an impact on cross-selling and upselling rates , that is, if you achieve cross-selling and additional sales with the aim of increasing the average ticket.
So far, we've shown you several possibilities for A/B testing for e-commerce , but you can run these experiments on a variety of channels and formats.
Boost your brand by creating your own online store.
Tools for A/B testing
Below, we share 3 tools to do your A/B test .
1. Optimizely
Optimizely is the most popular platform for A/B testing. Its clients include brands such as Microsoft, eBay, and Sony. The platform offers experiments segmented by audience, traffic source, and device .
It also integrates with Google Analytics and offers courses and certificates through its academy. To see examples of A/B tests and learn how to perform them, you have to access the Optimizely help center .
This is a paid solution and is only available in English and German .
Optimizely Admin Panel.
2. VWO
VWO is a widely used tool by large companies for general conversion optimization. It is ideal for carrying out more complex experiments and allows you to test different URLs, layout and placement of banners, texts and buttons.
It also features heat and click maps and features for cross-referencing hypothesis results.
The platform is only available in English and offers a 30-day free trial .
VWO tool notification on the performance of A/B test variants.
3. A/B Testing on Facebook Ads
If your goal is to A/B test your social media ads, Facebook has a dedicated feature in its Ads Manager. Through it, you can compare performance for different audiences and segmentations, designs, and products .