In the cutthroat e-commerce market, even little changes to your BigCommerce store could make a big difference in sales. A/B testing is a great way to find and apply these improvements so that your store not only looks great but also maximizes conversion possibilities. This blog will guide you through doable A/B testing techniques meant to boost your BigCommerce sales.
- Data-Driven Improvements: A/B testing lets you make judgments grounded in real user behaviour instead of depending on conjecture or intuition.
- Enhanced User Experience: Testing many components of your site will help you to find what appeals most to your audience, thereby improving the buying experience.
- Higher Conversion Rates: Correct identification and application of little modifications can greatly increase sales and general income.
- Why: Often the first things a prospective buyer views are your product titles and descriptions. They must be interesting enough to inspire more investigation.
- What to Test: Change the length, style, and language of your product names. For descriptions, try several styles like bullet points instead of paragraphs and vary in degrees of detail.
For instance, the "Luxury Leather Wallet" contrasts with the "Premium Leather Wallet with RFID Protection."
Tip: Include relevant keywords to improve both search visibility and appeal.
- Why: CTA buttons lead your guests to a purchase. Conversion rates can be influenced by their design, location, and language.
- What to Test: Test several button colours, sizes, placements on the page, and even the text choice. Here, little adjustments can have a significant impact.
For instance, "Add to Cart" against "Shop Now" against "Get Yours Today."
Tip: Ensure your CTAs stand out visually but remain consistent with your brand’s overall aesthetic.
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- Why: Purchase decisions heavily rely on pricing; thus, how you show prices will affect perception and sales.
- What to Test: Experiment with pricing strategies like showing prices with and without discounts or testing several pricing points.
For instance, "$19.99" vs "$20" against "$25 with a 20% discount."
Tip: Consider testing how price presentation affects customer segments, such as first-time visitors versus returning customers.
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- Why: High-quality visuals help customers better understand what they’re buying, increasing their confidence and likelihood to purchase.
- What to Test: Test different image styles, angles, and the inclusion of videos. Compare the impact of static images against interactive elements like 360-degree views.
- Example: A standard product photo vs. a lifestyle image showing the product in use.
Tip: If using videos, test different lengths and formats to see what keeps users engaged the longest.
- Why: A complicated or lengthy checkout process can lead to cart abandonment, costing you sales.
- What to Test: Experiment with single-page versus multi-step checkouts, the number of required fields, and the option for guest checkout.
- Example: A streamlined, one-page checkout vs. a traditional multi-step process.
Tip: Monitor how each variation impacts your cart abandonment rates and overall conversion.
- Why: Easy navigation helps users find what they need quickly, reducing frustration and leading to higher sales.
- What to Test: Test different layouts for your product, category, and homepage. Consider experimenting with navigation menus and filter options.
- Example: A grid layout for product listings vs. a list layout.
Tip: Pay attention to mobile users, ensuring that your layout tests also optimise the experience on smaller screens.
- Why: Customer reviews and ratings can build trust and influence purchasing decisions.
- What to Test: Try different placements for reviews, such as below the product description or in a separate tab. Test the inclusion of star ratings and the impact of testimonial design.
- Example: Customer reviews at the bottom of the page vs. integrated within the product details.
Tip: Highlight the most relevant and positive reviews, but ensure authenticity by displaying a mix of feedback.
1. Define Clear Goals
Before starting any test, establish what you aim to achieve. Whether it's increasing the average order value or reducing bounce rates, having a clear goal will help guide your testing efforts.
2. Choose the Right Tools
Several A/B testing tools are compatible with BigCommerce, including Customfit.ai, Google Optimize, Optimizely, and VWO. These tools allow you to create, manage, and analyse your tests.
3. Formulate Hypotheses
Create a hypothesis about what will improve your site's performance before you start running tests. For example, "I believe red CTA buttons will increase click-through rates."
4. Run the Test
Ensure that you split your traffic between the different variations and allow the test to run for a sufficient time.
5. Analyze the Results
Once the test is finished, use statistical analysis to identify which variation performed best. Look for substantial improvements and examine how they relate to your initial aims.
6. Implement the Winning Variation
If the results are conclusive, roll out the winning variation across your website. Continue to watch its performance and consider conducting further tests to improve your store.
A/B testing, commonly known as split testing, compares two alternative versions of a webpage to determine which performs better. BigCommerce defines this as testing product pages, checkout processes, or calls to action (CTAs). One group of visitors will see Version A, while another will see Version B. The idea is to see how each version affects conversions (sales, sign-ups, and other measurable activities). This strategy assists store owners in determining whether design or content modifications result in higher sales and fewer abandoned carts. For example, a more enticing CTA may increase conversions by making customers more inclined to complete a purchase.
To initiate A/B testing on BigCommerce, take the following actions:
Among the best methods for A/B testing in BigCommerce are:
Increasing conversions and improving the customer experience can be accomplished with the help of personalisation. You may create a personalised shopping experience for each visitor by customizing marketing campaigns, product recommendations, and content to suit their tastes.
For instance:
BigCommerce is compatible with numerous external A/B testing solutions, such as:
CustomFit.ai: A flexible platform called CustomFit.ai was created especially to maximise conversion rates by providing users with individualised experiences. Whether you are in charge of an eCommerce store or another kind of website, this tool aids in the creation of customised content and user journeys based on the interests and behaviours of each visitor, increasing engagement and conversion.
Google Optimize: It is a user-friendly, free tool for creating A/B tests. It works well with Google Analytics integration.
Optimizely: A potent A/B testing tool with cutting-edge capabilities including multivariate testing and personalization.
Convert: Well-liked for its user-friendly UI and extensive BigCommerce integration, Convert is an A/B testing solution. With the help of these tools, you can make data-driven decisions by tracking visitor activity, creating multiple versions of your store's pages, and analysing the outcomes.
Effectively personalizing the buying experience can be achieved by utilizing a variety of consumer data categories, including:
Indeed, improving product pages is a particularly good use case for A/B testing. To find out what encourages the most conversions, you can test out different aspects of your product pages:
Descriptions of products: Experiment with various lengths, tones, and formatting designs.
Images: To determine which kind generates more purchases, test 360-degree panoramas, high-quality images, and customer-submitted pictures.
Buttons with a call to action (CTA): Try varying the text ("Add to Cart" vs. "Buy Now") or the colour to see which attracts the most clicks.
Format for product pricing: Try several layouts, such as emphasising discounts or showing alternatives for monthly payments, to see which encourages more purchases. Customer decision-making heavily relies on product pages, therefore improving them can directly and favourably affect your sales.
Determining what resonates with your audience requires analysing the outcomes of A/B tests. Compare each version's performance using metrics such as these after the test.
It's critical to concentrate on key performance indicators (KPIs) that have a direct impact on your store's success while conducting A/B testing. Among the crucial metrics to monitor are:
A/B testing can be used for email campaigns by testing the following:
Utilise consumer information to customise the purchasing experience to promote recurring purchases:
Among the typical errors to steer clear of are:
For any BigCommerce store trying to boost sales and enhance customer experience, A/B testing is a vital tool. Through methodical testing and optimisation of various elements of your website, you can make data-driven decisions that result in noticeable enhancements to the operation of your store. Always remember to use appropriate techniques, set clear goals at the outset, and be willing to refine your results as you go. You'll be well on your way to increasing your BigCommerce store's success and conversion rates with these tactics in place.
