What counts as UGC and video
This collection covers customer-made video and photos (UGC), video reviews, product demo video, and hero video on the homepage. Written reviews are covered on the review tests page.
The answer first: win/loss record
5 wins and 1 loss. Four of the six tests ran on product pages, one on a homepage and one in checkout. Dave Diederen ran five of the six, so the evidence reflects one team's stores and methods.
Where UGC and video were tested
Product page
Three product page tests added customer video and all three won. Beyond the above-the-fold test, Dave Diederen added customer video reviews (+5.80% conversion rate, +6.26% revenue per visitor) and added a UGC customer video section (+4.91% conversion rate, +7.11% revenue per visitor, +2.10% AOV).
Want results like this on your store?
Dave Diederen at Syntra Labs. Dave builds and tests Shopify stores at Syntra Labs, and shares most results in public.
Homepage
In the homepage hero test, the video control faced three image variants and every image variant beat it. The test reported +24.81% conversion rate and +22.32% AOV across 38k visitors and 750+ orders. Dave Diederen's explanation: hero video loads slower, plays silently, and people scroll past it.
Checkout
Kasper Dolk's trust and urgency elements in a Shopify Plus checkout, including UGC images, was reported as adding $33,435 while the test was still running. Treat it as an early read.
Biggest wins and their numbers
- Static image instead of homepage hero video: +52.67% revenue per visitor.
- Three UGC videos moved above the fold: +12.2% revenue per visitor, 98.8% chance to win.
- UGC customer video section on the PDP: +7.11% revenue per visitor.
- Customer video reviews on the PDP: +5.80% conversion rate.
Tests that lost or were flat
Dave Diederen replaced written reviews with only product videos and lost -2.00% conversion rate and -1.60% revenue per visitor. Their reading is that written reviews handle objections and video builds desire, so removing reviews to clean up the page backfired.
Counting the hero test, where removing video was the winning change, video came out behind in two of the six tests. Both times it was standing in for something that did a clearer job.
Design patterns that won
- Two or three real customer videos placed near the top of the product page.
- A dedicated customer video section, kept alongside written reviews.
- A static, benefit-led image in the homepage hero instead of autoplay video.
How to add or change UGC and video on Shopify
Most themes let you add a video to the product media gallery, and review apps such as those in Loox vs Judge.me can collect and show customer photo and video reviews. For layout tests, see product page UGC and video tests.
How to test it on your store
Hypothesis: shoppers need to see the product in real use before they buy, so moving our best two or three customer videos above the fold will lift revenue per visitor. Keep written reviews in both versions so you test the video, not the removal.
Measure revenue per visitor and watch page speed, since load time was part of why the hero video lost. Use the sample size calculator first; small effects like +4.91% need a lot of traffic.
Ideas not yet tested
- Dave Diederen suggests an Instagram-style UGC slider with tap-to-shop, and a video review right below the FAQs.
- Kasper Dolk suggests using UGC with faces on product and landing pages, not only in ads, and showing an unboxing video.
- Milos suggests putting a product video inside the image gallery.
Questions
Does product video increase conversion rate?
On product pages, yes in these tests. Dave Diederen's customer video reviews won +5.80% conversion rate, and moving three UGC videos above the fold won +12.2% revenue per visitor. On a homepage hero, a static image beat the video by +52.67% revenue per visitor.
Can video replace written reviews?
Not in the one test that tried it. Replacing written reviews with only product videos lost -2.00% conversion rate and -1.60% revenue per visitor. Keep both.
Where should UGC go on a Shopify product page?
High on the page. Dave Diederen moved three UGC videos above the fold and reported +$85,124/month with a 98.8% chance to win.