Customer social proof under add to cart: +5.25% conversion
Test run byRubenTailored Commerce
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsPutting customer social proof directly under the add-to-cart button, in place of payment and policy icons, lifted conversion rate by 5.25%. Ruben ran this test for a brand whose shoppers worried it might be a scam. Revenue per visitor rose 4.06%, though both ranges still include a small chance of no effect.
- Conversion rate: +5.25% (3.46% to 3.64%), with a 94% probability of beating control. The range ran from -1% to +12%, so a lift is likely but not certain.
- Revenue per visitor: +4.06% ($4.71 to $4.90), with a range of -5% to +14%. A positive signal, but less firm than conversion.
- Average order value: about -1%, essentially flat. The gain came from more orders, not bigger ones.
- Ruben adds that, across further social proof tests, it worked best on products making big medical claims.
The change
The variant swaps payment and policy icons under the button for a customer count with faces.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
The space under the add-to-cart button held the usual payment icons and shipping and returns policy notes.
Variant
That space showed a row of customer face avatars next to a line saying more than 2 million satisfied customers worldwide (the mockup is in Dutch).
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- shoppers here feared the brand was a social media scam, and a large customer count speaks to that fear directly.
- Ruben found reviews were what made people buy, so moving proof to the moment of clicking puts the strongest reason right where the decision happens.
- payment and policy icons are standard on most stores, so they likely did little to build trust for a brand people already doubted.
Caveats: Sample size and test length were not shared, and the confidence range on both metrics crosses zero. The result comes from one brand with an unusual trust problem.
Who ran it
Ruben (@Rubendgrf) shared this test on X. The numbers and screenshots are theirs.
View the original post on X
How to run this test on your store
- Hypothesis
- If we replace the payment and policy icons under the add-to-cart button with customer social proof, then more visitors will buy because the proof answers their trust doubts at the moment of decision.
- Primary metric
- Conversion rate
- Guardrails
- Revenue per visitor
- Average order value
- Checkout abandonment rate
- Who should test it
- Newer or lesser-known brands, especially those making bold health or performance claims that make shoppers skeptical. Well-known brands, or stores where payment options are a real worry, may lose more than they gain by removing the icons.
Questions
What should go under the add-to-cart button?
Most stores use payment icons or policy notes. In Ruben's test, a customer count with faces did better, lifting conversion 5.25% for a brand shoppers didn't yet trust.
Does social proof near the buy button increase conversions?
It did here, with a 94% probability of beating control. Ruben found it helped most on products with big medical claims.
Should I remove payment icons from my product page?
Only if you test it. In this case swapping them for social proof worked, but stores where shoppers worry about payment options may see a different result.
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