Customer face icons by star rating: -3.84% revenue per visitor
Adding small customer profile icons next to the product page star rating cut revenue per visitor by 3.84%. Dave Diederen ran the test and says this change has lost for them repeatedly. Conversion rate fell 1.90% and average order value fell 1.98%.
- Revenue per visitor: $1.45 to $1.40 (-3.84%), a loss. The tool estimated about -$37,479 per month.
- Conversion rate: 3.12% to 3.06% (-1.90%), also down.
- Average order value: $46.55 to $45.63 (-1.98%), also down.
- Confidence ranges crossed zero (revenue per visitor -15% to +8%), so the loss is not certain, but nothing points to a gain.
The change
Small customer profile icons added beside the star rating
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
The product page showed the star rating on its own near the product title.
Variant
A small row of customer profile photos was added next to the star rating.
Why it likely lost
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- faces of strangers carry no meaning, so they don't add credibility.
- the icons add clutter in one of the busiest parts of the page.
- faces may work when shoppers recognise them, such as a known creator or athlete, which was not the case here.
Caveats: The confidence ranges include zero, and sample size and duration were not shared. Dave says they have seen this lose repeatedly, but this is one test.
Who ran it
Dave Diederen (@DaveDiederen) 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 add customer profile icons next to the star rating, then conversion will rise because reviews feel more human.
- Primary metric
- Revenue per visitor
- Guardrails
- Conversion rate
- Average order value
- Add to cart rate
- Who should test it
- Only brands whose faces carry meaning, such as recognised creators or athletes for a younger audience. Generic stock or random customer faces probably won't help.
Questions
Do customer avatars next to reviews increase conversions?
Not in this test. Adding them cut revenue per visitor 3.84% and conversion 1.90%.
Why would faces next to a star rating hurt?
Our reading is that random faces mean nothing to shoppers and add visual clutter near the buy box.
When might faces work as social proof?
When shoppers recognise and trust the person, such as a creator or athlete. Dave suggests this fits younger, identity-driven audiences.
Similar tests
@oliverkenyon@oliverkenyon@oliverkenyon
@DaveDiederen@DaveDiederen@DaveDiederen