Popular searches and collections in site search: +54.8% revenue
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsAdding popular search prompts and highlighted collections to the site search lifted revenue by 54.8% for footwear brand AnotherSole.
ConvertPolo ran this A/B test for AnotherSole, and it was published as a VWO case study.
It was one of three tests in a wider push to remove friction from the mobile shopping journey.
- Revenue: +54.8% for the variant compared with the original search.
- The source reports no sample size, test length or significance level, so treat the size of the lift with care.
The change
Variant fills the open search panel with popular searches and featured collections.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
The search box opened empty. It gave shoppers no prompts, popular searches or best sellers to start from.
Variant
When shoppers opened search, they saw popular search terms and a set of highlighted collections to browse before typing anything.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- An empty search box puts the work on the shopper. Suggestions give people who are not sure what to type a place to start.
- Popular searches act as quiet social proof: they show what other shoppers are looking for.
- Highlighted collections turn search into a browsing shortcut, which helps people who came to explore rather than find one product.
Caveats: The case study gives no sample size, duration or statistical significance. Results are reported by the agency and testing vendor.
Who ran it
ConvertPolo ran this test for AnotherSole and published the results (VWO case study). The numbers are theirs; the summary and commentary on this page are ours.
Read the original case study on ConvertPolo →
How to run this test on your store
- Hypothesis
- If we show popular searches and featured collections as soon as shoppers open search, then more searches will lead to product views and orders, because shoppers get a starting point instead of an empty box.
- Primary metric
- Revenue per visitor
- Guardrails
- Search exit rate
- Conversion rate of visitors who search
- Average order value
- Who should test it
- Stores with a catalog large enough that shoppers use search, and where many searches end without a product click. It matters less for small catalogs where most people browse the menu instead.
Questions
What should a search box show before someone types?
Common choices are popular search terms, best sellers, recent searches and featured collections.
The aim is to give shoppers a quick next step without needing to know the exact product name.
How do I pick which popular searches to show?
Start with your site search report and pick the terms that most often lead to orders.
Review the list regularly so it matches what is in stock and in season.
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