Visible search bar on mobile: +2.67% profit per visitor
Test run byBlend CommerceCRO agency
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsShowing a full search bar in the mobile header, instead of just an icon, lifted profit per visitor by 2.67% for supplements brand Azuna.
Blend Commerce ran this two-week A/B test, which reported a 91% probability that the variant was better.
Conversion rate and revenue per visitor also rose slightly.
- Profit per visitor: +2.67%. This is the headline metric.
- Conversion rate: +2.3% and revenue per visitor: +2.5%.
- Returning visitors: +6% revenue per visitor.
- Win probability was 91%. That is a good sign but short of the 95% many teams require.
The change
The mobile search icon becomes a full, visible search bar.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
The mobile header showed only a search icon.
Variant
The mobile header showed a full search bar, ready for typing.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- Azuna's searchers already converted well above the site average, so more searching likely meant more buying.
- Many of Azuna's visitors were on mobile, where a lone icon is easy to miss.
- A visible field lets shoppers skip browsing collections and go straight to the product.
Caveats: The test ran for two weeks with a 91% win probability. The testing tool projected 682 extra orders a month, which is an estimate, not a measured result.
Who ran it
Blend Commerce ran this test for Azuna and published the results (Blend Commerce A/B test). The numbers are theirs; the summary and commentary on this page are ours.
Read the original case study on Blend Commerce →
How to run this test on your store
- Hypothesis
- If we show an open search bar on mobile instead of an icon, then profit per visitor will rise because shoppers reach products faster.
- Primary metric
- Profit per visitor
- Guardrails
- Mobile conversion rate
- Subscription orders per visitor
- Who should test it
- Stores with lots of mobile traffic and returning customers who search for products they already know. Small catalogues will likely see little effect.
Questions
Is a 91% win probability good enough?
It is promising but below the 95% level many teams use.
The lift here was small, so a longer test would add confidence.
Why measure profit per visitor?
It accounts for margins and discounts, not just sales.
A change can lift revenue but cut profit, so profit per visitor is a stricter test.
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