Colour picker next to the phone image: +17.6% conversion
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsMoving the phone colour swatches next to the phone image, along with a longer plan selection form, raised conversion from 2.20% to 2.59% (+17.63%).
The agency de Nieuwe Zaak ran this test for Dutch mobile provider Ben, and it was published as a VWO case study.
Two changes shipped together, so the lift can't be credited to the colour picker alone.
- Conversion rate: 2.20% to 2.59%, a 17.63% relative lift.
- The test ran about two weeks with about 40,347 users.
- Calls to customer care asking to change the device colour dropped sharply, according to the case study.
- No confidence level was shared.
The change
Colour swatches move next to the phone image and the plan form grows.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
Colour swatches sat below the phone image. Visitors noticed them but many didn't realise they could pick a phone colour, and some called customer care after ordering to change it.
Variant
The swatches moved next to the phone image, and the form for choosing a data and voice plan was made longer so the plan options were easier to pick.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- Placing the swatches beside the image ties them to the product, so their purpose becomes obvious.
- When people can pick the colour they want with confidence, fewer abandon or order with doubts.
- A fuller plan form may have made the phone-plus-plan bundle easier to configure in one place.
Caveats: Bundled: the swatch move and the longer plan form shipped together. About two weeks and 40,347 users, with no significance level shared.
Who ran it
De Nieuwe Zaak ran this test 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 De Nieuwe Zaak →
How to run this test on your site
- Hypothesis
- If we place product option swatches right next to the product image, then more visitors will complete their order because they understand they can choose an option before buying.
- Primary metric
- Order or subscription conversion rate
- Guardrails
- Support contacts about order changes
- Average order value
- Form completion rate
- Who should test it
- Subscription businesses that bundle hardware with a plan, like telecom or device-as-a-service. It won't matter much if your product has no visual options, or if swatches are already prominent.
Questions
Where should colour swatches go on a product page?
Close to the product image, where visitors already look.
Ben saw fewer confused customers once the swatches sat beside the phone.
Can a longer form increase conversions?
Sometimes. If the extra fields help people configure what they actually want, a longer form can work better than a short one that leaves questions open.
How can support calls guide a test?
Repeated calls about the same problem point to something unclear on the page.
Ben's calls about colour changes led straight to this test.
MarketingExperiments