Input-first mobile product customizer: +3% conversion, inconclusive
Test run byClean CommitCRO agency
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsReordering a mobile product customizer so shoppers typed their text first came with a 3.0% rise in conversion rate and a 21.7% rise in revenue per visitor.
Clean Commit ran this test for an anonymized Shopify store selling hats and apparel.
The variant had only a 62.0% probability of beating the original, so we treat the result as inconclusive.
- Conversion rate: +3.0% overall, with a 62.0% probability of beating the original. That is close to a coin flip.
- Revenue per visitor: +21.7%, and average order value: +18.2%.
- Orders: +4.0%.
- Mobile conversion rate: +16.0%. Desktop conversion rate: -50.5%, but from only 526 desktop visitors.
The change
Text input moves to step one and add-to-cart moves up beside quantity.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
The mobile customizer asked for the custom text later in the flow, and the add-to-cart button sat further from the quantity selector.
Variant
The text input moved to the first step, the preview showed placeholder text before anyone typed, and add-to-cart moved up next to the quantity selector.
Why it likely came out this way
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- Putting the personal text first gets shoppers invested in their design right away.
- Placeholder text in the preview shows what the finished product will look like before any effort.
- A button next to the quantity selector is easier to reach on a small screen.
- The desktop drop is based on too few visitors to read much into, and the change targeted mobile.
Caveats: The test had 6,711 visitors and a 62.0% probability to beat control, so it is not statistically significant. Desktop results came from just 526 visitors. Duration was not shared.
Who ran it
Clean Commit ran this test for a Shopify store (anonymized) and published the results (Clean Commit A/B test library). The numbers are theirs; the summary and commentary on this page are ours.
Read the original case study on Clean Commit →
How to run this test on your store
- Hypothesis
- If we ask for the custom text first and show a placeholder preview, then mobile conversion rate will rise because the customizing flow feels clearer and the add-to-cart button is easier to reach.
- Primary metric
- Mobile conversion rate
- Guardrails
- Desktop conversion rate
- Average order value
- Who should test it
- Stores selling personalized products through a step-by-step customizer, mostly on mobile. Stores without personalization have nothing here to test.
Questions
What order should a product customizer use?
There is no fixed rule. In this test, asking for the custom text first lifted mobile conversion rate by 16.0%, but the overall result was not significant.
Why did desktop conversion fall so much?
Only 526 desktop visitors took part, so the 50.5% drop is likely noise. The change was built for mobile.
Similar tests
@oliverkenyon@oliverkenyon@oliverkenyon@oliverkenyon
Convertibles