Security seals next to the order total: +19.2% desktop orders
Test run byConversion FanaticsCRO agency
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsAdding Trust Guard and McAfee security seals next to the order total lifted orders by 19.2% on desktop and 21.2% on mobile.
Conversion Fanatics ran these tests for an online store with several product options and a complex order process. Desktop and mobile ran as separate tests.
- Desktop: orders up 19.2%, new customer orders up 28.2%, revenue per visitor up 71.1%.
- Mobile: orders up 21.2%, new customer orders up 28.7%, revenue per visitor up 9.3%.
- The gain was largest for new customers on both devices, who have the least reason to trust the store yet.
- The 71.1% desktop revenue gain is far bigger than the order gain, so treat it with care given the small sample.
The change
The variant adds security seals beside the order total.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
An order page that showed the order total with no security seals.
Variant
Trust Guard and McAfee security seals placed next to the order total.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- Seals placed at the moment shoppers see the total may calm worries about paying.
- New customers don't yet know the store, so outside security brands likely mattered most to them.
- A long, complex order process can raise doubt, and the seals may have offset some of it.
Caveats: The source reports about 2,000 unique visitors on the test, and no duration or confidence level was shared. Desktop and mobile were run as separate tests.
Who ran it
Conversion Fanatics ran this test for an online store with several product options and a complex order process and published the results (Conversion Fanatics blog case study). The numbers are theirs; the summary and commentary on this page are ours.
Read the original case study on Conversion Fanatics →
How to run this test on your store
- Hypothesis
- If we place recognized security seals next to the order total, then more shoppers will complete the order because they feel safer paying.
- Primary metric
- Completed orders per visitor
- Guardrails
- Revenue per visitor
- New customer order rate
- Page load time
- Who should test it
- Lesser-known stores with a long or complex checkout and many first-time buyers. Well-known brands, or checkouts hosted by a trusted platform, may see little change.
Questions
Do security seals increase checkout conversions?
They can, especially for first-time buyers. In this test, orders rose about 19% to 21% when seals sat next to the order total.
Where should trust badges go on a checkout page?
Near the point where shoppers see the total and pay.
That is where doubt about payment is highest, and where this test placed them.
Do trust seals work on mobile?
In this test the mobile orders lift was similar to desktop, at 21.2%.
The revenue gain on mobile was smaller, at 9.3%.
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