More category tiles on the homepage: no clear change (+1.4%)
Test run byClean CommitCRO agency
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsAdding more visual category tiles to the homepage made no clear difference: conversion rate rose 1.4% and revenue per visitor 2.1%, both within normal variation.
Clean Commit ran this test across 40,336 visitors for an anonymized Shopify store and published it in its A/B test library.
Add-to-cart rate fell 5.4%, so more ways into collections didn't create more interest in products.
- Conversion rate: +1.4%, within normal variation. Flat.
- Revenue per visitor: +2.1%, also within normal variation.
- Add-to-cart rate: -5.4%, a negative sign.
- Engagement: click-through rate rose 0.5% and bounce rate fell 2.9%, so behaviour barely changed.
The change
The variant shows more category tiles on the homepage.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
The homepage showed a smaller set of category tiles.
Variant
The homepage showed more visual category tiles, each linking straight into a collection.
Why it likely came out this way
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- Shoppers who already knew what they wanted probably found it with the original tiles.
- More tiles mean more choices, which can spread attention thin rather than speed people up.
- Collection pages, not the homepage, may be where the buying decision really happens.
Caveats: 40,336 visitors; all changes were within normal variation. Test 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 add more visual category tiles to the homepage, then more visitors will reach a relevant collection and buy because they find their category faster.
- Primary metric
- Conversion rate
- Guardrails
- Add-to-cart rate
- Bounce rate
- Who should test it
- Stores with a wide catalogue where many visitors land on the homepage and leave without clicking. If you have a small range or most traffic lands on product pages, this is unlikely to move much.
Questions
Do more category tiles on a homepage increase sales?
Not in this test. Conversion moved 1.4%, within normal variation, and add-to-cart rate fell 5.4%.
How many category tiles should a homepage show?
There is no fixed number. Show the categories most visitors want, and test adding more rather than assuming more is better.
What should I measure on a homepage test?
Clicks into collections are a useful early signal, but judge the test on conversion rate or revenue per visitor.
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