# Same-category recommendations on PDPs: -9.9% CR, +19.7% AOV

- Outcome: Flat / inconclusive
- Page type: Product page (Ecommerce)
- Elements: Upsells & cross-sells
- Test run by: [Clean Commit](https://liftarchive.com/practitioners/clean-commit/)
- Commentary by: LiftArchive (our analysis, not theirs)
- Original source: https://cleancommit.io/ab-tests/product-page-aov-focused-redesign/
- Page: https://liftarchive.com/test/cleancommit-product-page-aov-focused-redesign/

Adding a block of other products from the same category to product pages cut conversion rate 9.9% while average order value rose 19.7% and revenue per visitor 7.9%. Clean Commit ran this test for an anonymized Shopify store and published it in its A/B test library. We count it as inconclusive: no probability was computed, and the revenue gain looks driven by a few large desktop orders.

## Result

**-9.9% CR, +19.7% AOV**

- Average order value (the target): +19.7%, but mostly from desktop, where a few large orders likely drove it.
- Conversion rate: -9.9% and orders -10.1%. Negative: fewer shoppers bought.
- Revenue per visitor: +7.9% overall, so the net effect on sales is unclear.
- Mobile, with 7,391 of the 9,093 visitors: conversion rate -5.1% and revenue per visitor -4.7%. Negative.

## Control

Product pages with no product recommendations.

## Variant

A recommendations block showing other products from the same category as the one being viewed.

## Why it likely came out this way (our reading)

- Products from the same category are alternatives, not add-ons, so they may have pulled shoppers into comparing instead of buying.
- More choice on the page can delay a decision, which fits the drop in conversion.
- Desktop order value rose 153.5% on 1,702 visitors, which is the pattern a handful of big orders produces, not a steady shift.

## Caveats

Mixed and directional only: 9,093 visitors and no probability computed. The revenue gain leans on a few large desktop orders, while mobile, most of the traffic, went negative.

## How to run this test

- Hypothesis: If we show related products on product pages, then average order value will rise because shoppers see items to add to their order.
- Primary metric: Revenue per visitor
- Guardrail: Conversion rate
- Guardrail: Mobile revenue per visitor
- Guardrail: Orders
- Who should test it: Stores where shoppers often buy several items from one category, like apparel basics or consumables. If same-category items are substitutes, test complementary products instead, since alternatives may cost you sales.

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Credit: Clean Commit ran this test and owns the result. Summary and commentary by LiftArchive (https://liftarchive.com/test/cleancommit-product-page-aov-focused-redesign/).
Usage: Free to use, quote and build on, with credit and a link: name the practitioner or organization that ran the test and link to its LiftArchive page. The results belong to the practitioners who ran and shared them; the summaries and commentary are LiftArchive's.