# Trust icons at checkout: +0.9% conversion, no clear effect

- Outcome: Flat / inconclusive
- Page type: Checkout (Ecommerce)
- Elements: Trust badges & security seals, Money-back guarantee & returns
- 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/trust-icons-added-to-checkout/
- Page: https://liftarchive.com/test/cleancommit-trust-icons-added-to-checkout/

Adding three trust icons to checkout changed conversion rate by just 0.9%, within normal variation. Clean Commit ran this test for an anonymized Shopify store across 213,715 visitors over 40 days. The test had enough power to spot a real effect, and none showed up.

## Result

**+0.9% conversion, no clear effect**

- Conversion rate rose 0.9%, within normal variation. Treat it as no change.
- Revenue per visitor rose 3.6%, also within normal variation.
- Orders rose 1.1% and average order value rose 2.1%.
- Overall: flat. With 100% statistical power, this is a reliable null result.

## Control

The checkout page showed no trust icons.

## Variant

Checkout showed three icons: a conservation pledge, 45-day easy returns and exchanges, and a note that products are built for harsh conditions.

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

- Shoppers who reach checkout have mostly made up their minds, so extra reassurance there has little to act on.
- Brand values like a conservation pledge are better at persuading earlier, on product or home pages.
- If the returns policy was already clear elsewhere, repeating it at checkout adds little new.

## How to run this test

- Hypothesis: If we show trust icons for returns and product durability on the product page, then more shoppers will add to cart because the reassurance comes before the decision.
- Primary metric: Conversion rate
- Guardrail: Add-to-cart rate
- Guardrail: Checkout completion rate
- Who should test it: Stores with an established brand and clear policies will likely see little from checkout icons. Newer or unknown stores with low trust may see more, and should test earlier in the funnel too.

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Credit: Clean Commit ran this test and owns the result. Summary and commentary by LiftArchive (https://liftarchive.com/test/cleancommit-trust-icons-added-to-checkout/).
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.