Mobile menu showing sub-categories directly: +28% conversion rate
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsShowing sub-categories directly in the mobile hamburger menu lifted ecommerce conversion rate by 28% for kids' clothing store Cocohanee.
Wingify Services ran this A/B test, published as a VWO case study.
Visits to listing pages, the main goal, rose only 4%, so the larger gains deserve some caution.
- Listing page visits: +4%, the primary goal.
- Ecommerce conversion rate: +28%.
- Transactions: +29%.
- Average order value: +17%. Gains this big from a small change in browsing are unusual and may not repeat.
The change
The mobile menu lists sub-categories without an extra tap.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
Visitors had to tap a category in the mobile menu before its sub-categories appeared. Many opened the menu but few engaged with it.
Variant
The menu showed the sub-categories straight away when it opened.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- Showing sub-categories up front cut a tap and let parents jump straight to the type of item they wanted.
- Landing on a narrow sub-category page puts more relevant products in front of shoppers than a broad category.
- Seeing the full range of sub-categories may have prompted shoppers to buy across more of them, which could explain part of the order value lift.
Caveats: The conversion and order value gains are large compared with the 4% rise in listing visits, so treat them with caution. The test ran 22 days on all traffic; sample size and significance were not shared, and the data dates from around 2020.
Who ran it
VWO ran this test for Cocohanee and published the results (VWO case study). The numbers are theirs; the summary and commentary on this page are ours.
Read the original case study on VWO →
How to run this test on your store
- Hypothesis
- If we show sub-categories directly in the mobile menu, then more shoppers will reach relevant listing pages and buy because they find the right products with fewer taps.
- Primary metric
- Purchase conversion rate
- Guardrails
- Listing page visits from the menu
- Average order value
- Menu exit rate
- Who should test it
- Stores with a modest number of categories and sub-categories, where a one-level menu hides useful paths. With a very large catalogue, showing everything can create a long, cluttered menu.
Questions
Should a mobile menu show sub-categories right away?
If you have a manageable number of them, it is worth testing.
Cocohanee saw more listing visits and a higher conversion rate after making them visible.
How many taps should a mobile menu need?
As few as possible to reach a useful product list.
Each extra level is a chance for the shopper to give up.
Similar tests
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