Sticky site-wide promo banner: 3x promo page traffic, +5% conversion
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsA thin site-wide banner that stayed at the top of the screen more than tripled traffic to Contorion's promotion landing page.
It also lifted conversion rate by more than 5% during promotions.
Contorion, a tools and MRO supplies retailer, ran this test, and it was published as a VWO case study.
- Traffic to the promotion landing page: more than 3x with the sticky banner.
- Conversion rate during promotional periods: up by more than 5% (sticky banner).
- Both banners beat having no banner. The sticky version did best.
- No sample size, test length or significance level was shared.
The change
A thin sticky banner linking to the promotion is added above the header.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
During promotions, the site showed no site-wide element pointing to the promotion.
Variant
Two versions were tested: a thin static banner across the site, and a thin sticky banner that stayed at the top as visitors scrolled. Both linked to the promotion landing page.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- Without a banner, many visitors never knew a promotion was running.
- A sticky banner stays in view on every scroll, so it gets many more chances to be seen and clicked.
- Contorion's buyers often know what they need, so a clear path to discounts may tip them into ordering.
Caveats: The conversion gain was measured only during promotions, so it says nothing about normal weeks. No sample size or significance was shared.
Who ran it
Contorion ran this test for Contorion 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 Contorion →
How to run this test on your store
- Hypothesis
- If we add a thin sticky banner linking to our current promotion, then more visitors will reach the promotion page and buy because the offer stays visible as they browse.
- Primary metric
- Conversion rate during the promotion
- Guardrails
- Average order value
- Bounce rate
- Margin per order
- Who should test it
- Stores that run regular sales or promotions with a dedicated landing page. It is less useful if you rarely run promotions, or if a sticky bar would crowd an already busy mobile screen.
Questions
Are sticky announcement bars better than static ones?
In this test, both beat having no banner, and the sticky one did best.
It keeps the offer in view as visitors scroll.
Where should a promo banner link?
To a landing page that collects the promoted products.
Here the banner sent visitors to the promotion page, which drove the tripled traffic.
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