Second product image moved to the lead slot: +8.4% revenue/visitor
Test run byElevate_abTesting and CRO tool
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsMaking the second product photo the main image on the Pasty & Cream Tea Hamper page lifted revenue per visitor from GBP 3.32 to GBP 3.60 (+8.4%).
The Cornish Company, a food hamper brand, ran the test with the Elevate A/B Testing app.
It was published as an Elevate A/B success story.
- Revenue per visitor: GBP 3.32 vs GBP 3.60, as reported, about 8.4% higher.
- Conversion rate: 11.66% vs 12.61%, with 580 orders vs 617.
- Add-to-cart rate: 18.2% vs 18.9%, a small rise.
- Total revenue divided by visitors gives about GBP 3.50 for the variant, so the true revenue lift may be nearer 5%.
The change
The gallery's second photo becomes the main product image.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
The hamper page used its original first photo as the main product image.
Variant
The second photo in the gallery was moved into the main image slot. Nothing else changed.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- The first image does most of the selling. The second photo may have shown the hamper's contents more clearly.
- A gift hamper is bought on how full and appealing it looks, so a better first view matters.
- The change was tiny, so a clear gain suggests image choice is worth testing on other products.
Caveats: The test ran for about 10 days with 9,913 visitors, and no significance level was shared. Some reported figures don't fully match the totals, and the GBP 2,800 monthly gain is the vendor's projection.
Who ran it
Elevate_ab ran this test for The Cornish Company and published the results (Elevate A/B success story). The numbers are theirs; the summary and commentary on this page are ours.
Read the original case study on Elevate_ab →
How to run this test on your store
- Hypothesis
- If we use a different existing photo as the main product image, then revenue per visitor will rise, because the first view will show the product more appealingly.
- Primary metric
- Revenue per visitor
- Guardrails
- Add-to-cart rate
- Conversion rate
- Average order value
- Who should test it
- Any store with several good product photos and a best-seller with steady traffic. It costs nothing to test. It won't help much if all your photos look alike.
Questions
Does the order of product images matter?
Yes, the first image gets the most views.
The Cornish Company raised revenue per visitor by swapping which photo came first.
Which image should be first on a product page?
The one that shows the product most clearly and appealingly.
The only way to know is to test a few candidates.
How long should an image test run?
At least one to two full weeks, to cover weekday and weekend shoppers. This test ran for about 10 days.
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