# 'Similar Products' on sold-out pages: +11.6% conversion, +21.7% RPU

- Outcome: Won
- Page type: Product page (Ecommerce)
- Elements: Product cards & quick add, Upsells & cross-sells
- Test run by: [DRIP Agency](https://liftarchive.com/practitioners/drip-agency/)
- Commentary by: LiftArchive (our analysis, not theirs)
- Original source: https://dripagency.de/case-studies/oceansapart
- Page: https://liftarchive.com/test/drip-oceansapart-sold-out-similar-products/

Showing a 'Similar Products' section below the Notify Me button on sold-out product pages lifted conversion rate by 11.6% and revenue per user by 21.7%. DRIP Agency ran this test for Oceansapart, an activewear brand selling direct to consumers, and published it as a case study on its own site. The aim was to turn a dead end into a path to another purchase.

## Result

**+11.6% conversion, +21.7% RPU**

- Conversion rate: +11.6%, as reported by DRIP Agency.
- Revenue per user: +21.7%, the larger of the two gains.
- Sign-ups for back-in-stock alerts were not shared.

## Control

When a product variant was sold out, the page showed only a Notify Me button. Shoppers had nowhere to go next on the page.

## Variant

A 'Similar Products' section appeared below the Notify Me button, suggesting alternatives that were in stock.

## Why it likely won (our reading)

- A sold-out page with only a Notify Me button is a dead end. Alternatives keep shoppers who are ready to buy moving.
- Shoppers who wanted one item often want something close to it, so relevant suggestions fit their intent.
- The Notify Me option stayed in place, so shoppers who only wanted that item lost nothing.

## Caveats

DRIP Agency reported the uplift without sample size, test duration, confidence level or test date. It was one of 18 winning tests in a six-month program.

## How to run this test

- Hypothesis: If we show similar in-stock products below Notify Me on sold-out pages, then revenue per user will rise because shoppers get a next step instead of leaving.
- Primary metric: Revenue per user
- Guardrail: Back-in-stock sign-up rate
- Guardrail: Conversion rate
- Guardrail: Exit rate on sold-out pages
- Who should test it: Stores with frequent stockouts in sizes or colours, like apparel and footwear. It matters less if items rarely sell out or the catalogue has few close alternatives.

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Credit: DRIP Agency ran this test and owns the result. Summary and commentary by LiftArchive (https://liftarchive.com/test/drip-oceansapart-sold-out-similar-products/).
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.