Product-finder help box moved above the fold: +86% purchases
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsMoving the homepage's 'Need help finding the right product?' box from below the fold to the left sidebar above it raised purchases by 86%.
Clickstop ran this A/B test for EcoFoil, a supplier of radiant barrier and foil bubble insulation, and it was published as a VWO case study.
No sample size or significance level was shared.
- Purchases: +86% for the variant over the original.
- The box itself and the product finder behind it did not change; only its position did.
- No sample size, duration or significance level was given, so treat the size of the lift with care.
The change
The product-finder help box moved from below the fold to the left sidebar above it.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
The help box sat in the center of the homepage below the fold, next to another section, so many visitors never saw it. It linked to a map-based product finder.
Variant
The same help box moved to the left sidebar, visible above the fold without scrolling.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- Insulation is a rare purchase and terms like single or double bubble confuse most shoppers, so a guide to the right product is valuable.
- Below the fold and beside another section, the box was easy to miss; above the fold, far more visitors saw it.
- The finder works by the part of the home being insulated, which matches how buyers think about the job.
Caveats: Sample size, duration and significance were not shared, and the case study is undated, so the data may be old. An 86% lift from a position change is unusually large.
Who ran it
Clickstop ran this test for EcoFoil 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 Clickstop →
How to run this test on your store
- Hypothesis
- If we move our product-finder help box above the fold, then more visitors will find the right product and buy because confused first-time shoppers will see the help before they give up.
- Primary metric
- Purchases per homepage visitor
- Guardrails
- Product finder usage
- Average order value
- Return rate
- Who should test it
- Stores with technical or rarely bought products where shoppers struggle to pick the right option, and that already have a guide or finder. If your products are simple or familiar, a help box will matter less.
Questions
Does moving content above the fold increase sales?
It can when the content helps people decide.
Here, moving a product-finder box above the fold raised purchases by 86%.
Should my store have a product finder or quiz?
It helps most when products are technical and shoppers don't know which one fits.
EcoFoil's finder matched products to the part of the home being insulated.
Why might a help box be ignored?
If it sits below the fold or next to other content, many visitors never notice it.
Position can matter as much as the tool itself.
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