Desktop mini cart redesign: ecommerce CVR 1.83% to 1.96%
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsA redesigned desktop mini cart raised ecommerce conversion rate from 1.83% to 1.96% and cart page visits from 2.91% to 3.05%.
Wingify Services ran this 36-day test for GRENE, a Polish agricultural supplies retailer, and it was published as a VWO case study.
Several changes shipped together, so the result can't be credited to any single one.
- Ecommerce conversion rate: 1.83% to 1.96%.
- Visits to the cart page: 2.91% to 3.05%.
- Quantity purchased: reported as nearly doubled.
- No confidence level was shared for these figures.
The change
A top cart button, line totals and a bigger main button were added together.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
A 'FREE DELIVERY' label above the main button looked clickable, and many shoppers clicked it. Line totals for items with more than one unit were hidden, and the main button sat at the very bottom of the mini cart.
Variant
A cart button was added at the top of the mini cart, and the main button was made bigger. The layout was tidied, with the remove button moved to the right and a line total shown for each product.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- A button at the top let shoppers go to the cart without scrolling to the end of the list.
- Showing line totals removed the need to work out what several units would cost.
- Moving the remove button cut accidental removals, and a label that no longer looked like a button stopped wasted clicks.
Caveats: Several changes shipped together, so no single change can take credit. The test ran 36 days in 2019 with no sample size or significance shared, and the result is vendor-reported.
Who ran it
VWO ran this test for GRENE 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 add a cart button at the top of the mini cart, show line totals and make labels clearly non-clickable, then more shoppers will reach checkout because the next step is obvious and costs are clear.
- Primary metric
- Ecommerce conversion rate
- Guardrails
- Cart page visits
- Items removed from cart
- Average order value
- Who should test it
- Stores with a desktop mini cart that lists many items or multi-unit orders. If your mini cart is short and already shows totals, expect a smaller effect.
Questions
Should a mini cart have a button at the top?
GRENE added one as part of a redesign that raised conversion from 1.83% to 1.96%.
It helps most when the cart list is long enough to scroll.
Should a mini cart show line totals?
Showing the total for each product, not just the unit price, saves shoppers from doing the math.
It was one of several changes in GRENE's winning version.
Similar tests
@oliverkenyon@oliverkenyon@oliverkenyon
ConvertiblesConvertibles