'You Save #%' next to prices: no change in conversion
Test run byGrowthRockCRO agency
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsAdding 'You Save #%' next to was and now prices made no difference to conversion rate for a high-traffic apparel retailer.
GrowthRock ran this A/B/C test in Optimizely, with two colour versions of the badge and 280,000 visitors per version over two weeks.
All three versions converted within 0.3% of each other.
- Conversion rate to completed order: all three versions within 0.3% of each other. This is a flat result.
- Neither colour of the savings label made a difference.
- The sample was large, at 280,000 visitors per version, so the lack of effect is unlikely to be down to low traffic.
The change
A 'You Save #%' label is added beside the was and now prices.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
Listing and product pages showed a was price and a now price.
Variant
A 'You Save #%' label appeared next to the prices on listing and product pages, in one of two colours.
Why it likely came out this way
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- Nearly every product had the same 30% discount, so the percentage told shoppers nothing new.
- When every item shows the same number, it stops drawing attention to any one product.
- A later test by the agency, run when discounts varied by product, showed a 2.57% conversion lift. That suggests the label helps when it helps shoppers compare.
Caveats: Almost all products carried the same 30% discount during the test, which likely explains the flat result. The test date was not shared.
Who ran it
GrowthRock ran this test for a high-traffic apparel retailer and published the results (GrowthRock blog). The numbers are theirs; the summary and commentary on this page are ours.
Read the original case study on GrowthRock →
How to run this test on your store
- Hypothesis
- If we show the savings percent next to was and now prices, then more visitors will buy because they can see the best deals at a glance.
- Primary metric
- Conversion rate
- Guardrails
- Revenue per visitor
- Average order value
- Margin per order
- Who should test it
- Stores with was and now prices where discounts differ from product to product. If every product has the same discount, expect little change.
Questions
Does showing a percent-off label increase conversions?
It depends on your discounts. Here it did nothing when every product had the same 30% off, but a later test with varied discounts showed a 2.57% lift.
Does the colour of a discount label matter?
Not in this test. Two colour versions both converted within 0.3% of the original.
Should I show savings as a percent or an amount?
A percent makes it easier to compare deals across products. It is most useful when discounts vary.
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