Create-account option moved to the center: +17% transactions
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsMoving the 'create a new account' option to the center of the checkout login page raised transactions by 17% and revenue by 15% for Lancôme.
Clicks on the create-account option rose 30%. Lancôme ran the test with its testing vendor's support, and it was published as a VWO case study.
- Create-account clicks: +30%, the expected effect of putting the option in the middle.
- Transactions: +17%, the bigger surprise, since only the order of the options changed.
- Revenue: +15%, in line with the rise in transactions.
The change
Create account swaps into the center slot; guest checkout moves right.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
The login page showed three options from left to right: log in as a client, check out as a guest, create an account.
Variant
Create account moved to the center and guest checkout moved to the right. Client login stayed on the left.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- The team had seen an unusually high bounce rate on this page, so it was a real friction point.
- The center slot draws the eye first, so new visitors may have found their path faster.
- Grouping returning-customer login and account creation side by side may have made the choices feel more logical.
Caveats: The test ran for a few weeks. Sample size and confidence levels were not shared.
Who ran it
Lancôme ran this test for Lancôme 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 Lancôme →
How to run this test on your store
- Hypothesis
- If we put the option most new shoppers need in the center of the checkout login page, then more of them will finish checkout because they will find their path without hesitating.
- Primary metric
- Transactions per visitor to the login page
- Guardrails
- Revenue per visitor
- Guest checkout completion rate
- Login page bounce rate
- Who should test it
- Stores with a separate login step before checkout that offers several sign-in choices. It matters less if you already use a single guest-first checkout with optional sign-in.
Questions
Does the order of login options matter?
It can. In this test only the order changed, and transactions rose 17%.
Should I push account creation or guest checkout?
Lancôme gained by giving account creation the center slot.
Stores with many first-time buyers should test it, since forced sign-up usually hurts.
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