'Explore Similar Products' link on sold-out items: +4.59% conversion
Test run byBlend CommerceCRO agency
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsPlacing an 'Explore Similar Products' message in the image gallery of sold-out product pages raised conversion rate by 4.59%.
Blend Commerce ran this A/B test for a plants brand after session recordings showed mobile users rarely scrolled past the sold-out notice.
Revenue per visitor rose 6.97% and back-in-stock clicks rose 8.48%.
- Conversion rate: +4.59%, as more visitors who landed on an out-of-stock item went on to buy something else.
- Revenue per visitor: +6.97%.
- Clicks on 'Notify Me When Back in Stock': +8.48%, even though the new link pointed to recommendations. Bringing people down the page exposed the sign-up too.
The change
The variant adds an 'Explore Similar Products' link in the gallery that jumps to recommendations.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
Sold-out product pages showed a 'Sold Out' state, with the back-in-stock sign-up and the similar products module further down the page, where many mobile users never reached them.
Variant
A message inside the main gallery image, above the fold, linked to 'Explore Similar Products' and jumped visitors down to the recommendation module.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- A sold-out label is a dead end. Many mobile shoppers leave instead of scrolling to find what else is on the page.
- Putting the next step inside the gallery puts it where people are already looking.
- Plant shoppers often want a type of plant rather than one exact item, so a similar product can be an acceptable substitute.
Caveats: Blend Commerce does not share sample size, test length or statistical confidence.
Who ran it
Blend Commerce ran this test for a plants brand and published the results (Blend Commerce A/B test). The numbers are theirs; the summary and commentary on this page are ours.
Read the original case study on Blend Commerce →
How to run this test on your store
- Hypothesis
- If we add a link to similar products inside the gallery of sold-out product pages, then more visitors will buy an alternative because they see the option without scrolling.
- Primary metric
- Conversion rate of sessions that view a sold-out product page
- Guardrails
- Revenue per visitor
- Back-in-stock sign-ups
- Bounce rate on sold-out pages
- Who should test it
- Stores with frequent stockouts and products that can stand in for each other, such as plants, apparel basics or home goods. It is less useful when shoppers want one exact item, like a specific replacement part, or when stockouts are rare.
Questions
What should a sold-out product page show?
A clear next step: a back-in-stock sign-up and similar products.
This test suggests those options need to be visible near the top, not only at the bottom.
Should I hide sold-out products instead?
Hiding them loses the traffic those pages already get.
Keeping them live with a route to alternatives can turn that traffic into sales.
Will showing alternatives reduce back-in-stock sign-ups?
Not here. Back-in-stock clicks rose 8.48% alongside the conversion lift.
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