Best sellers above the fold on the homepage: +39.03% RPV
Test run byDave DiederenSyntra Labs
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsMoving best-selling products above the fold on the homepage, with the reviews section pushed further down, lifted revenue per visitor by 39.03% in Dave Diederen's test. Conversion rate rose 21.75% and average order value rose 14.20%. The ranges around each result were wide, so the true lift could be much smaller.
- Revenue per visitor: +39.03% (A$3.37 to A$4.68). The tool's range ran from -33% to +184%, so the size of the lift is uncertain.
- Conversion rate: +21.75% (3.54% to 4.31%). More homepage visitors went on to place an order, though the range (-26% to +102%) includes a loss.
- Average order value: +14.20% (A$95.15 to A$108.66). Orders got bigger as well as more frequent.
- Profit per visitor: not shown, because cost of goods was not entered in the testing tool.
The change
Best sellers move above the fold and reviews move lower; exact layout was not shown.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
The homepage opened with customer reviews near the top, and the product range appeared further down the page.
Variant
Best-selling products moved above the fold so visitors saw products first. The reviews section stayed on the page but sat lower down.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- people who land on a homepage want to see what the store sells, and products answer that faster than quotes.
- reviews work better as reassurance once a shopper has spotted a product they like, not before.
- putting best sellers first gives visitors a short path to the products most likely to convert.
Caveats: Sample size and test length were not shared, and the confidence ranges on every metric cross zero. This was one store priced in Australian dollars.
Who ran it
Dave Diederen (@DaveDiederen) shared this test on X. The numbers and screenshots are theirs.
View the original post on X
How to run this test on your store
- Hypothesis
- If we show best-selling products above the fold on the homepage and move reviews lower, then more visitors will click into products and buy because they see what we sell straight away.
- Primary metric
- Revenue per visitor
- Guardrails
- Average order value
- Homepage bounce rate
- Click-through to product pages
- Who should test it
- Stores whose homepage leads with testimonials, press quotes or brand story before any products. It may matter less for single-product brands where the hero already shows the product.
Questions
Should reviews or products come first on a homepage?
In Dave Diederen's test, products first won. Showing best sellers above the fold and moving reviews down lifted revenue per visitor by 39.03%.
Does removing reviews from the top of the homepage hurt trust?
Not in this test. The reviews stayed on the page, just lower down, and both conversion rate and order value went up.
What should be above the fold on a Shopify homepage?
This test points to your best-selling products. Visitors saw what the store sells right away, and more of them bought.
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