Plain stars instead of Trustpilot badge: +7.8% conversion rate
Test run byDave DiederenSyntra Labs
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsReplacing a Trustpilot logo and rating with plain stars and 'Rated 4.8/5.0 by 50,000+ customers' raised conversion rate by 7.8% on a listicle. Revenue per visitor rose 12.01%, an estimated £21,376 a month. Dave Diederen says they have seen the same pattern on several stores.
- Conversion rate: 3.48% to 3.75%, +7.80%, about 374 extra orders a month.
- Revenue per visitor (primary metric): £1.29 to £1.45, +12.01%, an estimated £21,376 a month.
- Average order value: £37.11 to £38.56, +3.91%.
- A third version that simply hid the Trustpilot badge was close to flat (3.52% conversion, £1.31 per visitor). Removing the logo alone wasn't enough; the clear message did the work.
- Confidence ranges crossed zero (-5% to +22% on conversion), so the size of the lift is uncertain.
The change
The Trustpilot badge became plain stars with a customer count.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
The listicle showed a Trustpilot logo with the store's rating.
Variant
The logo was removed and replaced with plain stars and the line 'Rated 4.8/5.0 by 50,000+ customers'.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- stars are understood instantly, while a review platform logo means little to shoppers who don't know or trust it.
- '50,000+ customers' adds scale, which a logo with a score doesn't show.
- on an advertorial, a third-party badge can look like an ad, while plain copy reads as part of the story.
Caveats: The test dates and sample size were not shared, and the confidence ranges crossed zero. This result comes from a listicle landing page, so it may differ on product pages.
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 replace our review platform logo with plain stars and a clear rating plus customer count, then more visitors will buy because the social proof is easier to grasp and trust.
- Primary metric
- Conversion rate
- Guardrails
- Revenue per visitor
- Average order value
- Click-through to product page
- Who should test it
- Brands with a strong rating and a large customer base, running listicles or advertorials. Brands with few reviews or a low score have little to show in plain text.
Questions
Should I show the Trustpilot logo on my landing page?
In this test, swapping it for plain stars and a customer count lifted conversion 7.8%. Hiding the logo without adding the message barely moved results.
What is the best way to display a star rating?
Here, stars plus the score and a customer count ('4.8/5.0 by 50,000+ customers') beat the platform badge. The message was clearer than the logo.
Does this work beyond one store?
Dave Diederen says they have repeated the result across multiple stores. Only this one test's numbers were shared.
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