More prominent homepage reviews: +33.2% revenue per new visitor
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsMaking customer reviews more prominent on the homepage raised revenue per new visitor by 33.2%, from $4.99 to $6.64. RubberStamps.net ran this test, and it was published as a VWO case study.
Conversion rate rose 6.1% and average order value rose 25.6%.
- Revenue per new visitor: +33.2%, from $4.99 to $6.64, reported as statistically significant.
- Conversion rate: +6.1%.
- Average order value: +25.6%. Most of the revenue gain came from bigger orders.
- Visitors scrolling to the reviews: up 20%.
The change
Review stars above the text reviews are made larger and more prominent.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
The homepage had positive customer reviews, but they sat below the fold. Only 25% of visitors scrolled far enough to see them.
Variant
A reworked homepage aimed at building trust with new visitors. The stated hypothesis was that doubling the size of the review stars above the text reviews would build confidence.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- RubberStamps.net is a small store on a .net domain, so new visitors may need extra proof that it is trustworthy.
- Bigger review stars are easy to notice at a glance, even for visitors who don't read reviews.
- Custom stamps are made to order, so buyers want reassurance about quality before placing a larger order.
Caveats: About 6,000 visitors over 9 days is a small, short test, and a 25.6% jump in order value from a review change is unusual. The source doesn't list every change in the variant beyond larger review stars.
Who ran it
RubberStamps.net ran this test for RubberStamps.net 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 RubberStamps.net →
How to run this test on your store
- Hypothesis
- If we make our customer reviews more visible on the homepage, then revenue per new visitor will rise because first-time visitors will trust a lesser-known store more.
- Primary metric
- Revenue per new visitor
- Guardrails
- Conversion rate
- Average order value
- Bounce rate
- Who should test it
- Smaller or lesser-known stores with good reviews that sit low on the page. It will matter less for big brands that visitors already trust.
Questions
Do reviews on the homepage increase sales?
They can, especially for new visitors to a lesser-known store.
In this test, more prominent reviews raised revenue per new visitor by 33.2%.
Is a 9-day test long enough?
Often not. Nine days may not cover two full weekly cycles, so rerun or extend a test like this before trusting a large lift.
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