Marketing categories in homepage nav: +26% visits-to-order
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsFilling ShopClues' homepage top navigation with marketing categories and moving the Wholesale link to the left nav raised visits-to-order from the homepage by 26% and nav click-through by 50%.
ShopClues' own team ran the test, and it was published as a VWO case study.
A "new" tag beside Wholesale helped visitors find it in its new spot.
- Nav click-through rate: +50% for the new top navigation.
- Visits-to-order from the homepage: +26%. More homepage visits ended in an order.
- The source also says the "new" tag improved clicks on Wholesale in its new place, but gave no number.
The change
Top nav switched to marketing categories; Wholesale moved left with a 'new' tag
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
The homepage top navigation started with a Wholesale link, which drew a large share of clicks.
Variant
The top nav showed marketing categories, such as a super-saver bazaar. Wholesale moved to the left navigation with a "new" tag next to it.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- The team's goal was to send better-qualified visitors to category pages. Marketing categories may match what bargain-hunting visitors came for.
- Wholesale drew clicks, but those visitors may not have been ready to order. Moving it let other categories get attention.
- The "new" tag kept Wholesale visible, so its users weren't lost by the move.
Caveats: No sample size or significance given. The 26% homepage figure is reported as an overall outcome, and other homepage tests may have contributed; the result is vendor-published.
Who ran it
ShopClues ran this test for ShopClues 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 ShopClues →
How to run this test on your store
- Hypothesis
- If we lead the top navigation with promotional categories and move a high-click but low-intent link to secondary navigation with a 'new' tag, then more homepage visits will turn into orders, because visitors land on category pages that match what they want.
- Primary metric
- Visits-to-order from the homepage
- Guardrails
- Clicks on the moved link
- Category page bounce rate
- Revenue per visitor
- Who should test it
- Large marketplaces and stores with many categories and frequent promotions. Small stores with few categories or no ongoing campaigns have less to gain from rearranging the nav.
Questions
What should go in an ecommerce site's top navigation?
The categories that lead to the most orders, not just the most clicks.
Test promotional or seasonal categories against your current links.
Do 'new' labels in navigation increase clicks?
They can draw the eye to a moved or new link.
ShopClues said its tag lifted clicks on Wholesale, but shared no number.
Is nav click-through rate a good metric on its own?
No. More clicks only matter if they lead to orders, so track visits-to-order or revenue alongside it.
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