SMITH mobile cart redesign: +8% visits to checkout
Test run bySurefootCRO agency
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsA simpler, mobile-first cart with bigger buttons and one main call to action lifted SMITH's mobile visits to checkout by 8%.
Returning mobile visitors moved to checkout 10% more often.
Surefoot ran this A/B test for SMITH and published it as a case study; it also appeared as a Convert.com case study.
- Visits to checkout on mobile: up 8%, at 95% statistical significance.
- Returning mobile visitors: 10% more reached checkout.
- Transactions: up 3.4%, and revenue per visitor up $1.39, according to the Convert.com version of the case study.
- Both full-price shoppers and pro-deal subscribers saw a lift, with the largest revenue gain from full-price buyers.
The change
Busy mobile cart replaced by a simpler layout with login on top and one main CTA
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
A busy mobile cart with unclear calls to action and small tap targets. It also had display bugs on common phones.
Variant
A mobile-first cart with larger buttons and tap targets, a simpler layout, login at the top and easier cart editing. One primary call to action sat at the bottom.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- Bigger tap targets and one clear next step make the cart easier to use on a small screen.
- Moving login to the top helped returning shoppers, who could sign in without scrolling past the whole cart. That fits their bigger lift.
- Fixing the display bugs means some visitors could use the cart properly for the first time.
Caveats: Several cart changes shipped together, including bug fixes, so the lift can't be credited to one element. Sample size and duration were not shared, and the transaction and revenue figures come from the Convert.com version.
Who ran it
Surefoot ran this test for SMITH and published the results (Surefoot case study). The numbers are theirs; the summary and commentary on this page are ours.
Read the original case study on Surefoot →
How to run this test on your store
- Hypothesis
- If we simplify our mobile cart with larger tap targets, login at the top and one primary checkout button, then more mobile shoppers will reach checkout because the next step is clear and easy to tap.
- Primary metric
- Mobile visits to checkout
- Guardrails
- Mobile transactions
- Revenue per visitor
- Cart edits and removals
- Who should test it
- Stores with mostly mobile traffic and a cart built for desktop first, or one with many competing buttons. Stores that already have a clean mobile cart will probably see smaller gains.
Questions
How big should mobile tap targets be?
Large enough to hit easily with a thumb, with space between them.
SMITH's test made buttons and edit controls bigger as part of a wider cart redesign.
Should the cart show a login option?
For stores with many returning customers, putting login where it is easy to find can help.
In SMITH's test, returning mobile visitors saw the biggest lift.
Should a mobile cart have one checkout button or several?
One clear primary button usually reduces hesitation. SMITH moved to a single main call to action at the bottom of the cart.
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