New first product image on the PDP: +10.44% revenue per visitor
Test run byDave DiederenSyntra Labs
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsChanging only the first image in the product gallery raised revenue per visitor by 10.44% and conversion rate by 10.26%. Dave Diederen ran this test. Average order value did not change.
- Conversion rate rose 10.26% (3.18% to 3.50%), about 539 extra orders a month by the dashboard's estimate.
- Revenue per visitor rose 10.44% ($1.41 to $1.56), about $24,304 a month.
- Average order value showed no change ($44.37 vs $44.44), so the gain came from more people buying.
- The ranges were wide (-8% to +32% on conversion), so the true lift could be smaller.
The change
Only the first image in the gallery changes.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
The product page opened on the store's existing first gallery image.
Variant
A different image was placed first in the gallery. The rest of the gallery stayed the same. The post did not show what the new image looked like.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- the first image is what shoppers see first, so it does most of the work of holding attention.
- the same image often shows on collection pages and in ads, so a better one may help across the journey.
- a clearer first image can answer what the product is before shoppers scroll.
Caveats: The new image itself was not shown, so we can't say what made it better. Sample size and duration were not shared, and the ranges cross zero.
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 change the first gallery image to a stronger shot, then more visitors will buy because the first image shapes their first impression.
- Primary metric
- Conversion rate
- Guardrails
- Average order value
- Return rate
- Add-to-cart rate
- Who should test it
- Any store with a product page that gets steady traffic. Try angle, background, lifestyle vs product-only, or model vs flat lay. Low-traffic products may not reach a clear result.
Questions
Does the first product image affect sales?
In this test, swapping only the first image lifted conversion rate 10.26% and revenue per visitor 10.44%.
Do I need a full photo reshoot to test images?
No. This test changed just image one, and you may already have a better option in your existing photos.
What kind of first image should I test?
The post suggests trying a different angle, background, lifestyle shot, model shot or flat lay. The winning image here was not shown.
Similar tests
@oliverkenyon@oliverkenyon@oliverkenyon@oliverkenyon@oliverkenyon@DaveDiederen