Category pills on collection pages: +51% conversion rate
Test run byBlend CommerceCRO agency
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsAdding a row of related-category pills above the product grid lifted conversion rate by 51% and revenue per visitor by 79% for USA Containers.
Blend Commerce ran the test on mobile and desktop.
Results only cover sessions that landed directly on a collection page.
- Conversion rate: +51% for sessions that landed on a collection page.
- Revenue per visitor: +79%, helped by a 19% rise in average order value.
- Add-to-cart rate: +45%, and checkout-begin rate: +46%.
- Product-page views: +3%. Collection-page view rate did not change, so the pills helped people move around within collections rather than bringing them there more often.
The change
A row of related-category pills added above the product grid
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
Collection pages had no quick links to related product groups. Visitors who wanted another range had to use the main navigation.
Variant
A row of pill-shaped links sat above the product grid, pointing to related categories such as Most Popular, Upgrade Kits, Movement Kits and Shelves.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- Shoppers landing on a collection already have a clear need. The pills show the next relevant range without a trip back to the menu.
- Labels like 'Upgrade Kits' suggest add-ons, which may explain the higher order value.
- On mobile, a visible row of links is much easier than opening a menu and drilling down.
Caveats: Analysis was limited to sessions that started on a collection page. Duration, sample size and statistical confidence were not shared.
Who ran it
Blend Commerce ran this test for USA Containers and published the results (Blend Commerce A/B test). The numbers are theirs; the summary and commentary on this page are ours.
Read the original case study on Blend Commerce →
How to run this test on your store
- Hypothesis
- If we add related-category pills above the product grid, then more collection-page visitors will convert because they can reach the right product group in one tap.
- Primary metric
- Conversion rate for sessions landing on collection pages
- Guardrails
- Average order value
- Product-page views per session
- Bounce rate on collection pages
- Who should test it
- Stores with several related product groups and lots of paid or search traffic landing on collections. Small catalogues with one or two collections have little to link to.
Questions
What are category pills on a collection page?
They are small, button-style links to related collections, shown in a row near the top of the page.
USA Containers used them for groups like Upgrade Kits and Shelves.
Do category pills help on mobile?
The test ran on both mobile and desktop and was positive overall.
The source does not give a device split.
Which categories should the pills link to?
Pick the groups shoppers most often visit next from that collection, plus a popular or best-sellers link.
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