Clearer desktop category filters: +7% product page add-to-cart
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsSeparating main filters from quick filters and showing applied filters more clearly on desktop category pages lifted product page add-to-cart by 7% for Yankee Candle.
CXperts ran the test with Yankee Candle, and it was published as a VWO case study.
The idea came from a user study showing that shoppers relied on category filters.
- Product page add-to-cart: +7%, reported at 100% significance.
- Category page add-to-cart: +3%, reported at 100% significance.
- Conversion rate: +3% at 90% significance. That is weaker evidence than the add-to-cart lifts.
- Results for the other two variants were not shared.
The change
Quick filters split from main filters, with applied filters shown clearly.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
Desktop category pages used the original filter layout, with main and quick filters together and applied filters hard to spot.
Variant
The winning variant, one of three, split the main filters from the quick filters. It also made the filters a shopper had applied easier to see.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- Separating quick filters from the full set makes the common choices easier to find and use.
- Seeing which filters are on helps shoppers trust that the results match what they want.
- More relevant product lists likely meant shoppers reached products they were ready to add to the cart.
Caveats: This was a four-way test, and only the winner's results were shared. The conversion lift was reported at 90% significance, so it is less certain than the add-to-cart gains; no sample size or duration was shared.
Who ran it
CXperts ran this test for Yankee Candle 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 CXperts →
How to run this test on your store
- Hypothesis
- If we separate quick filters from the main filters and show applied filters clearly on category pages, then add-to-cart will rise, because shoppers narrow the range faster and trust the results.
- Primary metric
- Add-to-cart rate
- Guardrails
- Conversion rate
- Filter usage
- Product page views per session
- Who should test it
- Stores with large category pages where shoppers use filters, such as scents, sizes or colors. Stores with small categories that fit on one screen will see little from this.
Questions
Do better filters increase sales?
They can when shoppers rely on them. Yankee Candle's clearer filter design lifted product page add-to-cart by 7% and conversion by 3%.
Should I show which filters are applied?
Yes, it is usually worth it. Showing active filters helps shoppers understand why they see certain products and makes them easy to remove.
Can I test several filter designs at once?
Yes, as Yankee Candle did with three variants.
Each variant then gets less traffic, so you need more visitors or more time.
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