Why filters and search matter on the collection page
The collection page is where shoppers with a rough idea go to find a specific product. In a large catalog, a shopper who can't narrow the grid quickly tends to leave, so filters, category links and sort options do much of the selling here.
Measured results
Filter tags and filter bars
Oliver Kenyon ran two filter tests. Filter tags such as Best Sellers and New Drops won +$82,542/month. A floating filter bar that stays in view won +$68,584/month.
Image category navigation
Dave Diederen added an image-based category slider to a collection page. It produced +$161K in additional revenue over 1,612 orders and 158,691 visitors.
Filters inside a wider banner change
Dave also added a collection banner with social proof, an offer with a countdown, a description and category filters. It won up to +6% conversion rate and +6.4% revenue per visitor, but the filters' own share is unknown.
@oliverkenyon@oliverkenyon
@DaveDiederen@DaveDiederenLosing or flat tests
None of the four lost. Two practitioners ran all of them and three report revenue rather than conversion rate, so this is a short list of things worth testing, not proof that filter changes usually win.
Untested ideas
Most of the 17 ideas come from Kasper Dolk and Dave Diederen, and they cluster around three themes:
- Category navigation at the top: Instagram-story style category bubbles, horizontal collection tabs, and subcategory links above the grid for large catalogs.
- Better filters: filters built on the criteria shoppers use for that product type (size, color, storage), topic filters such as sleep, focus and mood, filters that stay sticky on mobile, and applied filters shown with a way to remove them.
- Easy switching: a collection switcher and a grid-size toggle so shoppers can see more or fewer products per row.
Placement and design patterns that won
- Shortcut filters (Best Sellers, New Drops) at the top of the grid.
- Filters that float or stay visible while scrolling.
- Categories shown as images, not just text links.
All three patterns cut the work of finding the right subset of products, which is the common thread in the ideas too.
Related tests elsewhere on the store
The same idea won on the homepage: see homepage filter and category tests, where hiding a category slider lost. Also see search in navigation menus, the full filters and search collection and collection page product card tests.