Traffic is getting more expensive and more competitive.
Organic traffic is down by 5.7%.
Paid traffic now makes up 39% of visits.
More worrying? Overall traffic is down 3.3%, even as ad spend rises by 13.2%. Consumers are migrating toward closed ecosystems like TikTok, and search engine changes are squeezing unpaid visibility.
“If someone does land on your site,” said Evan, “you can’t afford to lose them to a clunky experience.”
2. Earning Loyalty
Retention is getting tougher and more expensive:
30-day retention is down 7%
Bounce rates for returning paid traffic are rising
Brands are spending more to re-acquire the same users
But here’s the good news: Sites with the highest retention also had:
Retention isn’t about loyalty programs anymore. It’s about immediate value:
If the first experience isn’t seamless, fast, and relevant, there might not be a second chance.
As John pointed out:
“Customers are overwhelmed. Consent banners, pop-ups, chatbots… all stacked on each other. The more you push, the more they bounce.”
3. Personalization = Relevance
Our 2025 Consumer Trends research confirms it: Shoppers now expect relevance, not just recognition. What moves the needle?
“It’s not just about product recs. It’s about respect. Show people you’re paying attention, and they’ll come back.” – John
With EmotionsAI, brands can now tailor experiences based on what really motivates visitors:
Safety Seekers: need reassurance (trust signals, easy returns)
Fast-Trackers: want speed (minimal steps to checkout)
Community-Driven: respond to peer validation (“others bought this”)
Comfort Seekers: look for clarity and low friction
These insights can shape everything from PDP content to CTA language. And best of all? It’s not guesswork, it’s behavior-based.
4. Attention Is Dropping – Especially for New Visitors
Consumers are seeing less of your site, unless you’re earning their attention.
From Contentsquare:
Overall site consumption (time, scroll rate, pages viewed) is down 6.5%
Returning visitors consume 19% more pages and spend one minute longer on site than new visitors
More landing pages are nowproduct pages, not homepages
This shift reinforces something we’ve known for a while: homepages are branding, product pages are business. If you want to improve conversion, that’s where you optimize.
5. AI: The Secret Weapon to Optimize Digital Experiences
Both AB Tasty and Contentsquare are embracing AI to help marketers do more with less:
At AB Tasty:
OurAI Copilot helps teams quickly generate test ideas, reword content, promote blocks, or personalize experiences with natural language prompts.
At Contentsquare:
Chat with Sense makes it easy to explore analytics in plain English
The goal? Speed up insight, scale up experimentation, and automate repetitive tasks – without sacrificing control.
6. Experiment Often, Act Fast
The most successful teams aren’t just collecting data. They’re closing the loop:
1. Contentsquare shows what’s broken
2. AB Tasty helps you test, fix, and personalize
3. AI helps you move faster, with less effort
Whether it’s launching 1:1 recommendations, fixing high-friction journeys, or adapting content to emotional profiles, the brands that win in 2025 are those that act quickly and optimize constantly.
Key Takeaways
In 2025, optimizing digital experiences isn’t just a nice-to-have – it’s a survival strategy. With rising acquisition costs and falling attention spans, brands need to ensure every visit delivers real value. That means fixing friction fast, personalizing with emotional and behavioral insight, and using AI to move from insight to action at speed. Retention now begins with the first impression, and product pages, not homepages, are where real conversions happen.
The brands that will win are those that test often, personalize with purpose, and close the loop between data and decision-making.
Forget traditional shopping journeys, today’s fashion consumers are rewriting the rules! Our 2025 Fashion Consumer Trends report reveals the shifts in how consumers discover, decide, and commit to fashion brands today.
Introduction
In a recent webinar, 3 experimentation leaders came together to unpack the latest consumer trends shaping the fashion industry. The conversation brought together Ben Labay, CEO of Speero, Jonny Longden, Speero’s Chief Growth Officer, and Mary Kate Cash, Head of Growth Marketing for North America at AB Tasty. They shared valuable insights from AB Tasty’s recent global fashion consumer survey, highlighting what drives inspiration, conversion, and retention in today’s fast-evolving fashion landscape.
Social Media is Changing the Game
Traditional search engines remain the top channel for fashion discovery, followed by direct website visits, Google Shopping, and Social Media ads. However, the differences between these top four channels are shrinking year over year, with social media rapidly gaining ground, especially among Gen Z consumers, where 60% of survey respondents highlighted Social Media ads as their preferred avenue to finding new products. Jonny predicts this trend will expand across all age groups.
“Social and fashion just go so hand in hand. The big change that’s happened with social is that fashion itself has become more rapid in the way it changes, and so it’s really driving different consumer behaviour.”
Jonny Longden, Chief Growth Officer at Speero
Different Channels, Different Mindsets
People use search when they know what they want. Social media, on the other hand, encourages experimentation. As Ben pointed out, shoppers arriving from social media are often inspired to try new styles or connect with communities, engaging in “social shopping” and not just focusing on finding a specific product. This opens the door for more tailored experiences based on where customers are coming from and what type of inspiration they’re seeking.
What the Fashion Consumer Trends 2025 Tell Us About Expectations
Reward Loyalty in Meaningful Ways – When asked how brands could make customers’ experiences more personal, the top answer was clear: rewarding brand loyalty. Discounts, early access, or perks for repeat buyers make shoppers feel seen and increase the chances of account creation and repeat visits.
Jonny pointed out that “the really interesting tension in this whole industry at the moment is the difference between what is the right thing to do and what is the profitable thing to do. about finding that balance is experimentation in the broadest sense of the word.”
Make Recommendations That Actually Fit – Consumers want relevant suggestions that go beyond basic personalization. Jonny compared it to having a personal stylist: a brand should know both the customer and the market, understanding trends and styles while matching these to individual preferences.
What Actually Drives Conversions
When it comes to converting browsers into buyers, shoppers across generations are surprisingly aligned.
Product quality leads the way across all age groups and regions. Shoppers are still willing to pay for craftsmanship, comfort, and durability, even in a price-sensitive market.
Discounts come next, but the strategy matters. Overuse can cheapen brand perception. As Jonny put it: “Fashion, especially the lower price point fashion has ended up in a kind of race to the bottom where discounting is the way to compete. […] and a lot of consumers wouldn’t consider paying full price. The challenge is how to be careful with the commerciality of discounting.”
Sizing and fit clarity also ranks high, especially in fashion, where hesitation often comes from uncertainty about how something will feel or look. Ben noted that some major retailers are tackling this head-on, investing heavily in tools to improve sizing and try-on experiences.
For Gen Z, high-quality reviews and transparency around production methods, sustainability, and pricing are big drivers. Ben shared tactical approaches to transparency on product detail pages, like using engaging CTAs such as “Do you want to know a secret?” to reveal value props related to sustainability and ethical production.
Why Shoppers Abandon Carts
Cart abandonment remains a major friction point, and two reasons dominate globally:
Not ready to buy – Many shoppers use the cart to explore shipping, delivery timeframes, or total cost before making a decision. Jonny explained it simply: “People use the checkout of an ecommerce website just to see what’s gonna happen. […] When’s it gonna be delivered? What are the delivery options? How much is delivery gonna cost?
Payment Methods not being accepted – This came in a close second, showing how overlooked payment flexibility still is. Buy-now-pay-later options like Klarna may move the needle, especially in fashion, where customers often purchase multiple sizes with the intention of returning some items. Jonny emphasized that payment method testing is one of the best arguments for AB testing and experimentation, as the “best practice” of offering many payment options doesn’t always lead to better conversion.
Retention: Loyalty Built on Familiarity
Finally, we explored what drives customers to create accounts with fashion brands, buy products from them, and what motivates them to stick around.
Loyalty Rewards Drive Engagement – Globally, the top reason for account creation is earning loyalty points, especially among Gen Z and Millennials. Discounts and sale updates follow closely behind.
Balancing Novelty and Trust – Shoppers crave both newness and familiarity: new products ranked highest in driving retention, but previously purchased items and trusted brands followed close behind. This balance is key to keeping customers engaged long-term.
Jonny raised an interesting point: a lot of loyalty programs end up rewarding people who would have come back anyway. Mary Kate added that tools like segmentation can help brands tell the difference between genuinely loyal customers and those just passing through, making it easier to design rewards that actually make an impact.
While conventional wisdom discourages forced account creation, Ben challenged this assumption, arguing it can work when paired with compelling promotions or rewards, especially in social ads. “Social ads that inspire and combine short-term promotions, rewards, and discounts are increasingly leading into forced account creation sequences.”
Conclusion
As shown in our 2025 Fashion Consumer Trends report, the e-commerce fashion industry is evolving, along with consumer expectations. To remain competitive, brands must go beyond simply selling products. They must deliver seamless, personalized shopping experiences that speak directly to the modern shopper’s needs.
This is where experimentation becomes a critical advantage. The most successful brands are those willing to test assumptions about everything from product discovery and presentation to payment options, loyalty strategies, and the evolving role of social commerce. Experience optimization is no longer a nice-to-have. It’s the foundation for building trust, loyalty, and long-term growth in the fast-moving world of online fashion.
Want a deeper dive? Watch the full webinar below to hear expert insights and practical strategies shaping the future of fashion commerce.
Online merchandising is more than just showcasing products; it’s capturing your audience’s attention, keeping them engaged, and guiding them smoothly toward a purchase. Let’s explore the essentials of online merchandising, breaking down actionable tips and strategies to elevate your e-commerce storefront.
What is Online Merchandising?
Online merchandising is the art of strategically organizing, showcasing, and promoting products on your e-commerce site to maximize engagement and conversions. Think of it as combining the precision of data analytics with the creativity of visual storytelling. Whether it’s through well-optimized product pages, eye-catching images, or personalized recommendations, the goal is the same: making shopping intuitive and enjoyable.
The Rise of Mobile-First Merchandising
Mobile is king in e-commerce. Have you ever noticed that smartphones seem to be glued to our hands? You’re not alone. According to Statista, over 54% of global website traffic now comes from mobile devices. For e-commerce, this means a mobile-first approach is non-negotiable.
How to master mobile merchandising:
Responsive Design: Online shopping is no longer linear. You have to ensure that your site is responsive across devices for a smoother shopping experience. This means making sure your design is responsive on desktop, mobile, and tablets.
More speed = more spending: According to Deloitte, a mere 0.1s change in loading time can improve the customer journey and improve conversion rates. It’s time to start minimizing code, optimizing images, and reducing redirects to speed up your mobile performance.
Streamlined Filters: Simplify searches with easy-to-use filters that don’t feel overwhelming on a smaller screen.
Mobile-Friendly CTAsand Buttons: On desktops, consumers click. On mobile, visitors tap with their fingers. A CTA (or any button) that’s too small can lead visitors to click on the wrong icon and derail their user journey. The CTA should be an optimal size (around 44×44 pixels) to avoid frustration.
Make your words worth it: With the constraints of a smaller screen, you may need to adapt your copy. Something as simple as changing your CTA button from “Contact Customer Service” to “Contact Us” can have a big impact.
Pro Tip: Dive further into mobile-first merchandising with our Smartphone Survival Guide to see how mobile impacts consumer behavior and how you can optimize your user experience to boost conversions.
Merchandising During Sales Periods
Sales periods like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Singles Day, Valentine’s Day, or other seasonal events are more than just discounts galore – they’re an opportunity to drive traffic to your website, clear inventory, and welcome new visitors.
How to maximize impact during sales
Curate Themed Landing Pages: Think “Gifts Under $25” or “Holiday Must-Haves.” Tailored pages simplify the shopping journey and give customers exactly what they’re looking for while saving them time browsing.
Urgency Tactics: Phrases like “Limited Stock” or “24-Hour Sale” pressure visitors to buy quicker by creating a sense of FOMO (fear of missing out).
Bundle Deals: Push more products in your inventory by highlighting bundles. Grouping products into bundles with a “frequently bought together” algorithm increases the average order value while offering perceived savings.
These strategies not only boost sales but also make your customers feel like they’ve struck gold on your website by finding just what they’re looking for.
The Power of Personalized Product Recommendations
Ever added a pair of shoes to your cart and instantly been tempted by a matching belt? That’s cross-selling at work. Personalized recommendations, when done right, are like having a helpful salesperson who’s available 24/7 to help you find what you need. So, how do you implement recommendations?
Implementing Recommendations:
Use AI to Analyze Behavior: With experience optimization platforms like AB Tasty, you can implement personalized recommendations by using their AI-powered recommendation engine to predict and personalize what visitors might like based on past activity.
Offer Related Products: When visitors start browsing different products, you can show complementary items to help your customers have the most complete purchase. Selling skincare? Why not recommend helpful products to help your visitors “complete their nighttime routine.”
Personalize Email Follow-ups: Abandoned carts? Send a friendly nudge with personalized email recommendations to remind your customers what’s waiting in their basket.
Want to see the results of recommendations in action? Check out Alltricks’s success story where they saw a +5% in average order value or Jacadi earning +13% more revenue per user with AB Tasty’s recommendations and merchandising solution.
Optimizing Product Pages for Search Engines
Your product pages are like magnets for customers – if they’re SEO-optimized. According to AB Tasty’s E-commerce Consumer Trends Report, nearly half of online experiences begin with a search engine. By improving your SEO and therefore visibility, you’ll make it easier for shoppers to find you.
Must-Have SEO Features:
Targeted Keywords: The more details – the better. It’s always best to use longer, search-friendly terms like “women’s waterproof hiking boots” rather than generic ones like “boots.”
Enticing Meta Descriptions: In addition to a descriptive title, the meta description is your one opportunity to communicate key information about your product with a short, clickable summary to draw in potential buyers.
Alt text for images: Not only does alt text help you meet accessibility standards, but it also improves your chances of showing up in Google Image results.
Detailed Product Descriptions: write descriptions that are informative and keyword-rich while avoiding keyword stuffing.
Leveraging Customer Reviews and Returns Data
Did you know that the majority of consumers read reviews before buying? In fact, Gen Z considers reviews to be the most important thing to consider before making a purchase (source). Reviews help build trust and provide social proof which helps undecided shoppers feel more confident in their purchases.
Ways to Leverage Reviews:
Spotlight success stories: We all love a zero-to-hero story! Highlight top-rated reviews directly on product pages to give confidence to your potential buyers.
Encourage feedback: Be proactive in building reviews for your e-commerce site by sending a post-purchase email asking for reviews (bonus tip: offer a small discount or loyalty points as an incentive).
Feature photos: Take your reviews a step further by encouraging your buyers to upload user-generated images of your products in real life to help build trust.
Turn returns into opportunities
Returns aren’t the end of the world, they’re learning opportunities. Analyze return trends to identify products, flaws, sizing issues, or misleading descriptions. Then, tweak your strategy accordingly to reduce future returns.
Conclusion:
Online merchandising is where creativity meets strategy. By embracing mobile-first designs, leveraging AI, optimizing for SEO, and personalizing the shopping experience, you can turn casual browsers into loyal customers. In today’s competitive e-commerce world, standing out isn’t optional – it’s essential.
With these best practices, you’re not just selling products, you’re creating an experience worth remembering.
FAQs: Online Merchandising
What is online merchandising, and why is it important?
Online merchandising is the process of strategically presenting products on your website to boost sales and engagement. It’s vital because it directly impacts the customer experience and your bottom line.
2. How does mobile-first design impact online merchandising?
A mobile-friendly site ensures a seamless experience for the majority of shoppers, who browse and buy via smartphones. This boosts conversions and reduces bounce rates.
3. How can I optimize my product pages for better visibility?
Use targeted keywords, detailed descriptions, high-quality images, and SEO-friendly meta tags to improve both search rankings and user engagement.
4. Why are customer reviews crucial for online sales?
Reviews provide social proof, build trust, and influence purchasing decisions. Highlighting reviews can significantly boost conversions.
5. What tools can help with AI-driven merchandising?
Platforms like AB Tasty offer advanced AI features to personalize recommendations and enhance the overall online shopping experience.
In today’s digital landscape, data-driven choices are essential for staying competitive, with experimentation as a critical driver of innovation. To support this, we recently hosted a webinar with experts from Google Cloud and AdSwerve, focusing on how Google Analytics 4 (GA4) and BigQuery can enhance experimentation strategies. GA4 is essential for all marketing teams, providing advanced analytics that, when combined with BigQuery’s data consolidation capabilities, enables more effective testing, personalization, and digital optimization.
Meet the panel
Taige Eoff, Cloud Data AI Lead at Google, has been at Google for twelve years, leading data and AI initiatives for cloud marketing. Taige focuses on developing scalable solutions that support partners like AB Tasty and AdSwerve in optimizing digital experiences.
Alex Smolin, Senior Optimization Manager at AdSwerve, brings extensive experience in media, data, and technology. As a certified Google Premium Partner, AdSwerve provides data-driven brands with solutions ranging from A/B testing to advanced analytics.
Mary Kate, our roundtable host and Head of Growth Marketing for North America at AB Tasty, leads efforts to help companies create impactful digital experiences through AB Tasty’s suite of experimentation, personalization, product recommendations, and site search tools.
AB Tasty’s integration with GA4 & BigQuery
Connecting AB Tasty with GA4 gives marketing teams insights into visitor behavior through advanced analytics on CPA, conversion rate, bounce rate, SEO, and traffic. This integration allows teams to use data from either tool to measure the impact of experiments pre- and post-rollout, generating data-backed hypotheses and fostering innovation.
Google BigQuery, a fully managed cloud data warehouse solution, offers rapid data storage and analysis at scale. With its serverless, cost-effective structure, BigQuery allows businesses to analyze large datasets efficiently, making it easier to make well-informed decisions.
With Google BigQuery, users can effortlessly execute complex analytical SQL queries and leverage built-in machine-learning capabilities.
Why is data from GA4 foundational to any CRO program?
In experimentation, data is the catalyst that drives actionable insights. Data flows in from multiple sources, and businesses generate detailed reports by working with partners to integrate tracking and tagging. But the question then becomes: what comes next? That’s where experimentation enters. Using data from tools like GA4, teams can transform hypotheses into tests, uncovering which changes impact user engagement or conversions most effectively.
GA4’s role extends further by providing a consistent framework for testing across platforms. When integrated with BigQuery, GA4 allows teams to cross-reference test outcomes with other data points, revealing not just what worked but why it worked. As Alex noted, “We gather good data, run good tests, and then verify results across disparate sources like BigQuery to see if what we tested had the expected downstream impact.”
Data accessibility and agility are also important. Trends evolve quickly, with viral content or market shifts requiring rapid adaptability. “Having partners like Google, with all data in one place, and a platform like AB Tasty, where experiments can be quickly set up, is essential for staying competitive” Alex emphasized.
“Having partners like Google, with all data in one place, and a platform like AB Tasty, where experiments can be quickly set up, is essential for staying competitive.”
Alex Smolin, Senior Manager Optimization at Adswerve
How BigQuery powers scalable experimentation
With the growing volume of data, businesses need a way to consolidate and interpret it to drive impactful decisions. BigQuery, as Taige explained, is a robust cloud warehouse that streamlines data for meaningful insights, making it a key player in the experimentation ecosystem.
“Think of BigQuery as a filing cabinet for your organized data,” Taige noted. By consolidating disparate data sources, teams can create a unified view that informs testing and optimization efforts. Through this approach, tools like GA4 and BigQuery enable accurate decision-making that scales with the business. With BigQuery as the backbone, AB Tasty and AdSwerve can build on this structure to optimize user experiences through precise experimentation.
Beyond just data storage, BigQuery integrates with various Google Cloud tools and supports a wide range of use cases—from standard reporting to advanced machine learning. For marketers, this means fewer technical bottlenecks and quicker access to the data needed to stay agile. As Taige explained, “You may not need deep technical skills to access BigQuery’s benefits; the right partnerships and data structure can give you a powerful, accessible foundation.”
Leveraging BigQuery’s built-in AI and machine learning models
BigQuery offers an array of AI models for specific use cases—from translation and personalization to customer segmentation. These models add value by automating processes, such as localization or customer behavior prediction, allowing for smoother, more targeted marketing.
BigQuery’s flexibility means that companies can incorporate custom or third-party models, ensuring compatibility with a variety of AI solutions. This adaptability helps organizations innovate and iterate on experimentation programs, expanding what they can achieve with data.
Simplifying data access for marketing efficiency
For marketing teams, BigQuery’s role as a centralized data hub allows seamless data consolidation from platforms like Google Ads, Salesforce, and GA4. This integration ensures that marketers aren’t slowed down by fragmented data sources, freeing them to focus on insights and execution. As Taige highlighted, “The peace of mind that BigQuery provides comes from knowing that all data is consolidated and accessible, allowing teams to be nimble and creative.”
With BigQuery, marketers can view performance metrics, analyze customer journeys, and refine strategies—all within a unified environment. This lets teams optimize campaigns in real time as new data insights emerge.
Next-Generation capabilities enabled by Google Cloud
Looking ahead, digital is paving the way for more advanced experimentation capabilities. The conversation shifts to AI and machine learning, bringing new opportunities for personalization and optimization. As Mary Kate pointed out, while AI-driven insights can revolutionize customer experiences, many brands are still years away from realizing the full potential of these tools.
True value will come not from adopting every new tool but from understanding the foundational data supporting AI and asking the right questions about how these technologies can serve customer needs. Taige added, “If you don’t have a data strategy, you won’t have an AI strategy.” While AI amplifies data power, it requires organized, high-quality data to work effectively.
By consolidating and centralizing data through BigQuery, teams gain real-time insights and can make informed decisions. This data foundation enables the current wave of omnichannel strategies and sets the stage for future AI applications. Businesses that adopt this holistic approach—consolidating data, optimizing channels, and preparing teams for AI—will unlock new experimentation opportunities and drive impactful customer experiences.
With GA4 and BigQuery, businesses have the tools to streamline data consolidation and power next-generation experimentation. Ready to join your data and experimentation? Discover how AB Tasty can help bring data-driven optimization to life.
In the vast and competitive world of e-commerce, simply having great products isn’t enough. Your online store is like a stage, and how you present your products can make or break the show. Enter e-merchandising—the art and science of guiding your customers through a shopping journey that’s as smooth as silk and as engaging as a blockbuster movie.
Whether you’re looking to captivate first-time visitors or inspire returning customers, the right merchandising strategies can transform your site from a digital storefront into an experience that keeps customers coming back for more.
Ready to dive in? Here are five e-commerce merchandising strategies, with real-world examples, to help you create a shopping experience that truly shines.
1. Branding and Homepage Messaging: Your Digital First Impression
“Don’t judge a book by its cover” is a great mantra to apply to our personal lives, however, this proverb doesn’t apply to the e-commerce world.
Your homepage is more than just a landing page—it’s the welcome mat to your online store, and it needs to speak volumes. From the moment someone lands on your site, they should know who you are, what you stand for, and how you can make their life better.
Why it matters:
First impressions count. A compelling homepage can turn curious browsers into engaged shoppers.
Returning visitors want to see something fresh and relevant, not the same old same old.
Pro tips:
Tell your story boldly: Your brand story should be front and center. Use a powerful tagline or headline that captures your essence.
Test, test, test: Use A/B testing to find out what messaging resonates most with your audience.
Show, don’t tell: Include social proof like testimonials and customer reviews to build instant credibility.
Real-world example: Homepage
JOTT, a French clothing retailer, noticed that their homepage was experiencing a higher bounce rate than expected. Realizing that first impressions were crucial, they ran a no-code A/B test using AB Tasty’s experience platform to see if rearranging the homepage layout would improve engagement.
By moving product categories to the above-the-fold section and pushing individual product displays lower down, they achieved a 17.5% increase in clicks on the product category blocks. This optimization reduced bounce rates and guided more users deeper into their shopping journey, enhancing overall engagement.
2. Group Merchandise into Collections: Curate Like a Pro
Ever walked into a store and felt overwhelmed by choice? The same thing can happen online. Grouping your products into well-thought-out collections can turn chaos into clarity, making it easier for customers to find what they’re looking for—and maybe even discover something they didn’t know they needed.
Why it matters:
Curated collections simplify the shopping experience, helping customers quickly find what they’re after.
They also encourage customers to explore more, potentially increasing their basket size.
Pro tips:
Get creative with collections: Don’t just stick to the basics. Think outside the box—consider seasonal themes, trending items, or even influencer picks.
Use data wisely: Analyze purchase patterns to create collections that reflect what customers are actually buying.
Spotlight special collections: Use banners or pop-ups to draw attention to limited-time offers or new arrivals.
Real-world example: Collections
Balibaris, a leading French men’s fashion brand, revamped its e-commerce strategy by intelligently reorganizing its product displays to better match customer preferences and behavior. By dynamically sorting products and emphasizing best-sellers and seasonal items, Balibaris saw a significant increase in conversion rates compared to the previous year, even without special promotions. This strategic move not only enhanced the online shopping experience but also boosted overall sales while freeing up the digital team to focus on more impactful projects.
3. Showcase Products with Visual Merchandising: Let Your Images Do the Talking
In the world of e-commerce, a picture is worth a thousand clicks. Visual merchandising isn’t just about slapping up a few product photos; it’s about creating an emotional connection that makes customers want to reach through the screen and grab that item. High-quality images, videos, and even virtual try-ons can bring your products to life and help customers see how they’ll fit into their lives.
Why it matters:
Stunning visuals can make or break a sale. They help customers imagine the product in their own lives.
Lifestyle images and videos build an emotional connection, making customers more likely to hit “Add to Cart.”
Pro tips:
Go high-def: Invest in top-notch photography that shows your products from every angle.
Tell a story: Use lifestyle images or videos to show how your products can be used in real life.
Mix it up: Consider adding videos or 360-degree views to give customers a more immersive experience.
Real-world example: Visual Merchandising
Galeries Lafayette, one of France’s most iconic department stores, sought to enhance the online shopping experience by testing the impact of different product image styles. They compared standard packshot images to premium images featuring models wearing the products.
The results were striking: the premium images not only increased clicks by 49% but also boosted the average order value (AOV) by €5.76, adding a potential €114,000 in profit. This shift towards higher-quality visuals resonated with customers, leading Galeries Lafayette to prioritize premium images across their site, significantly improving user engagement and sales.
4. Implement Effective Site Search: Help Shoppers Find Their Perfect Match
When a customer knows what they want, nothing should stand in their way—especially not a clunky search function. A well-oiled site search is like a personal shopper, helping customers find exactly what they’re looking for, faster.
Why it matters:
Customers who use search are often more ready to buy, so it’s crucial that they find what they’re looking for quickly and easily.
An effective search can turn casual browsers into buyers by surfacing relevant products.
Pro tips:
Optimize filters & facets: Let customers narrow down their search results with relevant filters like size, color, and price.
Smart error detection: Make sure your search can handle typos and synonyms—because we all make mistakes.
Autocomplete magic: Help customers out by suggesting popular search terms as they type.
Never show a dead end: Avoid zero-results pages by offering suggestions or related products instead.
Real-world example: Site Search
VAN GRAAF, an international fashion retailer, recognized the need to elevate their online search functionality to meet the high standards of their physical stores. By integrating AB Tasty, VAN GRAAF significantly improved the customer journey on their e-commerce site. The results were impressive: online orders from search increased by 30%, conversion rates rose by 16%, and the average order value (AOV) saw a 5% boost. Additionally, the share of sales from search grew by 4.3%. This transformation not only enhanced the shopping experience but also reduced the time the team spent managing search functionalities, allowing them to focus on other critical optimizations.
5. Cross-Sell and Up-Sell Products in Your Shopping Cart: The Power of Suggestion
You’ve done the hard work of getting a product into a customer’s cart—now’s your chance to suggest a few more. Cross-selling and up-selling are subtle yet powerful ways to increase the value of each sale by offering customers items that complement what they’ve already chosen.
Why it matters:
Personalized recommendations can boost your average order value and make customers feel like you really “get” them.
It’s a win-win—customers discover more great products, and you see a bump in sales.
Pro tips:
Personalize everything: Use AI to suggest products based on what’s already in the cart or what similar customers have bought.
Bundle it up: Show products that are frequently bought together as a bundle to encourage more sales.
Test placement: Experiment with where you place these suggestions—product pages, the shopping cart, or even during checkout.
Real-world example: Cross-sell and Up-sell
Figaret, a high-end French shirtmaker, significantly boosted its online sales by integrating personalized product recommendations. By strategically placing recommendation blocks on product pages and in the shopping cart, Figaret achieved remarkable results: 6% of visitors used these recommendations, contributing to 10% of the site’s total revenue. Additionally, these users spent on average 1.8 times more than those who didn’t engage with the recommendations. This approach not only enhanced customer engagement but also drove substantial revenue growth.
Measuring Success in E-merchandising: Are You Hitting the Mark?
You’ve put in the work, but how do you know if your e-merchandising strategies are actually working? Measuring success isn’t just about looking at sales numbers; it’s about understanding how each element of your strategy contributes to the bigger picture.
Key Metrics to Watch:
Website traffic: Keep an eye on where your visitors are coming from and what they’re doing on your site.
Conversion rate: This is the percentage of visitors who actually make a purchase—one of your most important metrics.
Sales data: Analyze overall sales, average order value, and revenue from specific merchandising strategies.
Average basket size: Track how many items customers are purchasing per transaction to gauge the effectiveness of your cross-selling and up-selling efforts.
Pro tips:
Set benchmarks: Compare your metrics against industry standards to see where you stand.
Use analytics tools: Platforms like Google Analytics or Matomo can give you insights into how visitors interact with your site.
Keep iterating: Don’t settle for good—strive for better. Regularly review your data and tweak your strategies to keep improving.
Conclusion: Trial and Better—The Heart of E-Merchandising Strategies
E-commerce merchandising isn’t a “set it and forget it” task—it’s a continuous journey of trial, error, and improvement. The best strategies evolve over time as you learn more about your customers and the market. So don’t be afraid to experiment, take risks, and, most importantly, keep pushing for better. Every tweak, test, and change you make is a step towards creating an online store that not only meets but exceeds customer expectations.
Ready to take your e-commerce merchandising to the next level? Download our comprehensive guide on e-merchandising best practices or schedule a free demo with AB Tasty today. Your journey to better starts now.
Hello! I’m Léo, Product Manager at AB Tasty. I’m in charge of AB Tasty’s JavaScript tag that is currently running on thousands of websites around the world. As you can guess, my roadmap is full of topics around data collection, privacy, and… performance.
It’s why I’m so excited to give an update on our performance, and how we’ve worked hard to be the best. We’re now providing loading times up to 4 faster than other solutions on the market.
In a world where every second counts, slow-loading pages are the fast track to lost revenue. At AB Tasty, we know that speed isn’t just about convenience; it’s about delivering the smooth, reliable experience that today’s consumers expect.
That’s why we’re thrilled to be recognized by ThirdPartyWeb.today for having one of the lowest impacts on web performance among top experimentation and personalization platforms. This acknowledgment affirms our commitment to speed, scalability, and brand satisfaction.
But what does this actually mean for brands using AB Tasty?
Let’s dive into how prioritizing performance can improve your SERP rankings, customer experience (CX), and overall campaign effectiveness.
Why Web Performance Impacts Your Bottom Line
Imagine clicking on a page that seems to take forever to load. Chances are, you’d be out of there faster than you could say “conversion rate.” And you wouldn’t be alone: slow page load times can lead to increased bounce rates, missed opportunities, and, ultimately, frustrated visitors.
Good performance translates into smoother customer journeys, which leads to better engagement and, most importantly, higher conversion rates.
ThirdPartyWeb.today: The Performance Benchmark
ThirdPartyWeb.today is an independent performance data visualization initiative that analyzes the impact of various platforms on page speed. It ranks tools according to their performance cost, drawing data from nearly 4 million websites to create an unbiased performance benchmark. For brands aiming to deliver a seamless experience without sacrificing speed, ThirdPartyWeb.today provides a reliable guide for evaluating the performance impact of their tools.
Being recognized as one of the most performance-friendly Experience Optimization platforms by ThirdPartyWeb.today means our clients know they’re partnering with a technology designed with speed in mind.
What Makes AB Tasty the Fastest?
Our tech teams have worked tirelessly to make AB Tasty not only an intuitive experimentation and personalization platform, but one that prioritizes high performance. Here’s a quick look at the innovations that make AB Tasty so fast and reliable:
Modular Architecture with Innovative Dynamic Importing and Smart Caching Technology Our platform is built with a modular architecture, where only essential code is loaded for each campaign. This keeps file sizes lean, reducing load time and resource consumption.Our proprietary smart caching technology ensures that visitors only need to load the data they haven’t accessed before. By minimizing redundant data calls, we significantly reduce load times across all devices. We also provide worldwide API endpoints and have a global CDN presence with multiple Edge locations and regional Edge caches for fast response times no matter where you and your site visitors are.
Performance Center AB Tasty’s dedicated Performance Center allows you to monitor your campaign performance in real-time. This tool gives you full transparency into what’s happening behind the scenes, so you can make adjustments as needed to keep things running smoothly. It provides recommendations to help you monitor and improve tag weight. Learn all about it here.
Single-Page Application (SPA) Compatibility AB Tasty’s platform is SPA-compatible without requiring custom code, making it easier for developers to integrate AB Tasty into their tech stack. AB Tasty is running on a native Vanilla TypeScript framework. Our tag is compatible with modern JS frameworks, including React, Angular, Vue, Meteor or Ember. The tag is unique for all environments and doesn’t require any additional implementation. Many of our customers have left their previous provider due to challenges with SPA pages. In these tools, changes are often not “sticky” or flicker when there is a dynamic content load. SPA tests in these environments often require custom code for each test, which makes testing more complicated and less user-friendly.
Flicker-Free Experiences AB Tasty’s tag uses a blended approach of both synchronous and asynchronous scripts to eliminate flicker, while maintaining optimised performance. Other solutions will prescribe “anti-flicker” snippets to eliminate flicker, which is not a recommended practice. It means hiding the body’s content while the tag loads, which ultimately delays the rendering of the site. This causes a worse user experience, increases your Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) metric, and may ultimately lead to increased bounce rates and decreased conversions. In contrast, AB Tasty’s synchronous tag uses 3kb of render-blocking to allow the tag to execute quickly before the page loads, as opposed to blocking the visibility of the page for the full package size.
And that translates to…
First loading time < 100ms Caching loading time < 10ms Execution time < 500 milliseconds Minimal Lighthouse Core Web Vitals impact
Cheers to Our Product and Tech Teams
This wouldn’t be possible without the dedication of our Product and Tech teams (thanks team!). We’ve dared to innovate, pushing the limits of what’s possible with web performance in the experimentation and personalization space.
The Bottom Line
When brands choose AB Tasty, they’re choosing a platform that prioritizes both innovation and performance. By minimizing impact on web performance, we’re helping brands deliver faster, better experiences that delight customers and drive results.
Curious to learn more about? Contact us today to discover what else sets us apart.
For e-commerce success, added revenue from existing customers can be more efficient than constantly pursuing new ones. Returning buyers are a vital piece of this strategy. We recently sat down with industry experts to discuss how optimizing customer experiences can drive upselling and cross-selling opportunities. They shared practical approaches for boosting average order value (AOV) while nurturing customer loyalty and retention.
Our speakers, each experts in testing, optimization, and conversion rate, provided insights into how brands can increase revenue through personalized, thoughtful customer engagement.
Meet the experts
Nicole Story: Co-Founder & Director at Hookflash Analytics, leading experimentation in testing, optimization, and personalization.
Gerred Blyth: Chief Product Officer at Giftory, with a background in interaction design and e-commerce.
In this article, we’ll explore actionable strategies from the webinar to help you personalize to existing customers and drive growth through upselling and cross-selling—not just new customer acquisition.
1. Optimizing the cart for upsells
Upselling at the cart and checkout stages can significantly increase AOV, but it requires a carefully planned approach. As Colette Carlson explains: “Before implementing anything, it’s crucial to understand how you’re going to measure success and ensure that your conversion rate is solid. When it comes to the cart and checkout process, if those aren’t optimized, adding upsell and cross-sell strategies will only introduce more noise.” Shoppers who have reached the cart are already primed to convert, so it’s important not to disrupt their momentum with irrelevant or poorly timed offers.
“Before implementing anything, it’s crucial to understand how you’re going to measure success and ensure that your conversion rate is solid. When it comes to the cart and checkout process, if those aren’t optimized, adding upsell and cross-sell strategies will only introduce more noise.”
Collette Carlson, Director of Optimization at Astound Digital
Coordination with internal teams is also important when designing upsell strategies. For instance, if an upsell is introduced at checkout, the process should be seamless – will the original product be automatically removed from the cart if the customer selects an upgrade, or will they need to make the changes manually? Likewise, if you’re offering a bundle or cross-sell, is your system prepared to handle it without disrupting the customer experience?
Effective upsell offers are relevant to the customer’s purchase. Suggesting complementary items or upgrades can boost AOV, as 80%of consumers are more likely to complete their purchase with brands offering personalized experiences. From upsell testing experience at Giftory, Jared advises against pushing unrelated or overly expensive items, which can confuse or deter customers altogether.
Using product recommendation algorithms can streamline upselling. Automating this process ensures that customers receive relevant suggestions without the need for manual curation, creating a smoother experience for your team and the customer. AB Tasty’s product recommendation engine allows upsells based on several criteria, including most recent products, associated products, similar or more expensive items, complementary items, and top promotions.
2. Strategic product recommendations for cross-selling
To effectively cross-sell, brands must identify the right moment in the customer journey. If you offer relevant products at key points without disrupting the experience, similar to upselling. But first, establishing cross-selling metrics can lead to stronger effectiveness.
The primary metrics will vary depending on what you’re testing—whether it’s an algorithm change, a new carousel design, or a different recommendation format. There are some essential KPIs to consider:
Engagement: Track how often customers interact with cross-sell offers, such as clicks or add-to-basket rates.
Conversion rate: Measure how many customers who engage with offers complete their purchases.
Average order value (AOV): Gauge how effectively cross-sell strategies are increasing the total order value.
Items per order: Monitor if cross-sell efforts lead to additional products being added to the cart.
Overall revenue: This ultimate metric reflects the total impact of your cross-sell strategy.
Once these metrics are in place, refine your strategy by determining where cross-sell offers should appear. For example, adding a cross-sell option in the mini cart or as a pop-up at checkout can add complexity, so testing can help avoid disrupting the customer experience.
Testing cross-sell algorithms in action
Nicole Story shared a valuable example of testing product recommendation carousels. Inspired by Amazon’s success, many brands rushed to implement carousels on their websites, but forgot the importance of context. Placing multiple carousels on the homepage often leads to irrelevant suggestions and a poor experience.
Nicole’s team tested various algorithms by tailoring product recommendations to the customer’s journey. On product detail pages (PDPs), carousels that showed “related product suggestions” outperformed those with generic recommendations. The tests revealed that adjusting algorithms based on context and customer behavior was far more effective than placing standard carousels throughout the site.
As Nicole explains: “Simply introducing product recommendations and checking that box off the roadmap isn’t going to deliver real value. The key is continuous optimization and discovering what works across the entire customer journey—that’s where the real value lies.”
“Simply introducing product recommendations and checking that box off the roadmap isn’t going to deliver real value. The key is continuous optimization and discovering what works across the entire customer journey—that’s where the real value lies.”
Nicole Storey, Co-Founder & Director at Hookflash Analytics
Relevance is everything
Cross-sell strategies must be highly relevant to what the customer is already doing. As Gerred Blyth from Giftory mentioned, “We have high expectations as customers and irrelevant offers can break that trust.” Customers expect brands to know their preferences and behaviors, so it’s important that recommendations feel personalized and timely.
3. Experimentation and testing for long-term loyalty and CLV
Continuous experimentation is critical for building long-term customer loyalty and increasing customer lifetime value (CLV). Instead of relying on a single strategy, brands should constantly test and improve their approach. Colette points out that starting by analyzing existing order data can uncover natural cross-sell patterns. This provides valuable insights into which products are frequently purchased together.
For first-time visitors, bombarding them with upsell offers might backfire. Instead, let them become familiar with your brand and key products before introducing additional offers. In contrast, repeat customers may be more open to cross-sells that align with their previous purchases.
Upselling with product recommendations
According to our data a customized UX can boost revenue and increase basket size by up to 10%. Product recommendations can be seen as a form of personalization and, as our panel pointed out in the webinar, experimenting with different formats—such as carousels, quizzes, or other interactive tools—can help identify what resonates with your audience and drives engagement.
We use AI to analyze visitors’ site interactions and purchase behavior, delivering targeted recommendations, each with a specific goal. This means you can better understand which products to offer, to whom and when during the customer journey:
Product Page: Guide users to explore more products or categories.
Last Seen Products: Help users quickly resume their browsing.
Add to Cart: Encourage users to add complementary items to their basket.
Cart Page: Suggest additional items to increase order value.
Homepage: Showcase personalized content and help users navigate the site.
Our panel also discussed how different types of algorithms are necessary depending on your vertical. You can divide your algorithms into three distinct types and choose how you prioritize:
Convert: These recommendations would offer top sellers, top trending products, top converting products, top reviewed products etc.
Upsell: This could suggest most recent products viewed, associated products, similar products, compatible products etc.
Personalize: This could suggest last visited products, last bought products, user affinity or similar or associated to cart products
If you work for a beauty site, customers will replenish their favorite products, whereas home and decor might recommend accessories or similar products. While personalization drives relevance, maintaining control over the recommendation process means you can speak directly to your customer’s needs.
Giftory: fostering loyalty with timely engagement
Giftory is beginning to focus on lifetime customer value. Their approach involves using cross-sell and upsell strategies similar to a CRM initiative, introducing customers to a broader range of products both during and after their purchase. They gather data on why customers buy gifts, such as birthdays or anniversaries, and use that information to send timely product recommendations in the future.
By reaching out to customers at the right moment, such as 11 months after an anniversary purchase, Giftory can re-engage them with relevant offers without overwhelming them with constant promotions. This creates a personalized experience that encourages long-term loyalty and repeat business.
4. Subscription models for upsell and retention
Offering subscription products to upsell can improve both immediate revenue and CLV. The challenge is to find the right balance: How can you encourage customers to subscribe without overwhelming them, while also ensuring the offer feels relevant and valuable over time?
Before launching a subscription model, look at your data to understand customer behavior. Consider the difference between a one-time purchaser and a subscriber. While offering a small discount for subscribing may lower the initial AOV, the long-term benefits of recurring revenue from a loyal subscriber can make up for it.
Testing and data-driven strategy
Launching a subscription model requires more than just adding an upsell feature—it involves a data-informed approach. Starting small with a minimum viable product (MVP) allows you to test how customers respond and fine-tune the offering. Metrics like renewal rates, engagement, and overall CLV will help guide decisions about whether to scale the program.
As Gerred advises: “Walk before you run. Start with the first test—an MVP. It doesn’t have to be the final version you’ll roll out, but that initial test will help you understand the value and prove the benefits. From there, you can evolve and continuously improve. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when you hear about advanced strategies and algorithms, but you don’t need to get there all at once.”
“Walk before you run. Start with the first test—an MVP. It doesn’t have to be the final version you’ll roll out, but that initial test will help you understand the value and prove the benefits. From there, you can evolve and continuously improve. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when you hear about advanced strategies and algorithms, but you don’t need to get there all at once.”
Gerred Blyth, Chief Product Officer at Giftory
Offering personalized options, such as different subscription tiers or flexible renewal cadences (monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly), can make the experience more appealing to a wider range of customers. Testing, refining, and adapting based on customer feedback will ensure that the model evolves in a way that meets both business goals and customer expectations.
Wrapping up
Just as you approach CRO with care and precision, cross-selling and upselling require a high level of attention.
Upselling and cross-selling don’t have to be complex when you have the right tools and the right strategy. If you want the expert’s opinion – watch the webinar below:
In today’s mobile-first world, where smartphones dominate more than half of global web traffic, optimizing for mobile has never been more crucial. Mobile usage surpassed desktop in the US in 2022 and in the UK in 2023, signaling a clear shift in consumer behavior. Brands are now urged to design with mobile in mind first, adapting for desktop as needed, rather than the reverse. This shift may seem daunting for teams, but it’s a necessary evolution to meet the expectations of today’s users.
Whether your customers are researching products or making purchases, their mobile experience can make or break their journey with your brand. While it’s clear that more shopping is done on mobile devices than on desktop, the real question remains: how significant is mobile shopping overall? Today’s mobile-savvy consumer isn’t just using their device for convenience, but to blend their in-store and online shopping into one seamless experience. In fact, nearly 80% of shoppers globally use their smartphones to browse a retailer’s website while shopping in-store, and 74% use the store’s app. However, only 33% of consumers prefer making purchases on their phones, with 49% reporting a smoother experience on desktop or tablet. This highlights just how important it is for brands to enhance their mobile offerings for a seamless experience across all devices.
To delve into the complexities of mobile optimization Mary Kate, AB Tasty’s Head of Growth Marketing for North America, teamed up with Allie Tkachenko, a UI/UX Strategist at WPromote, for a webinar on mastering mobile. AB Tasty’s platform enables brands to deliver personalized customer experiences, while Wpromote helps design and optimize engaging web experiences that convert. They emphasize a key message: mobile optimization isn’t just about resizing for a smaller screen – it’s about creating an intuitive, seamless journey that aligns with today’s mobile-first consumer’s behaviors and expectations.
It’s critical that mobile websites excel in areas like speed, navigation, and user-friendliness. Let’s dig into three actionable strategies from the webinar to help your brand stay ahead and deliver an improved mobile experience for your customers.
1. Maximizing limited space
One of the biggest challenges in mobile design is maximizing limited screen space without overwhelming users. The key is to keep crucial content above the fold—on mobile, this means placing essential elements like navigation bars, CTAs, and product highlights in a prominent position, visible without scrolling. This is particularly important on search landing pages, the homepage, and other high-traffic areas. A well-organized and streamlined navigation system that helps users quickly find what they need can lead to higher engagement and reduced bounce rates.
While desktops offer ample space to break down navigation into detailed categories, mobile design requires a more simplified structure due to space constraints. Consider grouping categories under broader buckets like “Top Categories” or similar, allowing users to easily explore the site without feeling overwhelmed by too many options. Another key strategy is leveraging responsible design, such as implementing sticky navigation bars or menus that stay visible as users scroll. This approach, widely adopted across industries, ensures easy access to important links and minimizes the effort required to navigate the site.
AB Tasty in action
The UX team at Clarins wanted to make their product more visible on their category pages. In the original layout, filtering and sorting functions were stacked, removing space from the second row of products appearing. After testing a column layout for the filtering and sorting menus, the team saw a significant improvement—bounce rates decreased, and clicks to products increased by 34%.
The “Thumb Zone” refers to the area of the screen that is easiest for users to reach with their thumbs, typically the lower portion of the screen. Since most users interact with their phones one-handed, placing critical CTAs, buttons, and interactive elements within this zone is important for accessibility and ease of use.
Consider this: a navigation bar that starts at the top of the page but shifts responsively to the bottom as the user scrolls. This keeps it in an expected spot initially, avoiding any disruption to the user’s flow, and then moves it to a more reachable area as they continue browsing.
Another thing to keep in mind is sizing. Whether it’s buttons, images, form fields, or menu links, the size of these elements plays a huge role in usability. You can’t just shrink them to save space—you have to ensure they’re “tappable” so users can easily interact. While reachability is key, think about what doesn’t need to be within reach, like informational banners or logos. You can place those outside the thumb zone, saving prime space for interactive elements.
Brands that prioritize the thumb zone in their mobile designs see improved user engagement and lower frustration levels. This small shift can make a significant difference in usability and customer satisfaction.
AB Tasty in action
The team at Club Med, a leading travel and hospitality brand, observed that their original mobile site displayed a navigation bar at the top of the page, which would disappear as users scrolled down. To increase user engagement with different category offerings, they created a variation of the mobile homepage with a sticky navigation bar which remained at the bottom of the screen while scrolling.
The results of the A/B test revealed a 12% increase in click rates, a 12% increase in access to the transaction funnel, and a 2% decrease in the bounce rate for users showing the variation with the sticky navigation bar. This approach effectively makes information more physically accessible.
Optimizing the thumb zone
Bottom Navigation
Sizing
Reachability
3. Improving processes
Lengthy forms and cumbersome checkout processes are major obstacles to conversion in mobile digital experiences. Mobile users expect a seamless, fast journey, and frustration with complex forms often leads to abandoned carts. Streamlining these processes—especially form fills and checkouts—can reduce friction and improve conversions. We’ve all experienced the annoyance of having to redo a form, fearing progress might be lost, which can lead to users abandoning the process entirely. Key areas for optimization include simplifying checkout by offering guest checkout options and exploring one-click payment methods.
Search and product discovery also present unique challenges on mobile devices due to limited screen space. With condensed menus and site navigation, users often rely heavily on the search function. Optimizing your search results pages to help users quickly find specific products can drastically improve the user experience. The space constraints of mobile mean that every element, including search results, should guide users efficiently to what they’re looking for.
Lastly, page load speed plays a vital role in retaining users. A slow-loading site can deter users, leading them to abandon your site altogether. Reducing load times is crucial for keeping users engaged. Understanding your audience and continuously optimizing these processes will help ensure your site meets their needs and encourages conversions.
AB Tasty in action
Travel insurance company, DirectAsia, needed users to fill out a form to generate an insurance quote. The team observed that customers were not completing the forms as smoothly as expected. To address this, they implemented a variation in the test where bolded check marks appeared to validate each completed field. This change created a sense of progress for users as they navigated the form and alleviated any uncertainty about needing to go back to correct errors.
As a result of this test, DirectAsia achieved a 1.97% increase in quote generations and a 7.78% increase in transaction rates. By reassuring users throughout the form-filling process, DirectAsia successfully guided more customers through their quote generation form.
Optimizing mobile processes
Checkout
Search and discovery
Speed & image loading
Wrapping up
Mobile optimization is about much more than making your website look good on a smaller screen; it’s about crafting a seamless, user-friendly experience that enhances the customer journey. Whether you’re focusing on improving site speed, optimizing design for better accessibility, or streamlining complex processes, the suggestions above provide a solid foundation for mastering mobile optimization. By understanding the nuances of mobile behavior and catering to the needs of your users, your brand can create a frictionless experience that drives conversions and fosters customer loyalty.
Stay ahead in the mobile-first era by ensuring your website design and processes align with the expectations of today’s consumers. AB Tasty can help achieve this goal by providing innovative tools and data-driven testing to enhance your mobile strategy. As mobile usage continues to grow, so does the importance of providing a smooth, engaging, and conversion-focused experience.
If you want to get all the details. – watch the webinar below.
As we approach the most lucrative time of the year for e-commerce—Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the broader holiday season—businesses are laser-focused on maximizing their revenue potential. The stakes are high and the competition is fierce, but with the right strategies you can set your brand apart and significantly boost your bottom line. In this blog, we’ll dive into some key tactics for winning big during the holiday season which can all be found in our “30 Tests for Black Friday” e-book.
Understanding the E-Commerce Landscape During the Holidays
The holiday season, particularly around Black Friday and Cyber Monday, represents a critical period for e-commerce businesses. Last year alone, consumers spent over $9 billion on Black Friday. With more and more customers shopping online, the opportunity for e-commerce businesses to capture market share is immense.
However, this opportunity comes with challenges. The influx of traffic can strain your website, and the sheer number of competitors vying for attention can make it difficult to stand out. That’s where a well-designed strategy comes into play.
Prioritize Website Performance and Reliability
One of the first steps to ensure a successful holiday season is to prepare your website for the surge in traffic. Testing your website load is crucial. Even a one-second delay in page load time can lead to a 6% reduction in conversions.
Start by simulating high traffic volumes to identify potential bottlenecks. Optimize your servers, compress images, and streamline your code to ensure your website can handle the holiday rush. Remember, a smooth user experience is non-negotiable.
Craft Compelling and Urgent CTAs
The holiday season is all about urgency. Limited-time offers, countdowns, and exclusive deals create a sense of urgency that drives conversions. We can’t emphasize enough the importance of A/B testing your calls-to-action (CTAs) to find the most effective wording, design, and placement.
Experiment with phrases like “Limited Time Offer,” “Exclusive Black Friday Deal,” or “Shop Now Before It’s Gone.” The goal is to create a sense of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) that compels customers to take immediate action. A/B testing here is an ideal way to help you find the messaging that works best for your audience.
Personalization is Key
Consumers expect a personalized shopping experience, especially during the holidays. Tailoring your content and offers to individual users can significantly increase engagement and conversions. Use previous interactions, browsing behavior, and purchase history data to deliver personalized recommendations and offers.
For example, if a customer frequently purchases tech gadgets, highlight your latest electronics deals in your email campaigns and on-site recommendations. We strongly advocate using dynamic content that changes based on user behavior, ensuring that each visitor sees the most relevant offers.
Optimize Your Mobile Experience
With more than half of all e-commerce transactions now happening on mobile devices, optimizing your mobile experience is no longer optional—it’s essential. A seamless mobile experience can differentiate between a sale and an abandoned cart.
Ensure your website is responsive, with easy navigation, fast load times, and simplified checkout processes. Test your mobile site thoroughly, focusing on the user experience from landing to checkout. Our mobile-first world demands a smooth mobile experience, so it’s crucial to run mobile-specific A/B tests to identify and fix any friction points.
Leverage Social Proof
Social proof is a powerful tool in the e-commerce arsenal, particularly during the holiday season. Customer reviews, ratings, and user-generated content can significantly influence purchasing decisions.
Consider showcasing recent customer reviews on your product pages or adding a “Trending Now” section highlighting popular items. Social proof can increase trust and encourage hesitant shoppers to make a purchase.
Experiment with Pricing Strategies
Pricing plays a crucial role in holiday season sales. Dynamic pricing, flash sales, and bundling products are just a few strategies that can entice customers to buy more. Running A/B tests on pricing strategies can help you determine what resonates most with your audience.
For instance, you might test a “Buy One, Get One Free” offer against a “25% Off” deal to see which drives more conversions. The key is to stay flexible and willing to experiment until you find the ideal message for your audience.
Use Email Marketing to Drive Conversions
Email marketing remains one of the most effective channels for driving holiday sales. A well-crafted email campaign can keep your brand top-of-mind and encourage repeat purchases. Segment your email list to target different customer groups with personalized offers.
You can test subject lines, send times, email content, and more to optimize open rates and conversions. Consider sending reminder emails for abandoned carts and exclusive early access deals to your most loyal customers.
Streamline Your Checkout Process
Cart abandonment is a major challenge during the holiday season, with many shoppers dropping off at the checkout stage. To combat this, ensure your checkout process is as smooth and simple as possible.
Minimize the number of steps required to complete a purchase, offer multiple payment options, and provide clear shipping information. Test options like a one-click checkout option to see if it reduces cart abandonment rates.
Invest in Retargeting Campaigns
Retargeting is a powerful way to re-engage visitors who have shown interest in your products but haven’t yet made a purchase. During the holiday season, retargeting can help you recover lost sales and boost your conversion rates.
Set up retargeting campaigns that display personalized ads to users who have visited your site or abandoned their carts. Timing is so important when it comes to retargeting—start your campaigns early and increase frequency as the holidays approach.
Offer Free Shipping and Easy Returns
Shipping costs and return policies can make or break a sale, especially during the holidays. Offering free shipping can be a strong incentive for customers to complete their purchases. Likewise, a hassle-free return policy can reduce the perceived risk of buying online.
We suggest promoting these benefits prominently on your website and in your marketing materials. Consider running tests to see how different shipping and return options impact conversion rates. Another great option is to test using a progress bar to encourage larger orders in exchange for free shipping.
Plan for Post-Holiday Retention
While the holiday season is a prime time for acquisition, it’s also an opportunity to focus on retention. Customers acquired during this period can become repeat buyers if nurtured correctly.
Post-holiday, consider running loyalty programs, offering exclusive discounts for future purchases, and sending personalized thank-you emails. Maintaining engagement with your customers beyond the holiday season will build long-term loyalty.
Conclusion: Prepare, Test, and Optimize
The e-commerce holiday season is a marathon, not a sprint. To truly win big, it’s crucial to prepare in advance, test rigorously, and optimize continuously. By implementing the strategies outlined in this blog—and leveraging the proven tests from AB Tasty’s “30 Tests for Black Friday“—you can position your business for success during the most critical time of the year.
Remember, the key to a successful holiday season lies in your ability to adapt and respond to the ever-changing needs of your customers. Stay agile, keep testing, and make data-driven decisions to maximize your holiday sales.
When it comes to optimizing your website for better performance, experimentation is key to uncovering the areas that will make the biggest impact. Every page and interaction is an opportunity to boost conversions, streamline the user experience, and reduce friction. But with so many possibilities, where do you start testing? What are the key hotspots on your website that can deliver quick wins and meaningful improvements?
Finding the right areas to test can be tricky, but knowing where to focus is important for getting results quickly. That’s why we’ve identified five key questions to help guide your experimentation efforts:
Is the content relevant to “me” (the visitor)?
Is the next action clear?
What may be distracting?
What could cause anxiety?
What is creating urgency?
By addressing these questions, you can start identifying the areas on your website—what we call Experimentation Hotspots—that offer the most potential for improvement. In this guide, we’ll explore these important areas, from the homepage to the checkout funnel, that are ideal for testing. Whether you’re optimizing for mobile, app, or desktop, these tips will help you kickstart your experimentation journey and start making impactful changes.
1. Homepage
The homepage is where you show people who you are and what your brand means. It serves as the gateway to various sections, from product categories to special offers, and is where users often return mid-session. Your homepage often sets the tone for the rest of the user’s journey, making optimization crucial.
One effective strategy is to experiment with the placement and labels of your call-to-action (CTA) buttons. Ensuring that users can quickly locate key actions, such as signing up or starting their shopping journey, can make a significant difference in engagement. Testing different CTA labels, such as “Explore Now” versus “Shop Now,” helps determine which drives the most conversions.
Additionally, it’s essential to test the layout and how content is presented. Category links, sales promotions, and other critical pieces of content should be placed in a way that draws attention without overwhelming users. Small adjustments—like changing the placement of sales banners or highlighting popular categories—can enhance the overall user experience and increase interaction with your content.
Areas to optimize
Header
Main Navigation
Categories
Content Pushes
Layout
AB Tasty customer success in action
The beauty brand, Lush, shifted its homepage messaging by testing two variations—one focused on self-care and another on gifting care packages. The version centered on gifting led to a 250% increase in engagement, showing how even minor tweaks in messaging can significantly improve user interactions.
2. Product listing page (PLP)
The product listing page (PLP) is where users begin narrowing down their choices. This page is most effective when visitors can scan and compare products easily, helping them make decisions more efficiently. While it might seem like there’s limited space to display information, there’s a lot of room for optimization that can smooth the path to purchase.
Testing how high-quality images, clear pricing, and CTAs like “Add to Cart” are displayed can improve product visibility. Adding reviews or badges like “Best Seller” can boost credibility and urgency. Experiment with hover effects to show additional details when users hover over a product.
Experiment with the placement and functionality of filters to make product discovery easier. Test whether a sidebar, dropdown, or dynamic filtering works best for your users. Simple adjustments to category labels or sorting options, like by price or ratings, can enhance the shopping experience.
Areas to optimize
Product Card Information (e.g., imagery, price, CTA)
Reviews and Badges
Hover States
Filters and Sorting Options
Headers/Banners
AB Tasty customer success in action
Clarins UK reintroduced the wishlist functionality to their PLP and PDP. This allowed users to save their favorite products for later, which led to a 1.54% increase in basket page views. It also increased the number of transactions by 1.83%, showing the value of small user experience enhancements.
It’s also important to consider the differences between mobile and desktop experiences when testing. A solution that works well on desktop might not perform the same on mobile due to varying user behaviors. Despite a long-standing focus on mobile optimization, it’s still common to overlook these differences.
3. Product display page (PDP)
The product description page (PDP) is the centerpiece of any e-commerce experience and at the center of a customer journey. Many retailers are now asking, “How can we make the PDP feel more like a landing page?” With more customers arriving directly on PDPs from social media, rather than the homepage, the PDP often serves as the first touchpoint. This makes it even more crucial, as it’s where customers ultimately decide whether or not to make a purchase. Reducing friction and providing clear, relevant information are essential to driving conversions at this stage.
Testing how high-quality images, clear pricing, and CTAs like “Add to Cart” are displayed can improve product visibility. Adding reviews or badges like “Best Seller” can boost credibility and urgency. Experiment with hover effects to show additional details when users hover over a product.
Experiment with the placement and functionality of filters to make product discovery easier. Test whether a sidebar, dropdown, or dynamic filtering works best for your users. Simple adjustments to category labels or sorting options, like by price or ratings, can enhance the shopping experience.
Key areas to experiment with
Product Imagery and Descriptions: Ensure your images and descriptions are high-quality, answering common questions about the product (e.g., size, fit, material).
Call-to-Action Buttons: Test the wording, design, and placement of your CTAs to find what drives the most conversions.
Additional areas to optimize
Page Layout (order of information)
Product Images and Videos
Shipping & Return Messaging
Cross-Sell Items
Call to Actions
Reviews and User-Generated Content
Experience for New Visitors
Mobile vs Desktop Experience
Add-to-Cart Behavior & Mini Cart
AB Tasty customer success in action
French beauty product L’Occitane implemented a social proof widget on its PDP, showing how many people had recently viewed a product. The first variation displayed “X people are viewing this product,” while the second version said “Selling Fast.” This simple tweak created urgency and reassurance, leading to a 5.76% increase in transaction rate and a 3.36% increase in revenue per visitor.
Social proof taps into user psychology—when customers see that many others are viewing or purchasing a product, it creates a sense of urgency and reduces anxiety, helping to drive sales.
4. Checkout funnel
The checkout process is where the real magic (or frustration) happens. It’s the final step in the customer journey, and even small obstacles here can lead to abandoned carts. Simplifying the checkout funnel can make the difference between completing a sale and losing a customer at the last moment. This stage is not just about speeding up the process—it’s also about building trust and ensuring customers feel confident in their purchase.
Optimizing your checkout involves refining everything from the mini basket to the confirmation page, making the experience as seamless as possible.
Testing opportunities
Product Imagery and Descriptions: Ensure your images and descriptions are high-quality, answering common questions about the product (e.g., size, fit, material).
Call-to-Action Buttons: Test the wording, design, and placement of your CTAs to find what drives the most conversions.
Additional areas to optimize
Basket Summary
Step Progression
Login and Guest Checkout Options
Account Creation
Form Field Labels & Microcopy
Payment Methods
Coupon Field Visibility & Design
Cross-Sells & Product Recommendations
Confirmation Page
AB Tasty customer success in action
Calvin Klein ran a test where they displayed a “last viewed” carousel on the empty cart page after a user removed all items from their cart. This reminded users of previously viewed products, reducing the bounce rate by 4.19% and increasing orders by 7.5%. By preventing the cart from feeling empty and offering product recommendations, the brand successfully retained potential customers and increased conversions.
5. Personalization
Personalization is key to creating a unique and engaging experience for each visitor. In an online shopping survey, 88% of respondents rated personalized product recommendations as helpful when asked to score them on a scale of 1-5 (with 5 being very helpful and 1 not helpful). By understanding user behavior and segmenting audiences, you can deliver tailored content that enhances user satisfaction and drives higher conversions. Personalization not only improves the shopping experience, but also fosters customer loyalty, encouraging repeat purchases over time.
Start with
Behavioral Targeting: Personalize content based on how users interact with your site. For example, use data on past clicks or scrolling behavior to serve more relevant offers.
Abandoned Cart Reminders: Encourage users to complete their purchase by reminding them of items left behind.
AB Tasty customer success in action
French fashion retailer, Maje created a personalized campaign for users who abandoned their carts. When those users returned to the site, they were shown the products they had previously left behind, making it easy for them to continue shopping. This strategy resulted in an 11% increase on click rate on the pop up, with a significant portion of those users completing their purchases.
In addition, AB Tasty tools like Emotions AI can help recognize emotional triggers or online body language (e.g., scroll behavior or clicks) to tailor content even further, providing users with the most relevant experiences.
Wrapping up
From optimizing your homepage to personalizing the user experience, every aspect of your website offers an opportunity for growth. Even small tests—like changing the placement of a carousel or adjusting CTA wording—can lead to significant results.
By regularly experimenting and optimizing key hotspots on your site, you can improve user engagement, reduce friction, and ultimately increase conversions. Remember, every site is different, so test frequently and use data to inform decisions. This approach helps ensure that you’re continually refining your site for optimal success.
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