It is difficult to definitively establish when A/B testing was first used. The first randomized double-blind trial to assess the effectiveness of a homeopathic drug occurred in 1835.[16] Experimentation with advertising campaigns, which has been compared to modern A/B testing, began in the early twentieth century.[17]
With the growth of the internet, new ways to sample populations have become available. Google engineers ran their first A/B test in the year 2000 in an attempt to determine what the optimum number of results to display on its search engine results page would be.[5] The first test was unsuccessful due to glitches from slow loading times. Later, A/B testing research would become more advanced, but the foundation and underlying principles generally remain the same. By 2011, 11 years after Google's first test, Google ran over 7,000 different A/B tests.[5]] (Wikipedia)
The rest is history.
A/B testing can help you increase engagement, reduce bounce rates, and increase conversion rates, but testing doesn’t just help with metrics, it also can assist with drawing out errors in landing pages or UX design.
You should be A/B testing as much as possible on your Shopify site. Here are proven methods that will help grow your Shopify store through A/B testing.
Discount Pricing Models:
My favorite place to start with A/B testing is with pricing models. It’s amazing how substantially conversion rates can be affected via different pricing models. Here are some interesting stats on how pricing models impact conversion rates:
73% of people are more likely to buy an item if it includes free shipping.(Statista)
34% of young shoppers say they value discounts more than free shipping. (Wiser)
55% of US consumers cite free and discounted shipping as the main reason for purchasing at an online marketplace rather than a retailer. (UPS)
Here is how I handle different discount pricing models with A/B testing:
Let’s say you are selling a variety pack of 12 protein bars. Your goal is to sell them at a $1 per bar. Here are the three ways you can test (A/B/C) discount pricing:
-
Normally, $24 but Now 50% OFF - Only $12 with Free Shipping
-
Get 12 Bars FREE, Just Pay Shipping (Shipping will be $12)
-
12 Bars for Only $6 (+$6 for Shipping)
All three of the above examples present different offers, but still produce the same amount of revenue per variety pack sold. Obviously, this example utilizes protein bars, but you can easily apply this to any product or service. Just adjust your price point, your discount amount and your shipping. Testing these different strategies across advertising, email, and SMS can help you determine what works best for your target audience.
Landing Pages:
Landing pages provide another opportunity to a/b test to increase conversion rates. You can create a page similar to your product page, but you have the ability to make many minor adjustments. Here are some of the simple variables to test on landing pages:
- Product Images
- Product Pricing (above)
- Button Text
- Call to Action
- Reviews
- Video Reviews/Testimonials
- Multiple Products (below the main product offering)
Adjusting these variables can assist with minor improvements in conversion and bounce rates, but my preferred test:
Product Page v. Landing Page v. Direct to Cart
A direct to cart link will send a user directly to your Shopify cart with the product already inside. You can even send users to the cart with a coupon code already applied. With certain brands I have seen a 3-5X increase in conversion rates using the direct to cart link alone.
Not sure how to create a direct to cart link with Shopify? Read my previous post.
Email:
With current email applications, you can A/B test a lot more than just email subject lines. You can test different email designs, different calls to action, different placements of buttons and more. A typical brand will send out 4-8 emails per month. This gives you the opportunity to test different variables 4-8 times per month. Just keep in mind, you don’t want to combine too many variables, as this will impact your results.
Variables to test:
- Subject Lines
- Preview Text
- “From” Email Address -
- (Tip - A person’s name works great for post-purchase/Abandon Cart emails)
- Time of Day
- Day of the Week
- Call to Action (Limited Time, Almost Gone)
- Button Color (Red, Blue, White, Black)
- Button Placement (Above or Below the Fold)
- Button Text (Buy Now, Learn More, Shop, Get Mine)
- Plain Text Emails
- Emails with Heavy Imagery
- Gifs vs Images
SMS:
Like email, SMS marketing can present countless variables to test. Keep in mind that SMS is a bit more personal, so some variables will prove to be more important than others.
- Time of Day
- Day of the Week
- Call to Action (Limited Time, Almost Gone)
- Links with Discounts Applied vs Link with Coupon Code
- Multiple Links vs Single Links
- Character Length (Long Messages v. Short Messages)
- Personalization (First Name, Product Purchase History)
- Messages with Imagery vs No Imagery
- Gifs vs Images
These are just some ideas for A/B testing. There are countless ways to A/B test your Shopify site. Most importantly, try and avoid some of the following common mistakes:
Sample Size:
Make sure you have a large enough sample size to truly prove your hypothesis. 25,000+ is ideal.
Too Many Metrics:
As mentioned above, if you test too many metrics at once you run the chance of having spurious correlations. (Fancy speak for variables that are associated but not causally related)
Retesting:
Just because this A/B test provided certain results one year doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be run again.
Now go and grow.
J
Recommended Apps:
One of the quickest ways to get started with A/B testing email and SMS is with Klaviyo.
Although I haven’t personally tested this app, it is interesting. Dexter will allow you to submit two different price points (and price points with discounts) on the same product and run a test.
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