 "4 Black Friday A/B Test Ideas to Boost eCommerce Conversions")
Boost your Black Friday conversions with A/B testing.
Peak season, which kicks off with Black Friday, offers a great opportunity to boost sales, but it also brings a lot of competition. To stand out in this crowded marketplace, it's crucial to make data-driven decisions to optimise your website for conversions. This is where Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO) comes into play. CRO is the art and science of improving a website's performance by increasing the percentage of visitors who take a desired action, such as making a purchase or filling out a form. It's about understanding user behaviour and employing testing methodologies to enhance user experience and, ultimately, increase revenue.
So, to help you prepare for Black Friday, we've pulled together our four favourite A/B test ideas to consider for website optimisation. Let's get started!
Our top four A/B test ideas for Black Friday.
Test 1. Countdown timers & promotional banners.
Countdown timers clearly communicate that the deals are only available for a limited time and create a real sense of urgency to encourage users to convert. In this test, you would surface a promotional banner with a countdown timer which counts down to the end of the promotion.
We would recommend having a promotional banner on the site (like Space NK below) when the promotion goes live.
In the last 48 hours of the promotion, it’s good to add a countdown timer (like Fashion Nova below) to create that sense of urgency.
48 hours is usually the sweet spot for surfacing countdown timers, as you want to give enough time for the user to shop the promotion and raise awareness. However, you don’t want the timer live for too long as it may encourage the user to think they can delay purchasing and return at a later date. Flash sales are also really effective, and countdown timers are a must for those!
With countdown timers, do ensure the copy is clear and straight to the point, as it will have to get the offer across and fit on all devices!
Test 2. Percentage discounts vs. price reduction discounts.
Testing whether percentage-based discounts (e.g. 30% off) or price reduction discounts (e.g. £20 off) result in higher conversion rates can inform your pricing strategy for Black Friday deals.
John Lewis (pictured below) has surfaced a money-off promotion, where if the user spends £500, they will get £50 off. It’s always interesting to see how each client’s users respond to different promotions. This promotion could be surfaced as ‘10% off when you spend £500’; however, different users will respond differently to different ways of wording.
AO.com have surfaced three different ways of surfacing offers to users, with the percentage discounts, money-off and also free gift offers. Testing different strategies and offers allows you to find out what works best for your customers.
Test 3. Email sign-up pop-up.
Pop-ups can divide opinions, but surfacing a pop-up for email sign-up can be an effective strategy to capture leads and increase your customer base. Testing different ways to surface the email sign-up form is a great way to determine whether they lead to an increase in email registrations without causing a negative impact on user experience.
New Look (see below) has implemented a pop-up for new customers which offers 25% off when users sign up for the newsletter.
The imagery and content can be amended or personalised based on segmentation or promotional activity.
During the peak period, one test idea is to surface imagery from your Black Friday campaign and offer users to sign up 2 weeks beforehand to ensure they are first in line to find out about any Black Friday deals (see below). This will also give users an incentive to come back to your website at a later date!
Test 4. Strikethrough pricing & badging.
Effectively communicating the value of your Black Friday deals is crucial. Strikethrough pricing and badging can visually emphasise discounts and encourage conversions.
In this test, regular prices are displayed with a strikethrough and badging on collection/product listing pages. You can either test against no strikethrough or badging or do multiple variations, splitting out the different experiences.
This change can highlight the discounts more effectively, as New Look has shown below. There are two types of badging on this product, but it doesn’t look overpowering, and the discount is still clearly labelled.
Conclusion.
Black Friday is a critical period for eCommerce websites, and making the most of it requires careful planning and optimisation. By employing CRO techniques and conducting A/B tests, you can enhance your website's performance and increase conversions during the peak season. The four A/B test ideas presented above are just a starting point. CRO is an ongoing process, and analysing the results of these tests will guide your decision-making, helping you create a better user experience for your customers.
Fancy unlocking your eCommerce store’s full potential?
We’re an accredited Shopify Plus agency offering expert CRO insights and enhancements for a range of ambitious clients. With our entirely in-house team, you’ll enjoy a seamless end-to-end Shopify optimisation service. Browse our client work for Shopify inspiration and get in touch to discuss your requirements. We would love to help!
