You probably spend months preparing and strategizing for the holiday season, since for many retailers, it's the most lucrative several months of the year. Split testing is one of the most accurate ways to gain insights for what strategies you should employ each year. We know that eCommerce is always evolving; what worked last year might not work this year. You can use A/B testing to understand what works best for your business and your customers.
After reading some tips below, set up your own split tests right in the Listrak application. You have two options for setting up split tests:
ASK YOURSELF THESE QUESTIONS FIRST
Tests should be structured in a way that help drive business decisions and results. Always begin with a strong hypothesis and goal, which you can clearly define by asking yourself the following questions:
Specifically, what are you trying to learn?
What are your assumptions?
What variants will you test?
Are the changes big enough to truly make an impact?
Will the tests lead to improved results?
How will you measure the results?
Can you re-use the results to inform future campaigns?
Will the results answer your hypothesis?
BE MINDFUL OF TEST CONSIDERATIONS
Build split testing into the campaign development process
Set goals
Make sure to stay on brand
Don’t test random elements
Make sure your sample group is large enough
Measure winning campaigns by the right metric
Don’t call tests too early
Test what matters and what will make a difference
VISUAL SPLIT TESTS
Product image variations
Product image vs. people using product
Product image sizes
Headline size/header height
Variation of color scheme
One column vs. two vs. three
Template (current vs. new)
Use of price ribbons
User Generated Content (UGC) imagery
Use of trust icons
Navigation structure/placement/style
Social icon treatment/placement
Personalized images based on customer profile
Image heavy vs. text heavy
Call to action (CTA) design/style/indicator/size/location
Animation (animated gifs) and/or video link
Design style
Graphic order/scrolling (top vs bottom engagement)
CONTENT SPLIT TESTS
Subject line
Pre-header text
Headline/body/CTA copy
Personalization (use of customer name)
Content based vs. product based
Pricing and discount variations (10% off vs. $10 off)
Negative pitch (loss aversion)
Content/link flow/order
Product description copy
Word variations (e.g. free vs. complimentary)
TIMING TESTS AND MORE
Time of day
Time of week
Frequency
Pre-sale teaser/announcement
Flash sale
‘From’ name/address
Segmentation (based on engagement, customer vs. non-customer, etc.)