Does image navigation on the mobile homepage help shoppers buy?
Our mobile homepage used text only category buttons. We swapped in image buttons so more categories showed at once. Conversion moved 2.2% in 8 days, and we paused it to test on more pages.
Not significant Mobile 8 days Not called
The hypothesis
By adding product images to the homepage category buttons and fitting more of them on screen, we will make it easier for shoppers to find their category, resulting in more mobile orders.
The mobile homepage used a row of text only category buttons. Only a few fit on screen at once, so shoppers had to swipe to see the rest.
Small product images can say what a category holds faster than a label, and they let more categories fit in the same space. We expected that to cut the effort of finding the right product.
What we changed
We added product images to the mobile homepage category buttons.
The control showed a row of text only category buttons near the top of the mobile homepage. Var A replaced them with image buttons, each with a small product photo and label, sized so more categories showed at once. Nothing else on the homepage changed.
- Product photo added to each category
- More categories shown at once
The result
Conversion moved 2.2% in 8 days, not enough to call a winner.
Conversion rose 2.2% and revenue per visitor rose 3.3%, well short of our confidence bar. Average order value was about flat.
We paused after 8 days by choice. The early read was flat, and the image navigation made more sense as a single test running on both the homepage and the collection pages, where the same buttons appear.
What we would do next
Test the image buttons on homepage and collection pages together.
On the homepage alone, the image buttons did not change behavior. Shoppers reach the same category buttons on the collection pages, so testing them in both places at once would give a fuller read with more traffic.