Does removing the VIN step from the homepage form lift conversion?

Our homepage form asked visitors for their vehicle identification number (VIN) as an early step. We tested removing that step. Over 77 days, conversion rose 4.7% across devices, and we implemented the shorter form.

Won Responsive 77 days Called at 80%

SURFACE

Homepage

DEVICE

Responsive

VERTICAL

Ecommerce (B2C)

PRIMARY METRIC

Conversion rate

VARIATIONS

1

The hypothesis

By removing the VIN step from the homepage form, we will cut friction for visitors who do not have the number at hand, resulting in more completed orders.

The VIN is a long number that many people do not know by heart, and asking for it early can stop visitors before they start. We wanted to understand the impact of removing it from the top of the funnel and from every service.

What we changed

The VIN step removed from the homepage form

Var A removed the step that asked for the vehicle identification number, so visitors moved straight on to the rest of the form. The change ran on mobile and desktop at the same time.

Var A: No VIN Step wireframe — VAR A: NO VIN STEP

VIN step removed from the form
Rest of the form unchanged

The result

Removing the VIN step lifted conversion 4.7% across devices

CONVERSION RATE

+4.7%

MOBILE CONVERSION

+3.6%

DESKTOP CONVERSION

+2.6%

Over 77 days, visitors without the VIN step converted 4.7% better than the original across devices, and revenue per visitor rose by the same amount. Mobile carried most of the lift at 3.6%, with desktop up 2.6%. The result held positive on both devices for 11 weeks, and we called it at our 80% bar and implemented it.

What we took from it

An early hard-to-answer step cost visitors at the start of the form

Many visitors do not know their VIN by heart, and asking for it first stopped some of them before they started. With the step gone, the next tests focused on the confirmation page that follows the form, and on retesting earlier wins against the new layout.