Does checkout header consistency matter on a desktop checkout?
Our desktop checkout used a larger logo and a gradient header that the rest of the store did not. We matched the header to the store. Conversion held at +0.4% and revenue per visitor rose 4.8% over 12 days.
Do No Harm Desktop 12 days Called at 90% Reviewed
The hypothesis
By matching the checkout header to the store header, we will make checkout feel like part of the same site, resulting in more shoppers finishing their orders.
Moving from the cart into checkout, shoppers saw a larger logo and a gradient background that appeared nowhere else on the store. That kind of jump can feel jarring right when a shopper is about to pay.
The same idea had already won on mobile checkout, where a consistent header and fewer exit points lifted conversion and cut exits. This test brought the header change to desktop, with the goal of implementing it on every device as long as it did no harm.
Conversion and revenue per visitor had to hold level with the control on desktop.
A do no harm test is not trying to win. It is judged against the criterion above, and is never counted toward the win rate.
What we changed
We matched the desktop checkout header to the rest of the store.
On the control, the checkout header used a larger logo and a gradient background. Var A swapped in the same header shoppers saw on the rest of the store, with the standard logo size and a plain background. The checkout steps, fields and buttons did not change.
- Header matches the rest of the store
- Standard size logo
- Gradient background removed
The result
Conversion held at +0.4% and revenue per visitor rose 4.8%.
This was a do no harm test, so the bar was no drop, not a lift. Conversion came in 0.4% above the control and revenue per visitor came in 4.8% above it, so the change cleared that bar.
We called it after 12 days because it had answered the question it was set up to check. The header was then implemented on desktop to match mobile.
What we took from it
A matching header kept checkout uniform at no cost.
On mobile, the matching header was part of a clear win. On desktop it held steady. Implementing it on both gave shoppers the same checkout on every device, with no sign of lost orders on desktop.