What makes an add to cart button convert?

An add to cart button converts when shoppers can find it without searching, understand it without thinking, and still reach it after they scroll. In our A/B tests, a button that stood out from the page with the price inside it lifted conversion 13.9%. A simple sticky bar on mobile lifted conversion 7.0%. The change that did not help pushed shoppers toward checkout faster than they wanted to go.

Below are the tests behind each point, what shoppers preferred when a test lost, and a short list of what to test first on your own product page.

A button that stood out, with the price inside, lifted conversion 13.9%

On a desktop product page, the add to cart button blended into the page around it. We made it yellow, a color nothing else on the page used, and put the price inside the button. Conversion rose 13.9% and revenue per visitor rose 16.9%.

The color itself was not the point. Yellow worked because it was the only yellow on the page, so the eye went straight to it. The price inside the button answered the last question a shopper asks before clicking: what will this cost me?

If your button shares its color with your logo, your sale badges and your header, it is competing with all of them. Pick a color the rest of the page does not use, and save it for the 1 action you most want taken. We cover how to choose that color in What is the best CTA button color?

“Add to Cart” beat “Select Delivery Date” by 8.0%

One store’s product page button said “Select Delivery Date.” It made sense to the business, since every order needed a date. To shoppers it read like a form, not a purchase. We tested “Add to Cart,” with and without a delivery date field beside the button. “Add to Cart” with the date field won, lifting conversion 8.0%.

Shoppers did not mind giving a date. They minded not knowing what the button would do. Use the words shoppers expect on the main button, and put any extra step next to it, not in its label.

A simple sticky add to cart bar lifted mobile conversion 7.0%

On mobile, the add to cart button scrolls out of view as soon as shoppers start reading the description, the reviews or the size guide. To buy, they have to scroll back up. We tested 2 sticky add to cart bars that appeared once the main button left the screen. The simpler bar lifted conversion 7.0% and revenue per visitor 12.0% over 15 days.

A sticky bar is not an automatic win. On another store, a sticky bar ran for 18 days and moved conversion only 0.6%, too little to call. Long mobile pages, where shoppers read a lot before deciding, gain the most. Short pages, where the button rarely leaves the screen, gain little.

“Buy now” beat “shop now” by 59.3%, but 2 things changed at once

A product page used “shop now” on its button, with a second “shop now” link in the header. We tested a direct “buy now” button and removed the header link. Conversion rose 59.3%.

That is a big number with a caveat. The test changed the wording and removed a competing link in the same variation, so we cannot say how much came from each. What it does show is that 2 calls to action with the same words, pointing to different places, made shoppers hesitate.

A louder buy now button did not beat a balanced pair on desktop

Another desktop product page showed both an add to cart button and a buy now button. We tested giving buy now more visual weight while keeping add to cart on the page. The louder buy now version measured 5.3% lower in conversion and 5.9% lower in revenue per visitor after 9 days. That had not reached our confidence bar, and we paused it.

Desktop shoppers often add more than 1 item, compare, and check out later. A button that pushes them straight to checkout skips the way they like to shop. Before you emphasize buy now, check how many of your desktop orders hold more than 1 item.

4 things to test first on your add to cart button

1. Contrast. Give the button a color nothing else on the page uses, and check it against the background with a contrast checker.
2. Wording. Say what happens when shoppers click. “Add to Cart” beats a clever label.
3. Price. Put the price in or right next to the button, so the answer sits where the decision happens.
4. Reach on mobile. If shoppers scroll far down your product page, test a simple sticky bar.

Start with the product pages that get the most traffic, and give each test at least 2 full weeks before you call it. If you want the research and testing done for you, that is what our ecommerce conversion rate optimization program does. For the rest of the product page, see Shopify conversion rate optimization: what our tests show.

Shoppers click the button they can find, read and reach.

Frequently asked questions

What color should an add to cart button be?

A color nothing else on the page uses, with strong contrast against the background. In our tests a yellow button won because it was the only yellow on the page, not because yellow is special.

Add to cart vs buy now: which converts better?

It depends on how people shop your store. On a desktop page where shoppers often bought several items, a louder buy now button did not beat the balanced pair. Where a page had 2 competing "shop now" links, a single "buy now" button won.

Where should the add to cart button go on a product page?

Next to the price and the option picker, where shoppers make the decision. On mobile, where the button scrolls away, a simple sticky bar can keep it in reach.

Does a sticky add to cart button increase conversions?

Sometimes. A simple sticky bar lifted mobile conversion 7.0% in 1 of our tests and moved it only 0.6% in another. It helps most on long pages where shoppers read before buying.

Should the price go on the add to cart button?

It is worth testing. Putting the price inside the button was part of a 13.9% conversion lift in our testing, because it answers the cost question right where shoppers decide.