Does a clearer purchase option selector lift mobile product sales?

Our mobile product page offered a one-time purchase and a subscription in a selector that was hard to read. We tested 2 redesigns. Over 13 days, conversion fell 28.6% and revenue per visitor fell 49.8% with the restyled selector.

Lost Mobile 13 days Called at 90%

SURFACE

Product page

DEVICE

Mobile

VERTICAL

Ecommerce (B2C)

PRIMARY METRIC

Conversion rate

VARIATIONS

2

The hypothesis

By removing confusion around the purchase option selector, we will make shoppers more confident in their choice, resulting in more purchases.

Shoppers had to choose between a one-time purchase and a subscription. The 2 options looked alike, so it was not clear which one was selected or what the subscription saved.

Subscriptions typically return 2 to 3 times the revenue of a single order, so we also tested leading with the subscription.

What we changed

A restyled purchase selector, or the subscription selected first

Var A made the selected option stand out, muted the option that was not selected, and called out the 20% subscription discount. Var B selected the subscription by default to highlight the savings, while keeping the one-time purchase available.

Var A: Selector Design wireframe — VAR A: SELECTOR DESIGN

Selected option made more prominent
Unselected option muted
20% subscription discount called out

Var B: Subscription Focus wireframe — VAR B: SUBSCRIPTION FOCUS

Subscription selected by default
One-time purchase still available

The result

Conversion fell 28.6% with the restyled selector

CONVERSION RATE

-28.6%

REVENUE PER VISITOR

-49.8%

VAR B CONVERSION

-33.6%

Over 13 days, the restyled selector (Var A) cut conversion 28.6% and revenue per visitor 49.8%. Leading with the subscription (Var B) cut conversion 33.6% and revenue per visitor 61.5%. Both losses cleared our confidence bar, so we paused the test after 13 days rather than keep losing sales.

What we took from it

Users preferred the original purchase option selector

Both versions grayed out the option that was not selected. Shoppers may have read the gray option as unavailable, which made the choice harder, not easier. The original selector showed both options plainly.