Shopify A/B Testing: an Effective Beginner’s Guide

When trying to create a multi-product website that drives sales from every conceivable angle, you need to experiment. Shopify AB testing is a great tactic to test your product or marketing strategy.

In this article, you’ll learn how to use Shopify AB testing to increase conversion and click-through rates.

What Is A/B Testing?

A/B testing is an optimization technique that allows you to test different variations of a webpage to determine the most effective version. It is the best practice for business owners who want to know what their visitors like best and what generates more sales.

Learning how to A/B test your Shopify storefront can be an effective way to re-design your e-commerce store. A/B testing is an effective way to improve your product, increase conversions, and close more deals.

Why Is A/B Testing Necessary for Your Shopify Store?

Shopify allows experiment and data collection from shoppers to decide which of two variations of a product or page is better for your business.

Some of the benefits of A/B testing your Shopify store are:

1. Boost Conversion Rates

One of the benefits of Shopify AB testing is its effect on sales. When you A/B test your page, you can quickly see the impact and judge whether or not to stick with a variation. If you experiment with a new banner design, which generates sales, you can decide to stick to the design.

2. Improve Content Engagement

You can understand the content that encourages your audience to take action by testing two different page variations. When you implement the best-performing version, you automatically improve content engagement rates, i.e., email newsletter sign-ups and CTA click-throughs.

3. Lower Bounce Rates

Bounce rate measures how long a user stays on your site after visiting it. This factor is essential because it reflects the user experience. Measuring bounce rate will also give insight into how your visitors navigate your site. A lower bounce rate indicates that your store page is engaging. With A/B testing, you can ascertain which variation captures the attention of your visitors.

How Does A/B Testing Work?

You can carry out Shopify AB testing by presenting two different versions of a page to its visitors. The two versions must be different only in one element (i.e., Call-to-Action button). Knowing which component caused the variable response rate won’t be easy if you test more than one element at a time.

Version A is ‘the Control’ and is shown to 50% of the visitors. Version B, termed ‘Variant,’ is also displayed to 50% of the visitors. After the test, you’ll analyze the results of both pages, based on metrics (i.e., click-through and conversion rates). The version of a product or page that performs better is the “winning” variation. If the variant wins, it becomes the new control and can be tested against another variant in future tests.

The best-performing version is shown to 100% of the page visitors. You can update the webpage and repeat the process, but this time, test a different element. The winning version will get more traffic and be more successful in terms of sales. You can increase the average order value or the percentage of visitors purchasing from your shop with a specific call-to-action button.

A/B Testing Vs. Multivariate Testing

A rule for A/B tests is that you only test one element at a time. You’ll need to run multivariate testing if you want to simultaneously test changes in multiple elements.

Multivariate tests are more complex tests that test several elements (i.e. CTA text, header image, and button color) at the same time. They require a larger sample size to reach statistical significance. Also, it won’t be easy to know the element responsible for the differences in customer behavior between the two variations.

How to Run Shopify AB Testing

1. Define Your Hypothesis

The goal of A/B testing is to test the validity of a hypothesis, i.e., an assumption you make about your store. A hypothesis is usually from existing data, including interviews, user research, surveys, and web analytics. An assumption about your Shopify store could be that the “Blue color of the CTA button will increase conversion rate.” Whatever your assumption is, define it.

2. Create the Tests

Design your control and variant page keeping your hypothesis in mind. Remember, the change in both must be on just one element (i.e., the Color of CTA button).

3. Start the Test

A common question is: how long will the test run? Your test is complete when it meets the predefined sample size. After designing your control and variant pages, you can begin testing.

4. Analyze Your Result

Use metrics to decide which version won the test. A version with the highest click-through rates doesn’t automatically mean a higher conversion rate. Consider all metrics: content engagement, add-to-cart conversion rate, abandoned cart rate, and net profit. You’ll then compare the result obtained from the control version with that of the variant.

Conclusion

Shopify AB Testing is the process of running a marketing experiment on your store page. It involves testing two variations of the page to determine which variation performs better. A/B testing helps you discover the most effective way to improve conversion rates and make your page more engaging for visitors!