Experiments

AUTO CART UPDATE

The Experiment in Action

Hypothesis

Online buyers demand a frictionless shopping experience and any improvements that can help create those elevated experiences can also ultimately increase conversion rates and online store sales. This mobile checkout optimization experiment removes the manual steps a shopper has to take by automatically updating cart item quantities, thereby providing updated feedback to the shopper at all times.

CONTROL – MOBILE

TREATMENT – MOBILE

Auto Cart Update Experiment

How It Works

We hid the traditional “Update Cart” button and implemented a treatment code that automatically refreshes item totals when a shopper changes the quantities of items in their cart.

Why We Are Testing It

A growing number of mainstream sites are implementing automatic cart updates to improve the mobile checkout experience. Removing the “update cart” button simplifies the process for shoppers as they make changes to their purchase and eliminates unnecessary distractions for those who aren’t.

Results: Auto Cart Update Experiment

Average performance numbers are based on results from August 16, 2018 to September 15, 2019 from 22 merchant sites.

Average Experiment Results So Far*

Device Type

Average Lift

Total Visitors

Revenue per Visit
(RPV)

Conversion Rate
(CR)

Average Order Value
(AOV)

Treatment

Control

Mobile

+6.60%

+4.48%

+1.89%

980,277

785,348

Desktop

+4.60%

+3.05%

+1.55%

456,141

390,680

Tablet

+4.80%

+2.30%

+2.67%

210,655

174,409

Results: Auto Cart Update Experiment

Average performance numbers are based on results from August 16, 2018 to September 15, 2019 from 22 merchant sites.

Average Experiment Results So Far*

Mobile

Average Lift
Revenue per Visit (RPV)	Conversion Rate (CR)	Average Order Value (AOV)
+6.60%	+4.48%	+1.89%

Total Visitors: Treatment: 980,277 | Control: 785,348

Desktop

Average Lift
Revenue per Visit (RPV)	Conversion Rate (CR)	Average Order Value (AOV)
+4.60%	+3.05%	+1.55%

Total Visitors: Treatment: 456,141 | Control: 390,680

Tablet

Average Lift
Revenue per Visit (RPV)	Conversion Rate (CR)	Average Order Value (AOV)
+4.80%	+2.30%	+2.67%

Total Visitors: Treatment: 210,655 | Control: 174,409

Distribution of Average RPV Lift for All Traffic

*These results reflect the average findings for all participating merchants and are not guaranteed for all users.

Data Analysis: Auto Cart Update Experiment

What We Discovered

Implementing the Auto Cart Update produced a considerable lift on both desktop and mobile sales; +4.60% and +6.60%, respectively. Merchants generally had a positive result across the board.

What It Means

This experiment has a high likelihood of success for increasing online store sales for any given merchant. Further analysis of the results revealed a gap in RPV lift between new and returning shoppers. Some returning shoppers may have expected to have to manually update their cart and became confused when the cart updated automatically. We see this type of friction lessening over time.

Things to Consider

While this experiment has a high success rate, merchants with a large percentage of returning visitors should pay special attention to the results for those visitors. Merchants who sell multiple units of the same products more frequently have a greater potential to benefit from this experiment but will want to keep an eye on their returning visitors as well.

Who Should Try It

The Auto Cart Update Experiment is a great fit for merchants who currently only have manual update functionality on their cart page.

Who Should Try It

The Auto Cart Update Experiment is a great fit for merchants who currently only have manual update functionality on their cart page.

Related Experiments

CREDIT CARD AUTO DETECT

ZIP CODE AUTO FILL

Interested in Learning More?

Get deeper insights into over 130 experiments available through the Initiative.

JOIN THE INITIATIVE