Experiments

DE-EMPHASIZE CLEAR CART/REMOVE ITEMS

De-emphasize Clear Cart/Remove Items Experiment

The Experiment in Action

Hypothesis

Clear Cart and Remove Items buttons can be useful but they also encourage shoppers to reevaluate their purchasing decisions. By removing or de-emphasizing these non-essential buttons, merchants will reduce distractions in the critical checkout funnel, streamline the checkout process, and increase conversion rates.

CONTROL – MOBILE

Clear Cart - Control

TREATMENT – MOBILE

Clear Cart - Treatment

De-emphasize Clear Cart/Remove Items Experiment

How It Works

How It Works

We removed any buttons that clear the entire Cart. We also replaced individual Remove Item buttons with a subtle grey X icon. De-emphasizing the buttons to remove individual items will only be noticed by the users who really need to use them.
null

Why We Are Testing It

Once shoppers reach the cart page, they’re usually ready to checkout. At this point, screen real estate is precious. Each button in the user interface is a distraction and creates a lag time for visual processing — and an opportunity for the user to become distracted or take an unwanted action.

Results: De-emphasize Clear Cart/Remove Items Experiment

Average performance numbers are based on results from August 17, 2018 to September 15, 2019 from 6 merchant sites.

Average Experiment Results So Far*

Device TypeAverage LiftTotal Visitors
Revenue per Visitor
(RPV)		Conversion Rate
(CR)		Average Order Value
(AOV)		TreatmentControl
Device Type: MobileMobile
-4.56%-2.20%-2.45%56,23264,874
Device Type: DesktopDesktop
-2.07%+0.20%-2.05%21,04821,770
Device Type: TabletTablet
-2.69%-0.68%-1.15%4,6435,008

Results: De-emphasize Clear Cart/Remove Items Experiment

Average performance numbers are based on results from August 17, 2018 to September 15, 2019 from 6 merchant sites.

Average Experiment Results So Far*

Device Type: MobileMobile
Average Lift
Revenue per Visitor
(RPV)		Conversion Rate
(CR)		Average Order Value
(AOV)
-4.56%-2.20%-2.45%

Total Visitors: Treatment: 56,232 | Control: 64,874

Device Type: DesktopDesktop
Average Lift
Revenue per Visitor
(RPV)		Conversion Rate
(CR)		Average Order Value
(AOV)
-2.07%+0.20%-2.05%

Total Visitors: Treatment: 21,048 | Control: 21,770

Device Type: TabletTablet
Average Lift
Revenue per Visitor
(RPV)		Conversion Rate
(CR)		Average Order Value
(AOV)
-2.69%-0.68%-1.15%

Total Visitors: Treatment: 4,643 | Control: 5,008

Distribution of Average RPV Lift for All Traffic

Distribution of Average RPV Lift - Clear Cart

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

Data Analysis: De-emphasize Clear Cart/Remove Items Experiment

What It Means

What It Means

This experiment continues to provide mostly negative impacts on RPV across all devices. The data suggest that the frustration caused by the absence of this familiar functionality outweighs the benefits of removing potential distractions.

Who Should Try It

Despite the results, any merchant that has a Clear Cart button or Remove Item buttons that seem distracting could consider trying this experiment, with customizations fitting the consumer behavior of the site.

Who Should Try It

Despite the results, any merchant that has a Clear Cart button or Remove Item buttons that seem distracting could consider trying this experiment, with customizations fitting the consumer behavior of the site.

Related Experiments

Floating Add-to-Cart Button Experiment

FLOATING ADD-TO-CART BUTTON

order summary screengrab

DISPLAY CART TOTAL IN HEADER

Interested in Learning More?

Get deeper insights into over 130 experiments focused on increasing mobile eCommerce growth available through the Initiative.

JOIN THE INITIATIVE