Stance identified extremely high potential in its ecommerce channel but had yet to capitalize on it. The organization routinely spent time and resources on maintaining a brand-first approach, but many times sacrificing results and revenue performance. The ecommerce average order value hadn’t changed in 5+ years, even with the introduction of higher priced t-shirts and new product categories like mens underwear.
We introduced and refined a new approach to enhancing stance.com by refocusing efforts on a data-driven approach of “pass/fail fast and learn” testing to identify key touch points that directly affect user behavior and shift revenue trends. We found brand and design efficiencies to support the business first and minimize wasted efforts that don’t yield results. We redefined KPIs away from myopic data points to create a more holistic view of ecommerce health.
By shifting organizational behavior, we were able to help Stance establish a data-driven mindset and moved away from the habits of following an old play book. Bloated marketing budgets healthily shrank by reducing the production cost of paying an agency to shoot, crop, and edit images that weren’t positively affecting the bottom line. Thousands of hours were saved from multiple team members maintaining banners across the site and constantly updating them 2-3 times per week. And, most importantly, the new approach adopted by the ecommerce team quickly spread throughout the entire organization, providing an intimate understanding of the consumer to all arms of the company. Data-driven decisions became the new rally cry.
We ran an A/B Test with different free shipping thresholds—$25 (control), $35 (variant 1), and $50 (variant 2)— and introduced revenue per visitor (RPV) as a new KPI to the organization.
Conversion optimization isn’t about improving conversion rates, as this test clearly identified.
The test showed a 15% increase in RPV when the shipping threshold was at $50 compared to $25. The fear was that increasing the shipping threshold would deter customers from purchasing (lower conversion rate); however, in reality and in post-surveys, customers wanted the option to qualify for free shipping regardless of the threshold (psychological).
This improvement created the following benefits to the brand:
