Shopify Homepage A/B Test: Social Proof and a Brand Video Added $58,094 in 31 Days
Two new homepage sections, social proof and a brand mission video, lifted conversion 12%, AOV 19% and revenue per visitor 32.7%: $58,094 in 31 days.
What if adding just two new sections to a homepage could generate an extra $58,000 in revenue? That’s what happened when I ran this A/B test for a Shopify e-commerce brand.
One single change can have a surprising impact on a website. On top of that, it improves your advertising numbers too: ROAS goes up and cost per acquisition goes down, which is great news for any paid media team. Below: exactly what I changed, what the data said, and what you can take to your own store.
How the test was built
Every conversion rate experiment I run now is built by AI. I don’t use developers or web designers to code and implement it. Everything is done in a few clicks, instead of waiting ages for a designer to make a mock-up and a developer to implement it. Anyone who has run traditional CRO knows how long that takes; switching to AI-built tests removed the biggest headache of the whole process. (How AI CRO works.)
The brand and the hypothesis
The brand sells spiritual accessories. Its audience cares about meaning, intention and connection.
The hypothesis was simple: if we add two new homepage sections, this will increase engagement and conversions:
- Social proof: what real customers say.
- A video highlighting the brand’s mission, quality and production process.
So I set up an A/B test with two versions:
- A (control): the original homepage layout, as is.
- B: the same homepage with the two new sections: social proof, and a video module about the brand’s values and craftsmanship.
The results
The test ran for 31 days with more than 158,000 sessions split between the two versions.
| Metric | A: original | B: social proof + brand video |
|---|---|---|
| Conversion rate | 1.41% | 1.58% (+12%) |
| Average order value | ~$154 | ~$185 (+19%) |
| Add-to-cart rate | 6.27% | 6.11% |
| Revenue per visitor | $2.20 | $2.92 (+32.7%) |
| Extra revenue in 31 days | +$58,094 |
The conversion rate went from 1.41% to 1.58%: a solid lift. But the real story is average order value. The new layout pushed it from about $154 to almost $185, around 19% more. People weren’t just converting more; they were spending significantly more per order.
That’s an extra $58,094 in revenue from the same amount of traffic. And revenue per visitor, the ultimate efficiency metric, jumped from $2.20 to $2.92: a 32.7% improvement in how hard every single session works for the business.
The interesting nuance: fewer add-to-carts
The add-to-cart rate actually dipped slightly: 6.11% for the new layout versus 6.27% for the control. Fewer people added items to their cart, but the ones who did bought more, and bought bigger.
That tells me the new layout did a better job of qualifying intent: attracting the right clicks, not just random clicks on Add to Cart. (The same pattern showed up in the product description test worth $760K a year.)
Why this A/B test worked
1. Mission-driven content builds trust
The video section isn’t branding fluff. With spiritual brands in particular, you’re not selling a product, you’re selling a belief, and beliefs need context. The moment the brand story video is on the homepage, you stop being a regular shop and start being a brand worth buying from.
2. Section order changes the narrative
Think of your homepage as a story, with the order of sections as the plot. By changing which content blocks and collections appear first, we changed the journey and clearly guided people towards higher-value products.
3. Fewer, but better, add-to-carts
That slight dip in add-to-cart rate is a positive signal. The new layout filtered out casual browsers and drove more committed shoppers deeper into the funnel. The result: higher AOV and higher revenue.
What you can take to your store
1. Test your homepage section order
Seriously: most brands never touch their homepage after launch. Just moving sections around can have a large impact. (More homepage ideas in the funnel guide.)
2. If you have a brand story, use it
Add a video of your founder, or your mission statement, especially on mobile, where scroll depth matters and you have to earn every inch of attention.
3. Don’t judge on conversion rate alone
This test had a modest conversion lift but a huge AOV and revenue lift. Looking only at conversions would have undervalued the experiment. Always look at revenue per visitor (or per session): that’s the metric that tells the full story.
It also helps your ads: more revenue from the same clicks lowers your cost per purchase and raises ROAS. (The math behind that.)
Frequently asked questions
What should I A/B test on my Shopify homepage?
Start with section order, social proof and a brand story video, especially on mobile. Most brands never touch the homepage after launch.
Do brand videos increase e-commerce sales?
In this test, a mission video plus social proof raised revenue per visitor by 32.7%. For brands selling meaning or values, the story is part of the product.
Which metric should decide a homepage test?
Revenue per visitor. Conversion rate alone would have undervalued this test, because the biggest gain came from larger orders.
Alexander Skibinskiy
15+ years in digital marketing and e-commerce. Former head of growth at Karma and Luck, a nine-figure brand, where conversion rate grew 50% in one year of A/B testing. Founder of a seven-figure e-commerce brand; 100+ brands helped since 2015.
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