Insight

Hidden Mobile Search Limited Product Discovery

Wilson’s Pet Food had a high-value product discovery route that was easy to miss on mobile. Shopify Analytics showed only 1.42% of visitors used site search, yet visitors with search intent converted at 11.47%, compared with a 4.44% site average. Their add-to-cart rate was also 20.81%, versus 6.89% overall. In the mobile header, search was collapsed behind an icon, adding an extra step before shoppers could look for a product. Blend’s CRO analysis treated this as a visibility problem within ecommerce navigation, supported by Wilson’s own behavioural and commercial data. The opportunity was to make the route obvious without changing the product range or offer, then measure whether faster access to search improved the buying journey.

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A/B Test

Exposed Search Bar Across the Mobile Site

We ran an A/B test across Wilson’s mobile site. The control kept search behind the existing header icon. Variant 1 displayed a white, horizontal search field beneath the mobile header so it remained immediately visible. We hypothesised that removing the extra interaction would increase search use, help shoppers reach relevant products sooner and improve conversion. The primary goal was to evaluate whether easier product discovery produced more efficient funnel progression.

The Results

Variant 1 increased conversion rate by 9.97%, revenue per visitor by 6.10%, total revenue by 6.8% and checkout begin rate by 8.76%. Add-to-cart rate also rose 3.35%, while abandoned cart and checkout rates fell 12.29% and 5.20%. The pattern supports the view that exposing search reduced friction for mobile shoppers ready to find a product. Product-page views fell 2.17% as collection-page views rose 2.33%, suggesting users took a more direct or broader browsing route rather than moving through the same sequence as the control. Average order value decreased 3.35%, but the conversion gain more than offset that trade-off. The test reached 87.31% statistical confidence, close to but below the usual 90–95% threshold, so Blend recommended permanent rollout with the confidence caveat. Follow-up tests should explore trending searches, product recommendations and search guidance.

  • 9.97%

    increase in conversion rate

  • 8.76%

    increase in checkout begin rate

  • 6.10%

    increase in revenue per visitor
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