Insight

Text-Only Navigation Slowed Category Recognition

Oaktree Memorials’ mobile navigation relied on text labels to explain a broad and sensitive product range. With 78% of visitors arriving for the first time, many shoppers needed to understand which category contained the right urn, jewellery item or memorial product before they could begin browsing. On mobile, the menu was a primary discovery route, but text alone gave little visual context and asked unfamiliar visitors to interpret the site’s taxonomy. Blend recommended adding representative imagery beside category links to make options easier to recognise and reduce navigation effort. This followed our approach to ecommerce navigation: show shoppers where each route leads before asking them to choose. Commercially, clearer category recognition could help more users reach relevant product and collection pages, supporting conversion rate and average order value.

Jump to results

A/B Test

Visual Category Images in the Mobile Menu

We ran an A/B test through Intelligems on the mobile menu. The control retained the existing text-led category navigation, while Variant 1 added approved product imagery to relevant category and subcategory links. We hypothesised that visual cues would make the range easier to scan, help first-time visitors select a suitable path and improve product discovery. Conversion rate was the primary KPI, with revenue per visitor, average order value, product-page views, collection-page views and add-to-cart rate monitored to judge the wider commercial effect.

The Results

Across all traffic, Variant 1 reduced conversion rate by 2%, revenue per visitor by 4% and average order value by 2%. Product-page views rose 1%, while collection-page views fell 3%. The full result showed that a sitewide rollout would carry commercial risk. Exclusion analysis revealed that visitors landing on the Bar Cremation Necklace product page were driving much of the decline. When this traffic was removed, Variant 1 increased conversion rate by 20%, revenue per visitor by 4%, add-to-cart rate by 15% and product-page views by 2%, although collection-page views fell 4%. This pattern suggests the imagery helped urn shoppers navigate, while jewellery visitors may have encountered more choice or a less direct route. That explanation remains an interpretation because statistical confidence was not reported and the exclusion was identified after reviewing the data. The client approved a selective rollout on urn subcategory menus, which Blend implemented. The next step is to investigate jewellery behaviour separately before expanding the treatment.

  • 20%

    increase in conversion rate in exclusion analysis

  • 15%

    increase in add-to-cart rate in exclusion analysis

  • 4%

    increase in revenue per visitor in exclusion analysis
Book a CRO discovery call

See More A/B Tests