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Blend Commerce was named CRO Agency of the Year at the European Agency Awards on 22 September 2026.
We are proud of the award, but the most useful part of the story is the work behind it. Our entry was judged on the commercial results we delivered for Shopify brands and the process that made those results repeatable. The judges highlighted our discipline, focus and commitment to measurable outcomes, describing Blend's CRO model as “a genuinely repeatable approach that consistently drives value for clients”.
This article shares the evidence behind that assessment. To protect client confidentiality, the retained-account data is presented at portfolio level and rounded. We have removed client names, sectors, markets, currencies and distinctive test details that could identify an individual brand.
What the European CRO Agency of the Year Award Recognised
Our award entry covered CRO work completed between February 2025 and June 2026. It included sustained performance across retained accounts, 159 recorded A/B tests and a library of 89 documented test examples and learnings.
The volume is useful context, but activity alone is not value. The work has to improve commercial performance, prevent weak ideas from reaching the live store and give the client a clearer basis for the next decision.
That is why our Shopify CRO service connects research, strategy, UX/UI, development, testing and QA. A recommendation does not stop at an audit slide. Our team can scope it against the Shopify theme and app stack, build it, measure it and roll it out when the evidence supports implementation.
The Anonymised Revenue Results Behind the Award
For the retained-client analysis, we compared 1 February 2025 to 31 January 2026 with the previous 12 months. The figures came from platform reporting, with draft orders excluded from Shopify total sales where applicable.
| Portfolio Measure | Anonymised Result |
|---|---|
| Retained Shopify accounts reviewed | Six |
| Accounts with year-on-year online revenue growth | Six out of six |
| Year-on-year online revenue uplift | From approximately 13% to more than 150% |
| Median year-on-year online revenue uplift | Approximately 25% |
These are not six versions of the same store. The accounts had different traffic patterns, product economics and customer journeys. One generated more revenue while receiving fewer visitors. Another absorbed substantial acquisition growth while also improving how effectively the store converted that larger audience.
This is why we do not treat conversion rate as the only measure of CRO. We review revenue per visitor, average order value, transaction volume, subscription performance and the commercial context around the result. Our guide to why CRO matters explains how those measures work together.
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What the A/B Test Revenue Estimates Showed
The entry also included two experiments where the testing platform modelled the potential monthly revenue effect of the winning experience. We have generalised the figures and removed the store currencies to reduce the risk of identifying either client:
- One experiment produced an estimated monthly revenue uplift of more than 150,000 in the store's reporting currency.
- A separate experiment produced an estimated monthly revenue uplift of more than 50,000 in the store's reporting currency.
These figures are estimates, not booked revenue. They came from experiment modelling and are not included in the year-on-year Shopify revenue results above. We also keep forecast revenue opportunities from CRO impact modelling separate from both categories.
That distinction matters. Actual platform-reported growth shows what happened across a defined period. An A/B test estimate models the likely effect of a variant if its observed performance continues. A forecast estimates the opportunity before implementation. Combining them into one headline would make the result look larger while making the evidence less useful.
Our eCommerce A/B testing benchmark guide explains why win rate, statistical significance and commercial value should also be reported separately.
How Blend Turns CRO Evidence Into Revenue Opportunities
Repeatable results start well before a test is launched. Our CRO audits combine Shopify Analytics, GA4, heatmaps, session recordings, UX review and competitor analysis. A typical audit produces more than 40 recommendations, each supported by evidence and a clear hypothesis.
The development team scopes recommendations before they enter the roadmap. We then rank them using PECTI, our prioritisation method based on proof, ease, cost, time to impact and impact potential. This keeps the roadmap grounded in the client's commercial priorities and delivery capacity.
Our conversion audit checklist sets out what a useful CRO audit should contain and why a disconnected list of best practices is not enough.
For experiments, we define the hypothesis, primary metric, supporting measures and reporting method before launch. We review test validity alongside the wider business context, including changes in acquisition, promotions, pricing, product mix and tracking. A result then moves through implementation, code review, design QA, final review and post-launch checks.
This operating discipline does two jobs. It helps winning ideas reach the live store safely, and it stops losing or inconclusive ideas from being implemented on instinct. Avoiding a damaging change is part of the return from a structured CRO programme.
What Shopify Brands Should Expect From CRO
A Shopify CRO programme should make commercial decisions easier to defend. The agency should be able to show where an idea came from, what needs to change, how the outcome will be measured and what happens after the result.
Useful questions for any CRO partner include:
- Are actual revenue, test estimates and forecasts reported separately?
- Who scopes and builds the recommendations?
- How are hypotheses prioritised against commercial impact and implementation effort?
- What checks take place before and after a change goes live?
- How are failed and inconclusive tests recorded and used?
Our guide to choosing a CRO agency covers these points in more detail. For brands that are ready to experiment, our Shopify A/B testing service shows how we move from customer evidence to a properly built and measured test.
What This Award Means for Blend's Clients
The European Agency Awards gave independent recognition to the part of Blend's work we care about most: helping Shopify brands get more value from the traffic and customer demand they already have.
The evidence behind the award included year-on-year revenue growth across every retained account reviewed, substantial modelled revenue opportunities from individual experiments and a delivery system designed to turn learning into safe implementation. Client identities are not needed to make that value visible.
If you want a clearer view of what is limiting revenue on your Shopify store, explore how Blend approaches CRO strategy and implementation.
