Insight

Can You Drive Interaction with Search Bar Placeholder Copy?

While analysing the client’s site, we identified an opportunity to improve how users interact with the mobile search bar. On mobile devices, search is important in helping visitors quickly navigate large product ranges, especially for returning users who may already know what they are looking for. However, the existing search bar copy did not clearly encourage interaction or signal the value of using search. We hypothesised that updating the placeholder copy to better guide users toward searching for products could increase product discovery and ultimately improve revenue performance.

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A/B Test

Improving UX to Encourage Product Discovery

To test this hypothesis, we ran an A/B test comparing the original mobile search bar copy against an updated version designed to encourage product discovery. The goal was to prompt more users to interact with search and quickly find relevant products.

The Results

The updated search copy delivered positive uplifts across key commercial metrics. Revenue per visitor increased by 3%, subscription revenue per visitor rose by 4.53%, and subscription orders per visitor grew by 2.26%. We also saw a 1% increase in conversion rate and a 1% increase in average order value.

According to Intelligems, this translates into an estimated 313 additional orders per month. The variant consistently outperformed the control from the start of the test.

  • 3%

    Increase in revenue per visitor

  • 4.53%

    Increase in subscription revenue per visitor

  • 2.26%

    Increase in subscription orders per visitor