How Long-Term CRO Drove Sustained Growth for a Sports Nutrition Brand

The Approach

We focused on work that compounds. That meant: making subscription decisions easier, improving high-intent product discovery, building an AOV strategy through bundles, and using A/B testing to validate what drives real performance.

A/B Test 1: Guiding Subscription Choices with “Popular” or “Recommended” Badges (PDP)

When shoppers are presented with multiple subscription frequency options, uncertainty can stall the decision. If it is not immediately clear which option is the “safe” or most commonly chosen one, customers often default to a one-time purchase or abandon the selection altogether. Adding a simple decision cue can reduce effort and increase confidence at the point of commitment.

What We Tested

We set up an A/B/C test to determine whether subscription badges would increase Revenue per Visitor and eCommerce Conversion Rate.

The Test

Original: Subscription options displayed with no label

Variant 1: “Popular” badge on the 4-week option

Variant 2: “Recommended” badge on the 6-week option

Result (Winner: Variant 1)

Variant 1: Popular (4 weeks)

• +14.81% increase in eCommerce Conversion Rate
• +28.95% increase in Revenue per Visitor
• +42.98% increase in Select Autoship Option (Click on Autoship)
• +21.56% increase in checkout visits

Clicks on subscription options:

• 4 weeks: +117%
• 6 weeks: +77%
• 8 weeks: +142%

Variant 2: Recommended (6 weeks)

• -5.90% decrease in eCommerce Conversion Rate
• +0.03% increase in Revenue per Visitor
• +38.90% increase in Select Autoship Option (Click on Autoship)
• +20.14% increase in checkout visits

Clicks on subscription options:

• 4 weeks: +16%
• 6 weeks: +118%
• 8 weeks: +31%

Why This Worked

“Popular” outperformed because it acts as shopper-led guidance. Customers trusted a cue that implied real customer preference more than a cue that felt brand-instructed. That reduced hesitation, increased confidence in selecting a subscription option, and improved conversion and revenue per visitor. It also encouraged broader exploration of longer frequencies, which suggests the badge supported decision-making rather than pushing customers into a single option.

A/B Test 2: Replacing “Autoship” with “Subscribe & Save 10%” (PDPs, Collection Pages, and Cart)

Subscription terminology matters. “Autoship” can be unclear, and when shoppers do not immediately understand the benefit, they often ignore the option entirely. Clear value-led language improves comprehension and makes the trade-off easier to evaluate in the moment.

What We Tested

We tested whether replacing “Autoship” with “Subscribe & Save 10%” would increase subscription adoption while maintaining overall eCommerce performance.

The Test

Original: “Autoship” across PDPs, collection pages and cart

Variant 1: “Subscribe & Save 10%” across PDPs, collection pages and cart

Result (Winner: Variant 1)

• +100.43% increase in Subscription Orders per Visitor
• -11.89% decrease in Add to Cart Rate
• -6.07% decrease in clicks on Add to Cart on PDP
• +5.79% increase in Average Order Value

Why This Worked

The winning variant made the value immediate. Shoppers did not need to interpret what “Autoship” meant because the benefit was clearly spelt out. The uplift in Subscription Orders per Visitor shows that clarity and value framing removed a major adoption barrier, making subscriptions feel like a straightforward decision rather than an unfamiliar mechanic.

A/B Test 3: Exposing the Search Bar on the Desktop Homepage

Desktop shoppers often arrive with intent. If they are returning customers, or already know the product they want, forcing them to browse first adds unnecessary friction. Making search visible creates a faster path to purchase for those users.

What We Tested

We tested exposing the search bar directly on the desktop homepage to support high-intent product discovery and improve conversion.

The Test

Original: Search bar not exposed on desktop homepage

Variant 1: Search bar exposed on desktop homepage

Result (Winner: Variant 1)

• +13.4% increase in eCommerce CR
• +7.47% increase in Average purchase revenue per user
• +12.68% increase in Add to Cart rate
• +13.90% increase in checkout visits
• -3.77% decrease in bounce rate
• -3% decrease in visits to PDP
• -1% decrease in visits to collection pages

In 3 out of every 100 desktop visits, there was interaction with the homepage search bar.

Why This Worked

Exposing search reduced the time and effort needed to find products. The decline in PDP and collection visits alongside higher conversion suggests customers were completing purchases with fewer steps, rather than browsing more. In other words, the experience became more efficient for high-intent shoppers, which translated into stronger conversion and revenue.

Implementation: Bundling Strategy (AOV Growth)

Bundles are one of the most reliable ways to increase AOV in sports nutrition because customers often need complementary products to support their goals. The key is creating bundles that make sense, are easy to configure, and do not become an operational nightmare to maintain.

We developed a bundle strategy using multiple inputs: quiz insights, best sellers and revenue drivers, landing page performance, and frequently purchased together behaviour. This ensured bundles were grounded in what customers actually buy and what naturally fits together, rather than forcing arbitrary combinations.

From there, we worked through how bundling needed to function in practice, including:

• Defining the initial bundle sets the team could launch quickly
• Planning flavour and weight variation logic for products like whey, so bundles stay compatible with customer choices
• Confirming how bundles should be built and managed so the approach scales as new bundles are added
• Addressing discount and promotion rules so bundles can support seasonal offers without breaking existing sale logic
• Ensuring bundles retain trust signals, including review visibility where needed

Subscription Education

We added subscription education to reduce uncertainty before shoppers hit the PDP decision point.

This included a homepage section that highlights why subscribing is worth it and what flexibility customers have, supported by a clear CTA into a dedicated subscription landing page. The landing page explains how subscriptions work, reinforces the benefits, answers common questions so customers can commit with confidence, and leads customers straight into subscriptions right on the page, where they can subscribe to any of the brand’s best-selling items.

Core Web Vitals and Performance

As part of long-term CRO, we also invested in site performance improvements and Core Web Vitals work. The purpose here was to protect conversion gains over time by keeping the experience fast and friction-free as new features, merchandising, and content are introduced.