Shopify Competitor Landing Page A/B Test: Why a Head-to-Head Comparison Didn't Move Revenue per Visitor

TL;DR

The brand behind this test is a European car diagnostics company. Its OBD2 scanner works with a paid app, which gives drivers access to hidden car features, advanced diagnostics and service tools.

Several competing brands sell similar scanner and app combinations, and shoppers in this category compare.

To see whether a direct comparison would help undecided shoppers, we built a landing page that set the brand against its closest competitor and ran it as a Shopify A/B test against the original page. After four weeks, it made no significant difference to revenue per visitor.

The challenge: helping shoppers choose between similar products

When products look alike, shoppers look for a reason to pick one. A comparison page can give them that reason, if it compares what they actually care about.

The research: why shoppers chose this brand

Before building the page, we went through survey answers and reviews to see how buyers chose between brands, and checked them against analytics and a store walkthrough as part of our Shopify CRO research.

• ✓Choosing between brands: the survey asked buyers what made them choose this brand over another, and 5 responses named its flexible subscription.
• ✓Community validation: 29 survey mentions named forum or social recommendations as part of the decision.
• ✓The real alternative: reviews compared the brand with cheap generic OBD2 dongles, which cost a fraction of the price.

The hypothesis: show how the brand compares

If we show shoppers how the brand compares with its closest competitor, those still choosing will pick this brand more often, increasing revenue per visitor.

The variation: a head-to-head comparison page

The variation was a dedicated landing page comparing the brand with its closest competitor. The test measured the combined effect of these changes and does not isolate any single element.

The results: no significant change in revenue per visitor

We ran the test in Intelligems for 28 days, comparing the original page with the comparison landing page.

The variation came in slightly below the control, but over four weeks the difference stayed within the range of chance. The test did not show that the comparison helped or hurt.

What this test taught us about competitor comparisons

A flat result after four weeks is still a finding.

Shoppers here mostly wanted to know three things: will it work on my car, how the subscription works, and how much will I save compared with a dealer.

While this page was still in test, we also tested the comparison as a table on the product pages. The result was almost the same.

Find out what your shoppers compare you with

We plan, build and run A/B tests for Shopify stores, grounded in customer research rather than guesswork. Get in touch to find out what to test next.