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#136: This full site redesign drove a 43% bump in conversion rates.

The 3 design changes this footwear brand made.

Author

Allen Burt
January 02, 2025

No. 136: Hey all,

Our site migration and redesign for French shoe brand Mephisto drove a 43% bump in conversion rates.

The first weekend the site was live, Saturday sales were bigger than Black Friday sales.

Plus: ARPU increased by 15% and gross purchase revenue lifted 59%.

How’d we do it?

Full breakdown (in 1-min) below.

In this issue:

New to The Commerce Lab? This is a 1min insight based on our experiments with 8-and 9-figure brands. Join thousands of brand owners, operators, and marketers 📈 Subscribe here.

🎯 WEEKLY INSIGHT

The 3 major design strategies that led to a 43% conversion bump for Mephisto.

#1: On the homepage, impress with brand story & best sellers.

Before the redesign, when landing on Mephisto’s site, it was clear right away what they sold.

But it wasn’t clear what the value was to the buyer.

Why should they care?

To address this gap, we introduced the page with Mephisto’s legacy and brand story.

Followed by displays of top products to boost visitor engagement and trust.

The action plan:

  • Brand intro section: Highlight Mephisto’s unmatched quality and heritage to captivate visitors and make a great first impression.

  • Customer reviews: Add reviews to build credibility – essential for converting browsers into buyers.

  • Best sellers, not new arrivals: Showcase popular items to guide new customers using social proof, and simplify the shopping experience.

⭐ Takeaway: For a memorable first impression, captivate with a value proposition and validate it with social proof.

#2: On mobile, streamline for social savvy shoppers.

Mephisto's strong social media presence drove a lot of mobile traffic.

But the site was cluttered and content-heavy.

It caused unnecessary friction.

The action plan:

  • IG images grid: Integrate a homepage grid featuring Instagram posts that link directly to products, making it easy for social followers to shop.

  • Pop-up cart: Add a confirmation pop-up for reassurance that items were placed in the cart, enhancing customer experience.

  • Simplified cart: Streamline cart page by removing clutter like extra subtotals and zeroed prices for a smoother checkout.

  • Mobile-specific icons: Address the lack of mobile visual cues by adding product benefit icons exclusively for mobile users, reducing perceived risk.

✨ Takeaway: If the layout is busy, they’ll bounce. Make it easy to shop with social media grids, reassuring pop-ups, and easy-to-scan benefit icons.

#3: On the product page, answer questions about product, process, and risk.

Emotions drive purchases, logic justifies them.

For Mephisto, we needed to raise first-time buyers’ confidence.

Here’s what we did:

  • Improved imagery: Before, cold browsers were forced to scroll for imagery. Instead, position a carousel of high-quality images at the top to pique interest.

  • Scannable benefits: Make unique benefits easily scannable, lifting them from heavy copy to highlight emotional and practical value.

  • Risk reduction elements: Place reassurances like returns and quality guarantees near the ATC button to alleviate anxieties.

✨ Takeaway: Dismantle barriers to purchase. Share your product, explain the process, and reduce perceived risks for a high-converting page.

The Key Stats:

  • Magento to Shopify Plus Migration

  • ARPU: Up 15%, CVR: Up 43%

  • Gross Purchase Revenue: Up 59%

🕙 WHAT’S BREWING

How we migrated a 400-year-old brand to Shopify Plus.

📣 IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

How to narrow your focus for greater profits.

For real results, don’t copy competitors. Act on this.

🗞️ NEWS HIGHLIGHT

Gary Vaynerchuk reveals the big tech trends that will define the future.

👀 FROM LAST WEEK

#135: This product page message increases mobile conversions.

💡 ALLEN’S QUICK TIP

👊 STOUT SUCCESS

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That's all for today.

If you enjoyed this, please consider forwarding it to a friend, founder, or fellow marketer.

And if you have any comments/questions, I'd love to hear them.

Until next time.

— Allen