Steve Chou runs an online store called Bumblebee Linens. As an e-commerce site owner, he knows that an appealing photo can make the difference between losing a customer and making a sale. In fact, a simple photo swap helped Steve improve sales on a listing by 209%.
In order to test photos, Steve ran split tests on his website, whereby he published a listing, waited several days, swapped out the images for new ones, waited again, and then compared the results. The problem with split testing, however, “is that it takes forever. Every test that I run usually takes at least 3 weeks or more,” he wrote in a blog post. “And I’d say that 9 times out of 10, my tests are inconclusive.”
Besides the time required, a conversion pixel or some kind of tracking mechanism was needed, adding complexity and hassle to the tests, especially when selling on sites like Amazon, eBay, or Etsy. “Not only is this a major pain in the butt if you have multiple listings,” he said, “but if you’re lazy like me, you’re never going to do it.”
So when Steve heard about PickFu, “I thought I’d give it a try just for fun.” He took a listing from his store and tested his current featured photo against a new photo.
This was the photo he was running:
And this was the new photo:
After surveying 50 women in the span of less than 20 minutes, the second photo beat the first by a margin of 3 to 1. The female respondents gave answers such as the following:
• It’s like a recommended serving suggestion – it just looks great and makes you picture using it
• The purple flowers against the gray backdrop and white napkins is gorgeous.
• … the flowers make it more interesting and make the napkins look a bit more fancy.
Steve admits that PickFu won’t replace traditional split tests, because split tests use your actual website customers as test subjects. Still, split tests take time to set up, and even more time to run. “Depending on your traffic levels, it can often take several months before you can get an answer,” he said. “Now it’s one thing if they always ended up providing conclusive results, but it’s rarely the case. … So from my perspective, I’m very reluctant to run a split test now unless it’s for something major. But for everything else, I’m more inclined to pay [a few] bucks and get a quick 20-minute answer from PickFu.”
After publishing his blog, one commenter wrote, “Wow, Steve, this is AWESOME! I’m definitely going to give PickFu a try. I’ve known about split testing and wanted to try it but it seemed overwhelming and technical. This, however, is right up my alley.”
Is PickFu right up your alley? Tell us about it! And keep in mind, we at PickFu practice what we preach. We tested two possible titles for this very blog post.
