Customer Story

How testing & optimization has driven data-led decision making a for a dedicated online-only retailer

A single test with Optimizely provided an 18.1% uplift in orders for Wonderbly

Wonderbly (formerly Lost my Name) began its journey in 2012 as a dedicated online-only retailer specializing in personalized children’s books and has since sold over 1 million books.

Wonderbly increased its existing optimization activity in July 2015. The aim was to create the same exceptional and personalized experience achieved in its books for each online visitor. Specifically, Wonderbly wanted to be able to harness the data that would best help move visitors through the funnel, generate higher conversion rates and inform critical decision-making.

A clear demonstration of business value

Over the last 9 months, Lost My Name has developed and run over 50 unique and on-going A/B tests using Optimizely. One A/B test looked at targeting customers that were considering purchasing personalized books for children whose names only had three or four letters.

Previous feedback and conversion rates had suggested that these customers didn’t see the value for money when purchasing books as they thought the stories would be too short, compared to those purchasing books for children with longer names.

Lost My Name ran a test with Optimizely that involved displaying a message for those purchasing books for shorter names, explaining “short names don't mean short stories, we've added 4 additional pages to your book”. While this particular test had no impact on conversion; a deep dive analysis revealed particular promise for just three-letter names with a very successful A/B test to follow.

This additional test for just three-letter names surfacing the same message resulted in a proof of the initial hypothesis and an uplift in order conversion.

Tom Waterfall, Director of Conversion Rate Optimization, Lost My Name, comments, “Despite no impact on conversion being achieved for the four-letter test, the three-letter test confirmed the initial hypothesis and resulted in 18.1% lift in orders for visitors arriving via Facebook ads. Facebook represents the largest acquisition source for Lost My Name and clearly demonstrates the value that optimization brings to the business.”

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