The document describes two experiments conducted by Bunting, an online retailer of drink accessories. The first experiment tests placing product recommendations on product pages to help visitors find alternatives and increase conversion rates. The second experiment tests placing recommendations on cart pages to increase average order value by suggesting complementary additions. It also provides seven tips for improving recommendation performance, such as using isolated product images and algorithm-driven recommendations over human assignments.

1. Stephen Tucker
Twitter: @buntingpro
www.getbunting.com

2. Experiment 1
Retailer & Products
Retailer of drink accessories (glasses, decanters, etc).
Hypothesis:
Product recommendations on the product page, showing similar
alternatives to the product being viewed, will help visitors find what
they’re looking for, and thus increase the conversion rate.
Solution:
Product recommendations on product page, below main product image.

3. Variation A - 6x1 recommendations, algorithm-driven
Variation B - 5x1 recommendations, algorithm-driven
Control - no recommendations

6. Experiment 2
Hypothesis:
Product recommendations on the cart page, showing complementary
additions to the product(s) in the shopper’s cart, will increase average
order value.
Solution:
Product recommendations on cart page, below shopping cart details and
‘checkout’ button.

7. Variation A - 6x1 recommendations, algorithm-driven
Variation B - 5x1 recommendations, algorithm-driven
Control - no recommendations
Variation A - 6x1 recommendations, algorithm-driven
Variation B - 5x1 recommendations, algorithm-driven

10. 7 things we’ve learnt at Bunting that will
improve your recommendation performance

11. 7 things we’ve learnt at Bunting that will
improve your recommendation performance
1) Quantity / image size can dramatically affect performance

12. 7 things we’ve learnt at Bunting that will
improve your recommendation performance
1) Quantity / image size can dramatically affect performance
2) Use isolated images, rather than lifestyle images

13. 7 things we’ve learnt at Bunting that will
improve your recommendation performance
1) Quantity / image size can dramatically affect performance
2) Use isolated images, rather than lifestyle images
3) Place your recommendations directly below main product photo /
summary description, but above product description

14. 7 things we’ve learnt at Bunting that will
improve your recommendation performance
1) Quantity / image size can dramatically affect performance
2) Use isolated images, rather than lifestyle images
3) Place your recommendations directly below main product photo /
summary description, but above product description
4) Recommendations grids: horizontal generally perform better on
desktops, while vertical should be used on small mobile devices

15. 7 things we’ve learnt at Bunting that will
improve your recommendation performance
1) Quantity / image size can dramatically affect performance
2) Use isolated images, rather than lifestyle images
3) Place your recommendations directly below main product photo /
summary description, but above product description
4) Recommendations grids: horizontal generally perform better on
desktops, while vertical should be used on small mobile devices
5) Remember the context! Product page recommendations should be
similar alternatives to the main product. Post-add-to-cart
recommendations should be complimentary extras to the cart
contents

16. 7 things we’ve learnt at Bunting that will
improve your recommendation performance
1) Quantity / image size can dramatically affect performance
2) Use isolated images, rather than lifestyle images
3) Place your recommendations directly below main product photo /
summary description, but above product description
4) Recommendations grids: horizontal generally perform better on
desktops, while vertical should be used on small mobile devices
5) Remember the context! Product page recommendations should be
similar alternatives to the main product. Post-add-to-cart
recommendations should be complimentary extras to the cart contents
6) Use big data recommendations, rather than human assigned

17. 7 things we’ve learnt at Bunting that will
improve your recommendation performance
1) Quantity / image size can dramatically affect performance
2) Use isolated images, rather than lifestyle images
3) Place your recommendations directly below main product photo /
summary description, but above product description
4) Recommendations grids: horizontal generally perform better on
desktops, while vertical should be used on small mobile devices
5) Remember the context! Product page recommendations should be
similar alternatives to the main product. Post-add-to-cart
recommendations should be complimentary extras to the cart contents
6) Use big data recommendations, rather than human assigned
7) Split test different recommendation content
(eg: most popular vs. related)

18. Twitter: @buntingpro
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