Case Study: Thompson & Morgan

The Client
Founded in 1855 in Ipswich, Suffolk, Thompson & Morgan is one of the UK's leading mail order horticultural companies. The business produces exceptional quality flower & vegetable plants and seeds, many of which have been developed from the company’s own breeding programme.

The Challenge
The challenge was straightforward: to encourage more first time visitors to complete their orders on the Thompson & Morgan web site.

Background
Logan Tod & Co analysed the available Google Analytics data to understand and unearth any major issues with ‘get to product’. The aim was to implement 'simple and straightforward' changes on the Thompson & Morgan website that would improve customers’ ability to find the correct product. These changes needed to be made within challenging technical constraints so had to be easy to deploy.

Our approach
Logan Tod & Co recommended carrying out an A/B test using the Omniture 'Test & Target' tool. This tool was chosen above others due to the ability to test for multiple outcomes simultaneously such as click throughs to next page, add to basket and conversions.

The methodology agreed upon was two A/B tests.
  • Homepage – the aim was to reduce the clutter and reduce the bounce rate
  • Product group page – the aim was to simplify  the customer decision making process by recommending a core product

In addition, Logan Tod & Co was asked to implement any obvious quick wins such as 'add to basket' button and navigational changes.

Thompson and Morgan

This A/B test was conducted with both the existing (A) and newly created (B) versions of the homepage. Whilst at first glance these treatments look similar, the ‘B’ version differed in the following ways:

  • More white space
  • Reduced overall content and noise but focusing action on key messages and calls to action
  • Improved banner image
  • More relevant promotional information
  • Added quality satisfaction and money back guarantee imagery
Results
The net result was a positive impact on the key focus areas:
  • 25% improvement in Homepage Bounce Rate
  • 89% increase in Brochure Download
  • Conversion rate and Revenue per visit also increased significantly as a result of this targeted A/B test.

Conclusions
The A/B testing was deemed to be a great success with significant improvement in key focus areas. The Homepage test was a clear success on all metrics and has now been fully implemented. Product group pages were also hugely successful and it was established that further work could improve conversion by simplifying the customer buying process.

Clare Dixey, Ecommerce Manager of Thompson & Morgan summed up the success “We are delighted with the results from this optimisation project and have seen our bounce rates dwindle, conversions improve and sales grow as a result. We look forward to working with Logan Tod on future optimisation projects”.

Thompson & Morgan website:
www.Thompson-morgan.com