+20% Conversion Rate — How a Smarter Search Function Turned Browsers into Buyers
Table of contents
About Love & Faith
Love & Faith is one of the leading D2C shops in the German-speaking market for personalized and emotional gifts. With monthly revenue reaching up to €2 million and a catalog of over 1,000 products, the shop offers fully customizable gift items for family members, partners, and friends. Love & Faith operates its own production facility in Germany and serves customers across the DACH region as well as in the Netherlands, Italy, and France.
The optimization was implemented by Convertlab GmbH, a specialized CRO agency based in Heilsbronn and an official Varify Agency Partner.
Initial Situation
The search function was identified as a high-priority optimization target. Internal shop search data revealed 5–6% search usage — significantly above average — flagging it as a massive lever. The search function was targeted because users who actively search show strong purchase intent, and with over 1,000 personalizable products, efficient product discovery is essential.
Convertlab used a custom-built Google Looker Studio CRO dashboard to identify drop-off points and underperforming funnel stages across the entire shop. Over 87% of visitors access the shop via mobile devices, so all optimizations were primarily designed for mobile.
Goal: Sustainably increase Average Revenue per User (ARPU) — encompassing both Conversion Rate and Average Order Value — by optimizing user behavior and facilitating purchase decisions.
Variations
Hypothesis
If users are immediately shown the most popular products and top search terms when clicking the search bar, and results update dynamically as they type,
then the conversion rate will increase significantly,
because users will find their desired product faster and more easily — especially given a catalog of over 1,000 personalizable products where 5–6% of all visitors actively use the search function.
Changes: The search function was fully optimized: a prominently displayed search bar in the header, top 5 search terms shown on click, bestseller products shown by default, and dynamic live results while typing — virtually eliminating the need for a separate search landing page.
Test Results
Test Setup: This test was part of an 18-month CRO program comprising 30 A/B tests across the entire Love & Faith shop. Tests were evaluated using the frequentist method. The shop generates up to €2,000,000 in monthly revenue, enabling high test volume and rapid statistical significance. A detailed overview of the full program is available in the Love & Faith Master Case Study →.
Segmentation: Primary focus on mobile users (87%+ of all traffic).
Measured Conversions:
11,65% Average Revenue per Visitor (ARPV)
20,11% Conversion Rate
Insights: With 5–6% search usage, the search optimization delivered the best ROI — 12% ARPV uplift purely through UX improvements. The redesigned search virtually eliminated the need for the search landing page.
Conclusion
17 out of 30 tests were significant winners and were rolled out into the live shop. Winning variations were rolled out sequentially and transferred to international stores (Netherlands, Italy, France). The collaboration continues, as continuous testing has been established as a core component of shop strategy. Follow-up tests and granular re-tests of individual elements are planned on an ongoing basis.
Implementation with Varify: All tests were implemented using Varify as the A/B testing tool. Convertlab works as an official Varify Agency Partner and collaborates closely with the platform. Varify was the ideal choice because it enables a lean and performant integration with Shopify — a critical factor, as Convertlab places strong emphasis on minimal third-party code and maximum page speed. The custom-code-based implementation combined with Varify made it possible to set up tests so that winning variations could be quickly and seamlessly integrated into the live shop.
Varify was the ideal choice because it enables a lean and performant integration with Shopify — a critical factor, as Convertlab places strong emphasis on minimal third-party code and maximum page speed. For a shop generating up to €2M in monthly revenue with parallel testing across multiple areas, Varify's scalable and affordable pricing model was also a key advantage.
Get to know the agency that made this possible
Convertlab is a specialized agency focused entirely on data-driven conversion rate optimization, based in Heilsbronn, Germany. As a Shopify Selected Partner and official Varify Agency Partner, the eight-person team manages online shops generating over €80 million in combined annual revenue.
The agency combines data analysis, sales psychology (TÜV-certified), custom web design, and lean web development to systematically improve shop performance for leading D2C brands in the DACH region.