How Design Bestseller increased its conversion rate with authentic customer photos of furniture in real-life living situations
Increasing the conversion rate with real customer photos on PDPs
Result:
Furniture
Germany
+ 8% Conversion
Table of contents
About Design Bestseller
Design Bestseller is one of the leading German online stores for high-quality designer furniture.With a carefully curated selection of renowned brands, the company combines style and functionality - and appeals to customers who value quality, aesthetics and durability.
Initial situation
Purchasing decisions are often accompanied by uncertainty, especially when it comes to high-priced products:How will the piece of furniture look in my home? Does it really suit my style, room size and everyday life?
These questions are key conversion hurdles in e-commerce - especially if product images appear too sterile and impersonal. Previously, Design Bestseller mainly showed its furniture on a neutral background. However, this hardly conveyed a sense of how the products would look in real surroundings.
Customers only had limited opportunities to imagine the furniture in their own home. The result: less confidence and reluctance to buy.
The test aimed to strengthen confidence in the purchase decision and thereby increase the conversion rate - by integrating real customer photos in the visible area of the product page.
Variants
Hypothesis
If Instagram customer photos can be integrated more prominently into the product page,
Then conversion rate and average order value increase,
Because Authentic images create trust. Customer photos have a similar effect to reviews - they provide social proof and reduce cognitive dissonance („Am I making a mistake with this purchase?“)
Original
Variant
Changes: Integration of Instagram customer photos directly in the visible area of the product page (no longer „hidden“ in a gallery).
Test results
The test achieved a significance of 97 % and confirmed the hypothesis that authentic customer photos strengthen trust and increase the conversion rate - especially among desktop users. 32,000 users took part in the experiment.
All devices: Slightly positive but moderate overall effect
Desktop: Significant increase in the conversion rate by +8 %
Mobile: Almost neutral effect, no significant change
Conclusion
While mobile users pay more attention to efficiency, the psychological effect on desktop users was much stronger: seeing real usage situations reduced uncertainty and promoted an emotional connection to the product.
Key Learnings & Interpretation
Social proof elements take full effect on larger screens - details in customer photos are more visible, which strengthens trust and emotional closeness. On smartphones, on the other hand, fast, efficient navigation prevails over emotional decision-making factors.
Authentic content supports the decision-making process, especially for expensive products, and increases the willingness to buy.
Important findings
The experiment shows that the combination of professional product photos and authentic social content is particularly effective for high-quality products such as furniture. This mix appeals to both the emotional side of the buyer - through trust and affiliation - and the rational side by demonstrating real suitability for everyday use.
For Design Bestseller, this result underlines how important it is to place social proof in a targeted manner - especially on desktop and for high-priced items, where purchasing decisions are more complex and risky.
The collaboration with Varify has enabled us to integrate experimentation into our everyday life.The test has shown that even small, well-planned experiments can have a big impact - they not only increase conversion, but also confidence in data-based decisions.
Head of UX & International Growth at Design Bestseller
Head of UX & Intern. Growth