In this test we experimented with offering a payment plan on option on a product with an average price of $138.
The idea was to see if:
1. More people purchased when they saw a payment plan being offered
2. Did this cause more purchases to gravitate towards a payment plan rather than paying in full.
The product sold for $129 + shipping for a total price of $138.
The payment plan allowed the buyer to make the purchase for 2 installments of $69.
Predictably, offering the payment plan did cause a boost in sales.
What was less expected was:
1. The impact of the boost.
2. The percentage of buyers who actually used the payment plan.
The Experiment
Everything on the page remained the same except for the buy button.
Version A : Ordinary Buy Button
Total Views: 6567
Total Purchases: 64
Purchase Rate: 0.97%
Version B: Buy Button with Optional 2-Payment Plan Option
Total Views: 6457
Total Purchases: 84
Purchase Rate: 1.29%
The Results
The impact on sales was quite high.
With the payment plan, sales went up by 32.9%.
But here’s the unexpected thing.
Many people don’t offer payment plans because money received today is of course better than money received tomorrow. The thinking is that many buyers will bail on paying the second installment or that too many single purchase buyers will opt for the payment plan instead and lower present revenue.We found this to be false.
Of the 84 purchasers who saw the payment plan option – ONLY 13 people picked the payment plan. That’s a mere 15.5%.
Yet the overall boost in sales was 32.9%.
Could it be that by simply offering a payment plan – we established a higher degree of trust and credibility and thus encouraged more sales, even from people who did not wish to use the plan.
Discuss This Article