# A/B test: show bestsellers before new arrivals on the home page

> If the first product block on the home page shows your bestsellers instead of new arrivals, then more visitors will open a product page, because what other people already buy reassures someone who is visiting for the first time.

- Source: https://bixlow.com/en/ideas/bestsellers-before-new-arrivals
- Language: en
- Updated: 2026-11-02
- Publisher: Bixlow

## Why it might work

New arrivals excite people who already know you. To a first-time visitor they say very little: products with no reviews and no track record, that nobody knows yet whether people like.

A "Bestsellers" block answers the newcomer's question: what is good here? Picture a natural skincare store. The loyal customer wants to see the new serum. The person coming from an ad wants to know which cream everybody keeps reordering.


## How to set it up

In Bixlow you describe the change to the agent, it builds it on your site and launches it as an A/B test once you approve it.

1. Pull your eight to twelve bestselling products from recent months, in stock.
2. In the variant, put that block first with a plain title ("Bestsellers") and move new arrivals down one slot.
3. If you can, show the variant to new visitors only: returning ones may prefer what is new, and that is a different test.
4. Check the list now and then during the test so sold-out products do not show up.


## What to measure

|  | Metric |
| --- | --- |
| Primary metric | Clicks to a product page from the home page |
| Metric that must not get worse | Orders per visitor |
| Where it is measured | Home page, splitting new and returning visitors |


> **When I would not test it.** If your business runs on drops (seasonal collections, limited editions) and your audience comes back precisely to see what is new, demoting new arrivals may cost you more than it earns. In that case, test it on new visitors only.


## FAQ

### Won't I end up selling the same few products?

It is a real risk. That is why the test tracks orders and not just clicks, and why new arrivals should stay on the home page, just a bit lower.

### Bestsellers by units or by revenue?

Units usually work better for this block, because it reflects what most people choose. If your margin sits in the expensive products, you can test the other list later.

### What if my store is new and I have no sales data?

Then there are no bestsellers to show yet. Use your own favourites as "Our picks" and save this test for when you have some history.

## Further reading

- [Next idea: free shipping badge on product cards](https://bixlow.com/en/ideas/free-shipping-badge-on-product-cards)
- [What an A/B test is](https://bixlow.com/en/glossary/ab-test)
- [Sample size calculator](https://bixlow.com/en/tools/sample-size-calculator)