Rapid testing without dev overhead

AmericanFlags wanted more ways to increase site revenue, but its existing testing process made even simple changes difficult to move forward. 

With a small team and limited bandwidth, getting a simple UX or CX test from an idea to a live experiment could take weeks. Every test required development time and coordination, making it difficult to keep experiments moving alongside the rest of the business.

“When I started trying to be able to do conditional testing…it just became this very long, drawn-out process, and what we really needed was tests we could run in a short period of time”.

- Ted Seward, VP of Sales and Marketing for AmericanFlags.com

Working across two sites and limited CRO budget, AmericanFlags needed a way to run experiments continuously, identify wins and losses quickly, and implement changes on the fly without relying on a lengthy development process.

Shuttlebase replaced AmericanFlags’ one-off testing process with a continuous CRO system that made it easy to iterate and launch tests quickly without a full redesign, CSS work, template updates, or hours of developer time.

"[We're able to] concept something fairly quickly, inject it into our flows, and see the results. It's an ongoing effort, and we're looking to keep expanding it."
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- Ted Seward, VP of Sales and Marketing for AmericanFlags.com

Shuttlebase started by analyzing AmericanFlags' site analytics to understand shopper behavior and where the site was losing potential buyers.

The first opportunity appeared on the product detail pages (PDP). Add-to-cart rates were low, and the analysis suggested the page wasn’t communicating what made AmericanFlags different from alternatives. 

Shuttlebase hypothesized that shoppers needed proof points when deciding whether or not to buy. So, it designed two variants to test against the original product page.

The first variant added three quality & trust badges to the PDP, mentioning they’re 100% American-made, trusted by military and civilians, and premium quality built to last. 

The second introduced a box titled “What makes our flags different,” highlighting the reasons shoppers should choose the brand.

Both variants were tested with real shoppers to see which better communicated the brand’s value and drove more shoppers to add the product to their cart.

After the test ran for 3 weeks, the quality & trust badges were the clear winner, increasing the add-to-cart rate by 18.2%. Not only that, but RPV increased by 26% and conversion by 11%, resulting in an $85,000 revenue uplift from a single experiment. 

It’s not always obvious what’s missing on a page to encourage shoppers to continue with their purchase, but in this case, something as simple as a few badges to reinforce the item's quality and care was enough.

This is just one example of the hundreds of opportunities Shuttlebase found. 

AmericanFlags now runs multiple tests a month with Shuttlebase, continuously addressing gaps and finding the next opportunity to improve the site. 

"You're adding exceptional value just pinging us with new ideas week after week. Every month I’m excited about what tests we have coming out and which ones we’re running.”

- Ted Seward, VP of Sales and Marketing for AmericanFlags.com

Roughly six months into their CRO program, AmericanFlags is tracking close to a $400,000 revenue uplift across their two sites. 

With a higher testing velocity and a steady stream of compounding incremental changes, AmericanFlags has also increased:

• 5% higher conversion rate
• 8% higher revenue per visitor 

"I think it's an overwhelming success. The key for me is your team, and how willing you've been to help us get set up, run through it with us, train, teach, and concept ideas. That's really what makes any of these programs work."

- Ted Seward, VP of Sales and Marketing for AmericanFlags.com

No longer needing endless hours of development work, AmericanFlags now runs a continuous CRO loop on their website, with Shuttlebase constantly finding opportunities, launching experiments, and helping turn small changes into measurable revenue.