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eCommerce platform

eCom

Behavioral

Increase in checkout conversion by 5.3% by leveraging the positive emotions associated with the color green in discounts and promotions

My Rol: Lead Behavioral Desinger + Researcher

KPI Improved with Behavioral Design

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Situation

We have developed an agnostic shopping cart, adaptable to different markets and retailers. The business team has requested that we identify friction points, uncover opportunities for improvement, and propose strategic solutions to enhance conversion rates.

Quick intro

Challenge

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The Customer Experience (CX) team requested generalized solutions to increase conversion rates across all shopping carts, regardless of client type or market.

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The goal was to implement scalable improvements that positively impact all customers rather than optimizing for individual cases.

Constraints

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Agnostic approach: Solutions needed to be broad and adaptable, as the cart integrates with multiple storefronts, rather than being highly customized for specific clients.

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Business vs. Research: Balancing top-down profit-driven priorities with bottom-up UX research insights was an ongoing challenge.

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Diverse customer base: Solutions had to work across different industries, user behaviors, and cultural expectations without compromising usability or conversion.

Achievements

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Achieved a 5.3% average conversion increase across all carts by leveraging positive emotional cues, such as using the color green in discount displays to reinforce trust and encourage purchases.

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Applied Behavioral Design principles to optimize the checkout flow, demonstrating that integrating psychological triggers not only reduces friction but also delivers better KPIs and conversion rates.

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Enhanced trust and confidence in design and research solutions, demonstrating the tangible impact of UX-driven changes on business KPIs.

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Created a scalable framework for continuous checkout improvements, enabling further experimentation and iteration based on real-time data.

Business Impact

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Increased revenue through improved conversion rates without requiring extensive development effort or customization per client.
 

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Strengthened the company’s competitive advantage, offering a highly effective, plug-and-play checkout solution that drives measurable results for all clients.

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Improved cross-team collaboration, fostering a more data-driven, user-centered approach to decision-making.

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Stronger market positioning, reinforcing Bankinter’s reputation as a leader in digital banking innovation.

Stakeholders

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The intervention involved collaboration between key teams: Research, Data, CX, Product, Development, and Customer Support.

Each team contributed to identifying and addressing friction points in the checkout flow, ultimately improving conversions and reducing drop-offs.

Starting Point

How did it all start?

The project began with a Research team experiment testing a new cart model in the checkout process. This cart featured green accents to highlight discounts, promotions, and free shipping, aiming to create a visually structured and engaging user experience.

New cart model tested

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🤯

Unexpected discovery

During a qualitative test of a new cart model—more structured and compact with green accents highlighting promotions—users consistently noted how the green elements “stood out more” and made discounts more noticeable. This feedback led us to explore the impact of green in amplifying positive emotions, improving recall, and motivating users to complete checkout.

Promotions and discounts highlighted in green

In the cart, elements associated with promotions and discounts are prominently highlighted in green, drawing attention and emphasizing their value to users.

Behavioral

Insight

How does Behavioral Design make a difference?

As an Expert Behavioral Designer, I recognize the psychological effects that influence user behavior:

Cognitive load

Green simplifies decisions by highlighting key elements like discounts and promotions.

Positive framing

Green and promotions together boost confidence and motivation.

Attentional bias

Green effectively draws attention to important elements.

As the Baymard Institute noted:
Through multiple rounds of checkout testing, we’ve consistently observed that participants who felt like they were getting a ‘good deal’ were more likely to feel confident moving forward with checkout

So I decided to harness the Power of Green and run a new experiment

What experiments were conducted?

Hypothesis

Highlighting discounts in green, both collapsed and expanded, would enhance trust and positive emotions.

​Quantitative
Test
100 users (50/50 split) tested prototypes by reviewing, collapsing, and expanding the cart. The goal was to determine whether green-highlighted discounts improved recall and emotional impact.

Control version

The phrase "You are saving 5€ in this purchase" (in green) appears only once, specifically when the cart is expanded. It is not shown by default in the collapsed cart.

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Colapsed cart

Expanded cart

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Variant

The phrase "You are saving 5€ in this purchase" (in green) now appears twice: in both the collapsed and expanded cart, enhancing visibility and improving user engagement.

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Colapsed cart

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Expanded cart

Key results

Question 1

Do you remember if there was a discount applied?

+45%

The variant improved recall, with 45% of users remembering discounts compared to 25% in the control

Question 2

Do you remember the exact amount of the discount applied?

73%

Of users recognizing a discount, 73% in the variant accurately recalled the amount (€5), compared to 54% in the control version

Conclusion

This experiment highlights the powerful impact of visual cues like the color green in creating a positive framing for discounts and promotions. By leveraging green as a signal for savings, the design not only enhanced recall and engagement but also fostered positive emotional responses. A real-world A/B test validated these findings, demonstrating a 5.3% increase in conversion rates and delivering measurable business value.

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New cart model 

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Optimizing promotions using the psychological power of Green

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