How to Structure a Checkout Test

Intelligems enables your org to run real-time split tests on different Checkout Personalizations. This article will walk you through how to run a Checkout Personalization Test with Intelligems.

Before you build a checkout test, decide what you're comparing. The shape of the test determines how many Intelligems blocks you add in Shopify, and getting it wrong is the most common reason a checkout test returns a flat result.

There are four shapes.

Pattern	What you're comparing	Location IDs	Blocks to add in Shopify
Location test	The same block in different positions	A different ID per group	One per position
Content test	Different designs or messaging in one position	The same ID in every group	One
Presence test	A block against no block	One ID, control has no modification	One
Multi-block test	Different combinations of blocks	A unique ID per block	One per block

How Location IDs decide the shape

A Location ID connects a block in Intelligems to a slot in your Shopify checkout. That's the whole mechanic, and it's what makes the difference between the patterns above.

Give two test groups the same Location ID and they compete for one slot. Shopify renders one block, and Intelligems decides which version each visitor sees. Give them different Location IDs and you've created two slots, so you add two blocks in Shopify and place each one where you want it.

Name your Location IDs after what they are, not what group they're in. badge-below-total tells you where the block sits six weeks from now. group-b doesn't.

Location test

Same block, different positions. Every group gets identical design, colors, text, and icons, and a different Location ID.

Testing a "High Quality Guarantee" badge in two places:

• Main group: Location ID badge-main

• Below total group: Location ID badge-below-total

Add both blocks to your Shopify checkout and drag each into its position. Add every position before you start the test.

Content test

Different content, one position. Every group gets a different design, color, or message, and they all share one Location ID.

Testing three color variations of a guarantee badge:

• Green group: green badge, Location ID guarantee-badge

• Blue group: blue badge, Location ID guarantee-badge

• Red group: red badge, Location ID guarantee-badge

Because the ID is shared, you only add one block in Shopify. Intelligems serves the right version to each visitor.

Presence test

A block against nothing, which tells you whether the block earns its space at all. Leave one group with no modifications and give the other a block. One Location ID, one block in Shopify.

Run this first when you're adding a block type you've never used. It's the cheapest way to find out whether the idea works before you spend a test cycle tuning the design.

Multi-block test

Different numbers or combinations of blocks per group. Each block needs its own Location ID, and you add one block in Shopify for every ID across every group.

Testing one prominent badge against three smaller ones:

• Single badge group: one block

• Triple badge group: three blocks, each with a unique Location ID

Adding blocks to Shopify doesn't make them live

Shopify checkout changes normally publish the moment you save. Intelligems blocks don't. A block appears only when the test containing it is started, or when a Personalization containing it is activated.

So you can add every block for every group, position them, and preview them without any risk of a customer seeing them early.

If a Location ID isn't attached to a running test or an active Personalization, nothing renders in that slot.

Next steps

Choose who sees your test on the Targeting tab, then QA before launch with the Checkout QA Checklist.