Project
UX Design
Client
Book of the Month
Checkout Experience Optimization: Guided Add-ons
The checkout experience at Book of the Month plays a critical role in shaping both the user journey and overall business performance. While members could easily select their primary monthly selection and complete their purchase, opportunities to highlight additional add-on titles and drive higher books per box were limited.
My goal was to reimagine the checkout experience to surface add-ons at the right moment without adding friction. I focused on balancing discovery and efficiency: making it easier for users to explore and add more books while preserving a fast, seamless path to purchase.
Current Flow
The journey begins with the Best New Books (BNB) page, where members select their primary book before moving into their box and toward checkout. From there, users can proceed directly to ship or choose to browse additional titles through the All Books page. This creates a flexible, user-directed flow where add-on discovery is available, but not embedded into the core path.
Because exploring add-ons requires an optional extra step, users may complete checkout without engaging with the broader catalog. Add-on discovery sits outside the primary purchase flow, limiting visibility at a critical decision-making moment. This creates a clear business gap: high-investment add-on titles are underexposed, reducing their impact on books per box and overall revenue.
Our Goals
01
Increase books per box rate.
02
Boost add-on visibility.
03
Reinforce BOTM's curated discovery.
Key Considerations
Guided Add-ons Solution
After several iterations, we landed on a reimagined flow that brings add-on discovery directly into the purchase journey. After selecting their main book (primary action), members are prompted to explore curated add-ons (secondary action) before proceeding—embedding discovery within the checkout flow and increasing visibility at a key decision moment.
This shift aims to drive higher books per box by making add-ons easier to engage with, while elevating their presence within the highest-intent surface. It also repositions BOTM as a curator of multiple standout reads each month, not just a single selection.
Add-ons
Beyond highlighting this month’s add-ons, this step serves as a strategic surface to increase visibility of other key offerings. Multi-book orders usually include main picks and special collections, so we gave each its own tray here. People can browse and add without leaving the flow.
While backlog titles are less frequently added, we also maintained a clear pathway to the full catalog (All Books page) for members who wish to continue browsing.
Measuring Success
We ran an A/B test, allocating 30% of traffic to the guided add-ons experience and the remainder to control. After several months, we observed the following results:
+5.6%
Books per box rate
The guided add-ons experience successfully encouraged members to build more robust boxes, driving a 5.6% lift in books per box.
By surfacing relevant titles at the right moments and reducing friction in the discovery process, members were more likely to add additional books beyond their initial selection.
+3.4%
Box rate
In addition to increasing add-ons, the redesigned flow also led to a 3.4% lift in overall box rate, translating to a~$2.4M increase in annual annualized.
Despite introducing more opportunities for discovery, the experience remained optimal, demonstrating that enhancing engagement did not come at the cost of conversion.
Next Steps
Since launch, we’ve shipped 5+ iterations to improve engagement and conversion. Our latest test introduces a limited-time post-checkout upsell, based on the hypothesis that combining checkout and add-on decisions creates friction. By separating these moments, we aim to reduce cognitive load and drive both books per box and box rate even further.
The post-checkout upsell is currently in development and aimed to launch in the coming weeks.