Thumbnail Gallery on Mobile
Type: Page Test · Where It Runs: Product Page (Mobile) · Setup Time: ~10 min
Test whether showing a thumbnail image gallery below the main product image on mobile increases revenue and add-to-cart rate.
Video Walkthrough
Why This Works
On mobile, most Shopify themes hide the thumbnail gallery by default. Shoppers only see the main product image and have to swipe to see more. The problem is that most people don't swipe. They see one image, make a snap judgment, and either scroll down or bounce.
Showing a row of thumbnails below the main image changes that. It gives shoppers a visual preview of every angle, variant, and detail shot without requiring them to do anything. A supplement brand can surface the nutrition label. A fashion brand can show the product from the back. An accessories brand can show the product on a model.
It introduces more ways to capture attention in the first fold of the PDP, and that extra context can be the difference between a scroll-past and an add-to-cart.
Best For
Stores with strong product photography (multiple angles, lifestyle shots, detail shots)
Products where visual details matter (supplements with nutrition labels, fashion with fit details, home goods with texture/scale)
Any store where the default mobile theme hides thumbnails
How to Set It Up
In your Elevate dashboard, click Page Experiment
Give your experiment a name (e.g. "Thumbnail Gallery Image Test") and add a description of your hypothesis
Set your primary metric to Revenue per Visitor
Select Product Page as the target. Run it on all products, or click Show specific products if you only want to test on certain ones
For the variation, click Duplicate to duplicate your primary product template. Find your main template (it may be called "product," "default," or something else depending on your theme) and select it. Elevate will create a copy that starts with "eab" so you can always tell which templates belong to Elevate
Click Edit in Shopify to open the duplicated template in the theme editor
Click on your product detail section and look for the thumbnail settings. Go to the Mobile Layout options and change thumbnails from hidden to visible. The exact setting name varies by theme, but look for something like "Show thumbnails" or "Mobile thumbnail layout"
Hit Save in the theme editor and go back to Elevate
Preview both the variation (thumbnails visible) and control (thumbnails hidden) on mobile to make sure everything looks right
Set audience targeting to Mobile only since this experiment only affects the mobile experience. No reason to include desktop visitors in the test
Leave traffic split at 50/50. No need to isolate traffic or set up content changes
Click Create Experiment to put it in preview state, do a final QA check, then Launch
What to Look For
Primary metric: Revenue per visitor. This tells you whether the extra visual context is actually driving purchases, not just engagement.
Also watch: Add-to-cart rate. If thumbnails are doing their job, shoppers are getting more product information above the fold and converting at a higher rate.
Timeline: 1-2 weeks for most stores. Since you're targeting mobile only, make sure you have enough mobile traffic to reach significance. If your store is heavily desktop-skewed, it may take a bit longer.
Need Help?
If you have questions about setting up the experiment, reach out to our live chat support.
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