Experimenting with drop-in components

This topic introduces you to creating an A/B experimentA controlled test that compares two or more page versions to measure which performs better. for drop-in components.

About storefront A/B experiments

The Experimentation PluginThe optional AEM experimentation integration used to run A/B experiments, route audiences, and track outcomes. provides all the features for running A/B experiments on your storefront pages. You can track conversions and experiment with different page variations quickly, using real user metrics.

Metadata markers and rules define which versions of a page visitors see. Consent requirements and data handling depend on your plugin configuration and your organization’s policies; confirm them with your developer before launching an experiment.

Additionally, the plugin allows A/B experiments that can be run on mobile or desktop users and success can be tracked for each variant. You can also customize sample rates, data storage, and environment detection to suit your project. And with marketing campaigns, you can tailor experiences so visitors from a particular email or social link see unique content.

This plugin integrates seamlessly with the AEM boilerplate code, allowing experiments to be loaded early and with minimal impact.

For detailed development information, see AEM Experimentation plugin documentation .

Step-by-step

Follow Create a page experiment to prepare a variant, add experiment metadata, and compare versions in preview. Ask your developer to confirm the plugin, measurement, consent, and preview configuration before you begin.

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Experimenting with UI label changes

You can use the Experimentation plugin to test different UI labelingCustomizing UI text labels for tone, branding, or clarity while staying in the same language. variations in your storefront. This allows you to experiment with the labels used by drop-in components to determine which versions perform best.

You can include labels in your experiment by creating a variant update in your placeholder filesJSON files that store storefront UI labels by drop-in and locale so merchants can change text without changing code., then referencing that placeholder path in metadata on the variant page. Any overlapping keys in the variant placeholders file will override the existing placeholders, making it ideal for experiments with different label variations. Using the Experimentation plugin, you can track the performance of each variant to identify which labels and texts are most effective.

Step-by-step

Follow Test alternate storefront labels to add variant-specific placeholders and check that the original page’s labels remain unchanged.

Next steps

Now that you understand how to create A/B experiments for drop-in components, you can start experimenting with different variants to optimize the performance of your storefront.