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Convertica Studio
CRO teardown Artisan Fragrance & Perfume

Cypress Cove CRO Audit

A walkthrough of Cypress Cove's homepage, collection page, and product page showing where shoppers lose confidence, plus a scent-quiz redesign built to guide them to the right product.

15
Issues found
18
Fixes proposed
29
Minutes of tape
3.4
Overall / 10
29 min watch
01The teardown

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02Executive summary

What we found.

Cypress Cove already has proof points worth keeping. The homepage carries badges for awards earned through 2024, most products on the collection page show customer reviews, and the product page states price, free shipping over sixty dollars, and the return policy clearly. The materials to build trust exist; the site just is not using them to help anyone choose.

The core problem is that Cypress Cove shows products without helping anyone discover the right one. A visitor cannot tell in the top few sections what the brand is, who it is for, or why to trust it, and with fragrance the biggest barrier is that no one can smell a perfume through a screen. The site never tries to solve that.

That same gap repeats on every page. The collection page is a plain grid the shopper has to scroll through to compare four products, one of which has no reviews at all. The product page lists notes and price but skips the reassurance a buyer wants right by the add to cart button, drops reviews entirely, and never offers a bundle to raise the order size.

The fix is a guided buying journey instead of a static catalog: a find your scent quiz on the homepage and collection page that routes shoppers to matching products, reviews and delivery reassurance placed right where hesitation happens, and bundles that lift order value. The goal is not more traffic, it is helping the traffic already there feel confident enough to buy.

03The verdict

Problem, opportunity, impact

Core problem

Cypress Cove displays its perfumes without helping shoppers choose between them, and nothing on the site addresses the one doubt every buyer has: what will this scent actually smell like.

Main opportunity

Cypress Cove could turn its existing traffic into buyers by building a guided, quiz-led journey that routes each visitor to the right scent, backs every product with reviews, and prompts a bigger order at checkout.

Estimated impact

Guiding shoppers to the right scent, adding reassurance near the buy button, and bundling products at checkout should lift how many visitors convert and how much they spend per order.

04How we audited

Scored across five dimensions.

3.4 Overall

Five dimensions, each scored out of ten.

The five passes
  1. 01
    Homepage & PDP review Where attention leaks and buyers hesitate, section by section.
  2. 02
    Mobile UX audit 70% of your traffic — judged on its own terms.
  3. 03
    Trust & credibility check The signals that make first-time buyers convert.
  4. 04
    Collection & discovery Filtering, merchandising and guidance from browse to buy.
  5. 05
    Prioritized CRO roadmap Ranked by impact vs. effort, ready to ship.
5 of 5 dimensions scoring four or below
Branding 4/10
UX 3/10
Trust 4/10
Product Page 3/10
Conversion 3/10
05What we'd fix

Every issue, paired with its fix.

15 issues found, 18 fixes proposed.

Problems identified

Homepage Doesn't State Who The Brand Is For

The homepage does not clearly answer what the brand is, who it's for, or why to trust it. Only the word perfume comes through, so first-time visitors have to guess at everything else.

Hero Section Offers No Reason To Click Shop Now

Besides the hero image, the only clickable element is a Shop Now button, but nothing on the page gives a visitor a reason to press it.

Seven Navigation Sections Sit Above The Fold With No Menu

Best Sellers, Artisan Collection, Fragrance Discovery Set, Travel Sprays, Shop by Fragrance, and Family Gift Cards sit at the top of the screen without a menu bar, so a visitor cannot get anywhere by clicking them.

Products Are Listed, Not Discoverable

Below the fold, products show a name, price, and add to cart button, but nothing helps a visitor work out which one is right for them.

No Way To Preview Scent Before Buying

Fragrance is the hardest category to sell online because a shopper cannot smell a perfume until it's in their hands, and the site does nothing to close that gap.

Collection Page Is A Catalog, Not A Guide

The collection page is a grid of products with names, prices, and add to cart buttons. It displays what's in stock without helping anyone decide what to buy.

Products Look Interchangeable With No Visual Cues

Products on the collection page all look the same, with no visual cues or comparison points, so a shopper has to open each product page individually to tell them apart.

Shoppers Must Scroll The Full Grid To Compare

There is no way to compare products without scrolling through the entire list, which puts the full workload of finding the right scent on the shopper.

One Product Is Missing Reviews On The Collection Page

Three of the four products on the collection page show reviews; the fourth shows only a price, with no reviews at all.

Filters Are Too Limited To Narrow A Four-Product Grid

The filters at the top of the collection page are minimal, offering little help even across a set as small as four products.

Reviews Are Missing From The Product Page

The product page for Our Day at a Lake carries no reviews, even though the store has a storewide five-star average it could be showing here instead.

No Reassurance Sits Near The Add To Cart Button

Questions a buyer has right before purchasing, about returns, delivery timing, and whether the scent will match expectations, go unanswered right next to the add to cart button.

Product Page Skips Doubts About Delivery And Scent Match

The product page states price and shipping threshold but never addresses the delivery timeline or reassures a buyer about what the scent will actually be like.

Average Order Value Is Left On The Table

Nothing on the product page tries to raise order size. There is no related product, no bundle, and no incentive to buy more than the single item.

No Bundling Or Cross-Sell Anywhere On The Product Page

A smaller bottle could be bundled with the full-size perfume at a discount that offsets shipping cost, but the product page offers no such option.

Recommendations

Add A Hero That States What, Who, And Why Trust Us

Open the homepage with a hero section that states the brand, names who it's for, and shows a review count so a visitor trusts the site within seconds.

Build A Find Your Scent Quiz On The Homepage

Add a scent-finder quiz that asks who the gift is for and what kind of scent they like, then returns matching products so shoppers see items they actually want.

Show Star Rating And Review Count In The Hero

Display the store's rating and review count in the hero section so credibility is established before a visitor scrolls any further.

Route Shoppers Into Scent Families From The Homepage

Add clear paths from the homepage into scent families like floral or citrus so a visitor is funneled toward a collection instead of left to browse blind.

Turn Product Cards Into Self-Explanatory Mini Descriptions

Give every product card an image, review count, name, and a one-line summary of the scent notes so a shopper can decide without opening the product page.

Add Notify Me For Out Of Stock Products

Let shoppers leave an email or phone number on out-of-stock items so they get notified the moment the product is back, instead of leaving empty-handed.

Add A Gifting Section To Plant A Second Purchase Occasion

Add a shop-for-someone-else section that suggests gifting occasions, since a visitor who came to buy for themselves may not have considered buying for someone else.

Replace The Product Grid With A Guided Collection Page

Swap the plain grid for a collection page led by the find your scent quiz, so a shopper narrows options down by how they wear a scent and who it's for.

Add Best Seller And More Loved Badges To Products

Add light badges like Best Seller or More Loved to products on the collection page to nudge a decision without shouting about it.

Add FAQs To The Collection Page To Remove Doubt

Place an FAQ section on the collection page that answers common concerns directly, so the shopper doesn't carry unresolved questions into the product page.

Move Reviews Directly Below The Add To Cart Button

Place reviews right under the add to cart button, since that's where the buying decision is actually being made and where trust needs reinforcing.

State Delivery Timing And Return Policy Near Add To Cart

Add a line near the add to cart button stating when the order ships and arrives, and how returns work, so last-minute doubts get answered on the spot.

Repurpose Storewide Reviews On Products Missing Their Own

Where a specific product has no reviews yet, show the storewide rating instead, so trust still carries over even before that product earns its own reviews.

Describe The Scent Experience, Not Just The Notes

Write product copy around what the scent will feel like to wear, such as barefoot on warm granite, instead of listing only top, heart, and base notes.

Bundle A Small Bottle With The Full Size

Offer a small bottle or tester alongside the full-size perfume at a discount that roughly covers shipping cost, which raises order value while feeling like a deal.

Offer A Gift Wrap And Gift Note Add-On At Checkout

Add a gift wrap and note option on the product page for shoppers buying the perfume as a gift, which also adds a small amount to the order.

Add A Gift Card Upsell On The Product Page

Let shoppers add a gift card directly from the product page to increase the average order without asking them to leave the page.

Show Vegan, Cruelty-Free, And IFRA Compliance Badges

Display badges for vegan, cruelty-free, no phthalates, IFRA compliant, and made in USA near the product details to answer quality questions before they're asked.

06The redesign

The version we'd build.

Redesign frames not yet published
07Key takeaways

The teardown in 7 lines.

  • Cypress Cove's traffic already shows intent; the site just doesn't convert it into a sale.
  • A perfume site's hardest job is selling a scent nobody can smell through a screen.
  • Products are listed on Cypress Cove, but they are not discoverable.
  • The collection page functions as a catalog, not a guide to the right product.
  • The product page never resolves the doubts a buyer has right before clicking add to cart.
  • Reviews are missing exactly where they would do the most convincing, on the product page itself.
  • A guided find-your-scent journey turns browsing into a confident, specific purchase.
08Questions

Questions this audit answers.

The site shows visitors its products but never helps them figure out which one to buy. Without a way to narrow down or discover the right scent, shoppers are left to guess, and with fragrance that guesswork is even harder because they can't smell what they're buying.

No. The audit is clear that the products aren't weak, the presentation layer around them is. The badges for awards earned through 2024 and the reviews already on most products show the brand has credibility to draw on; it just isn't being used to guide a purchase.

Seven sections sit at the top of the screen with no menu bar, so a visitor can't click through to any of them. The only working button is Shop Now, but nothing on the page gives a reason to press it, and the basic questions a first-time visitor has go unanswered.

It's currently a grid of four products with no visual cues to tell them apart, so a shopper has to scroll and open individual pages just to compare. One of the four products doesn't even show reviews, and the filters offer little help across such a small set.

The product page for Our Day at a Lake states price, shipping threshold, and return terms, but carries no reviews and offers no reassurance near the add to cart button about delivery timing or whether the scent will match expectations.

The audit points to bundling a smaller bottle with the full-size perfume at a discount that roughly offsets the shipping cost, plus adding gift wrap, a note option, and a gift card upsell directly on the product page.

It shows a find-your-scent quiz on the homepage and collection page that routes shoppers to matching products, product cards that summarize the scent in one line, reviews and reassurance moved directly under add to cart, and bundles built into the product page.

Not necessarily. The audit is explicit that the redesign is a strategic idea from the design team meant to show the outcome, not a finished design, so any mismatched products or prices in it should be ignored.

A strategy call to walk through priorities, scope, timeline, and investment, and to decide together whether moving forward makes sense.

Yes. The audit frames the concept as the strategic direction, with the studio able to take it from concept into a live, working Shopify build.

By replacing the sensory gap with proof and guidance: a quiz that matches shoppers to scent profiles by description, detailed scent notes, and reviews from people who bought and liked the product, so confidence stands in for smell.

The 29-minute video walks through Cypress Cove's homepage, collection page, and product page, diagnosing what's holding back conversion on each, then presents a redesign concept for the same three pages.

Free CRO audit

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What's included
  • 5-minute video teardown
    A personalized walkthrough of your store, recorded by Eva.
  • Homepage & PDP review
    Where attention leaks and buyers hesitate.
  • Mobile UX audit
    70% of your traffic — judged on its own terms.
  • Trust & credibility check
    The signals that make first-time buyers convert.
  • Prioritized CRO roadmap
    Ranked by impact vs. effort, ready to ship.