Last week I saw this post on LinkedIn:
I saw a clever conversion-boosting tactic on TireRack.
It’s a perfect example of what happens when a marketer obsessively refines one small part of the buying experience until all friction has been eliminated.
Along with the post the author shared a video demo.
So let me show you how it works starting from the homepage:
Clicking ‘Shop Tires’ opens a modal:
Clicking ‘Vehicle Make’ opens the dropdown:
Here’s the clever, conversion-boosting tactic:
As soon as you select a ‘make’, the ‘year’ dropdown opens automatically:
Here’s what the author says about it (edited for brevity):
TireRack recognises that to select the right tire, you have to go through a few dropdowns which people don’t like doing.
Even if you shave off a little bit of friction, it adds up to a meaningful improvement in conversion.
He’s right!
- Users often struggle with dropdowns
- Reducing friction increases conversion
But automatically opening dropdowns makes matters worse.
Here’s why:
Reason 1: It doesn’t handle mistakes very well
For example, if you select the wrong ‘make’, you can’t just choose another one because focus moved to the ‘year’ dropdown.
Even if the user understands what’s happened – and they might not – they have to get back to the previous dropdown.
That’s friction.
Reason 2: It’s confusing in screen readers
Even if you select the right ‘make’, screen readers will announce that the ‘year’ dropdown opened which is confusing when all you did was select a make.
That’s friction.
Reason 3: It’s deceptive
It looks like you can fill out the form in any order.
But you can’t.
You can try to click year or model but the UI won’t respond.
You have to select ‘make’ first, then ‘year’, then ‘model’.
That’s friction.
Reason 4: It doesn’t work without JavaScript
This is not just because you need JavaScript to automatically open the next dropdown.
It’s because the menu options dynamically update based on what you select without a page refresh.
As a result without JavaScript, everything is broken.
That’s a lot of friction for a pattern that claims to eliminate it.
And I’ve not even mentioned users who are tired, stressed or have cognitive impairments while they they try to find the right tire.
“But how can it be bad if it boosts conversion?”
Glad you asked!
Someone in the comments asked for proof that the pattern really did increase conversion. The author said he didn’t actually know if it increased conversion - he just suspected it did.
Now the truth is that the entire UX needs an overhaul and it would take a long time to articulate it.
But let me set you on the right path:
The author said the problem was that users struggle with dropdowns, but the solution still has them - just without having to click to open them.
So if you want to solve the problem properly, start by ditching the dropdowns.
Or if you’d like to know how I’d overhaul this using proven patterns that actually eliminate friction and actually increase conversion: