Key takeaways
Lovat Parks, a B Corp-certified holiday company, used A/B testing to prove that trust signals perform better when they stand out. By switching to the official Feefo interactive widget on their holiday grade pages and ownership unit pages they drove a
- 51.5% increase in transactions
- 33% increase in leads
“Out of the 50 tests we've done this year this has been one of our most impactful.”
Jonathan Morley, Head of e-Commerce, Lovat Parks
The challenge: decisions based on opinion – not data.
Lovat Parks is a holiday company with two distinct audiences: families and couples seeking nature-based holidays in Cornwall and the New Forest, and people looking to purchase holiday home ownership.
With a leadership team, external investors, and a marketing department all weighing in on digital strategy, there were often many different opinions on which direction they should take.
The team needed a way to cut through the internal debate and ensure website changes were driven by data.
“We started A/B testing about two years ago to really let customers lead the way for us and let the traffic dictate the result, rather than personal opinion”.
Jonathan Morley, Lovat Parks
The solution
Lovat Parks implemented a rigorous A/B testing programme, running approximately 50 tests a year – about 5 per month during peak season - to gather the data and make the changes that would positively impact the site performance.
Their goal was to adopt a "marginal gains" philosophy - similar to Formula 1 racing -where small, incremental improvements accumulate into significant business growth. They needed to know exactly which elements of social proof would convert best for their demographics.
A key area of focus was how they displayed customer feedback. The company had originally designed a "bespoke" review widget that blended seamlessly with their website's blue colour palette. While it looked tidy, the team hypothesised that it might be blending in too well.
They set up a head-to-head test:
- The control: A bespoke, on-brand blue widget with static quotes.
- The variation: The official Feefo interactive widget, featuring the signature yellow stars and the ability for users to filter reviews and see customer photos.
The theory was that Feefo’s recognised branding would act as a stronger independent trust signal than a polished, custom design.
The results
The test proved that when it comes to trust, standing out is better than blending in. The variation using the official "Feefo" branding significantly outperformed the bespoke design on the holiday grade pages and ownership unit pages. By allowing customers to interact with the widget and verify the feedback for themselves, Lovat Parks saw massive gains:
"Using your colour scheme, it stood out more. People looked at the reviews more than when we just used our own colours.”
Jonathan Morley, Head of e-Commerce at Lovat Parks
And that’s not all…
The Waiting Room solution
Thanks to their comprehensive testing, Lovat Parks found a creative way to use Feefo data to solve a technical challenge, turning technical friction into a trust-building opportunity.
The problem
A year ago, the Lovat Parks booking engine was struggling with complex searches. Specific queries – like a 14-night stay for a family of four – could take up to 30 seconds to load, creating a high risk that users would assume the site was broken and leave.
The fix
Instead of a standard loading spinner, the team ran a test to fill that "dead time" with social proof. While the user waited, the screen displayed a 5-star Feefo review from a previous guest to validate their decision.
The outcome
Even with the slow load times, serving the review during the wait improved the search-to-booking conversion rate. It proved that reassuring customers at high-anxiety moments can save a sale, even when the technology isn't perfect.
Ready to see how Feefo’s purchaser-verified feedback boosts trust and conversions on your site? Book a quick call with us now or check out our pricing.
