"One office supply retailer wanted real answers, so they tested five specific color and button size design elements. The results didn't go as expected -- one change lifted conversions 44.11%."
As I read through the article, I found that their amazing "discovery" was that people completed the purchase check out when the designers made the checkout button larger. Wow. If only someone had figured that out scientifically before now. Say, in 1953.
Another big finding of this test was that users were more apt to find the button if it was red, rather than blue. Really? The cones that detect the color red are in the front of the retina, and the ones that detect blue are on the periphery. As a result, green and red are most easily perceived during fine discrimination, and that's why blue makes such a great background color.
So, while I'm happy that they got findings that they could act on, I'm really disappointed that a usability test was used as the vehicle to "discover" what was already known.