The Low Hanging Fruit Challenge

Inspired by @CarlWeische
To broaden my UX/UI skill set, I picked a few popular DTC brands and redesigned their e-commerce stores to optimize for conversion rate. I started with these 3 brands.
Pick a brand
Grovemade
Mini Katana
Tabs Chocolate
Grovemade
The Low Hanging Fruit
The product page has a rather minimalist design. While the style is aesthetic, as a product page it doesn't take advantage of valuable real estate above the fold. There is no mention of the top selling points, price is hard to read, and size is ambiguous. Reviews are not also not shown, so there is little social proof to justify the premium price point of the desk mat.
The Optimized Version
I added more product information above the fold to quickly capture attention. I also advertised the free shipping banner that was present on the home page, switched to a 3-image carousel to peak interest, added a size guide for reference, and including ratings for social proof.
The Menu
The existing sidebar menu had a lot of room for improvement.
A Better Browsing Experience
I added a scrollable image list in place of the product categories for faster more directed browsing. I included a "New" badge on new product collections to direct traffic to desired locations. Showcasing products visually reduces the amount of clicks prospects need to get where they want to go. It's also a more engaging and enjoyable shopping experience.
Mini katana
The Low Hanging Fruit
The product page was in a good place. The main area ripe for improvement was bringing more unique selling points above the fold. The page lacks in value propositions, reviews aren't shown above the fold, and the product images are awkwardly cropped.
The Optimized Version
I showed unique selling points with icons for enhanced visual intrigue, ratings/reviews, fixed image cropping, and an engaging product description. I also added in a banner in MiniKatana's accent color to bring attention to store benefits.
Back to the top
Tabs chocolate
The Low Hanging Fruit
The product page had addressed all foundational elements proven to increase conversions, so coming up with a testable concept was a challenge. The best idea I had was an alternate way of showing social proof.
Worth a test?
The VICE, TMZ, and METRO press logos on the product image are great for credibility, but I wondered if there was a way to increase trust that better fits the brand's main advertising channel?
The optimized version replaces the press logos with the total number of likes on the brand's Tiktok account. My hypothesis was that showing the products popularity on the app that many prospects originate from would build more brand trust than the VICE, TMZ, and METRO logos.