Multidimensional A/B Testing for Marketing Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
A/B testing is challenged by confounding factors that skew results, such as weather and holidays, especially when testing the impact of advertising on sales across different locations, as traditional methods require large numbers of stores or extended testing periods, which can be costly and inefficient.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for automated scheduling, monitoring, and evaluation of repeated, alternating A/B tests arranged in a multidimensional pattern (hypercube) that allows for easy adjustment of statistical power and comparison of creative content impact across various variables, such as stores, time, and products, using a networked server to control audio and visual devices and track metrics.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional A/B testing is conducted across multiple stores to account for population heterogeneity, then the reliability of test results improves, but the cost and complexity of the test increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces time as an additional dimension to the traditional A/B testing framework. Instead of only comparing variants across different spatial locations (stores), the system implements repeated A/B tests across multiple time periods at the same location, creating a temporal dimension that allows for controlling population heterogeneity without requiring multiple stores simultaneously
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements periodic A/B testing by repeatedly alternating between variant A and variant B across multiple time periods. This periodic exposure allows the same location to serve as its own control, capturing temporal variations while maintaining statistical power through repeated measurements over time
2Reliability
If the number of stores participating in the test is increased to improve statistical power, then the statistical power of the test increases, but the cost of running the test increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent shifts from a spatial scaling approach (adding more stores) to a temporal scaling approach (extending test duration). By implementing repeated A/B tests across multiple time periods at fewer locations, the system accumulates statistical power through time rather than through space, reducing the number of stores needed while maintaining or improving statistical power
Solution Approach 2:
The system maintains continuous testing by repeatedly alternating between variants across multiple time periods. This continuous exposure and measurement approach allows for accumulating data over time, increasing statistical power through the continuity of useful action rather than through expanding the number of parallel test locations
3Reliability
If traditional A/B testing is conducted over extended periods to account for temporal trends, then the robustness to confounding factors improves, but the time required for the test increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements periodic A/B testing by repeatedly alternating between variants across multiple time periods. This structured periodic exposure creates a rhythm of testing that efficiently captures temporal trends and confounding factors through systematic variation over time, achieving robustness without requiring excessively long continuous testing periods
Solution Approach 2:
By introducing repeated measurements across multiple time periods as an additional dimension, the system efficiently controls for temporal confounding factors. The temporal repetition allows for separating the effect of the variant from temporal trends through the structured alternating pattern, achieving robustness in a more time-efficient manner than traditional continuous testing
Data Source
AI summary
The system and method provide automated scheduling, monitoring and evaluation of repeated, alternating set of A/B tests arranged in a multidimensional pattern (hypercube). It provides a robust system and method for computationally repeated A/B testing while enabling easy adjustment of statistical power and other parameters. The statistical power of the system and method can be increased by increasing the number of repeated A/B tests over time. Furthermore, the system and method enables axis-wise (hypercube) evaluation of tests which allows comparison of the impact of creative content on different variables.