Bob Hermanutz

For MEC (think the REI of Canada), the inability to simultaneously test pages or functionalities on its website led to a lot of head-scratching. Testing was a part of the cross-channel retailer's culture, but tests were run at different points in time. This often left MEC wondering whether the results of its tests were affected by outside variables (e.g., a holiday, free shipping promotion) unrelated to what it was trying to measure in the first place and, more importantly, if it was leaving money on the table.