Checkout optimisation: fix the surprises first, the buttons second
Making the last steps before payment short and free of surprises. Most checkouts don't lose people to bad design. They lose them to a delivery charge nobody mentioned earlier.
- 015Checkout Optimisation
- Enhancing the checkout process to reduce cart abandonment and increase conversion rates.
- Measured as
- Completed checkouts divided by checkouts started
- Where to look
- Shopify's conversion rate breakdown report, from cart to completed checkout
- Usual culprits
- Late delivery costs, forced accounts, missing payment options, slow apps in the cart
- The safety net
- An abandoned checkout flow in Klaviyo
People leave a checkout when it tells them something new
By the time someone reaches your checkout they've picked the product, the size and the colour. What stops them now is news. A delivery charge they hadn't seen, a delivery date further off than they assumed, an account they're suddenly asked to make.
So the cheapest checkout fix usually isn't in the checkout. It's putting delivery costs, delivery dates and the returns promise on the product page and in the cart, where the answer arrives before the question does.
What to check on a Shopify checkout, in order
On Shopify you can't change much of the checkout itself, and that's mostly fine: it's quick, and Shopify keeps improving it. The cart is your own code, and Plus stores get more room inside the checkout. Work through this before anyone redesigns anything.
- Express buttons such as Shop Pay, Apple Pay and Google Pay are switched on, and show in the cart as well as the checkout
- Guests can pay without signing in, see guest checkout
- Delivery options and prices match what the product page and the cart promised
- Payment methods cover how your customers actually pay, including any pay later option they ask for
- Apps in the cart aren't slowing it down or fighting each other
Measure checkout completion by device, over whole weeks
Take completed checkouts and divide by checkouts started. Then split it by device, because phone and desktop checkouts fail for different reasons and a blended number hides both. Compare whole weeks with whole weeks, so a good Saturday doesn't pass for a fix.
If your abandoned checkout emails get clicked and the orders still don't come, look at the page before the email. We've written up how to tell when the fault sits on the other side of the click.
What the abandoned checkout flow can fix, and what it can't
The abandoned checkout flow catches people who started and stopped, and on Shopify you usually have their address by then. Its second email earns its place by answering delivery, returns and payment, the same questions the checkout should have answered.
What it can't do is rescue a checkout that surprises everyone. A discount in the third email papers over a delivery charge. It doesn't remove it.
Related terms
FAQs
What should we fix first on our checkout?
Whatever surprises people. Show delivery costs and delivery dates on the product page and in the cart, switch on express payments, and let guests buy without an account. Then watch a few recordings of real checkouts on a phone. The fix is usually obvious once you've seen someone struggle.
Is a one-page checkout better than three pages?
Not automatically. Shopify defaults to one page and lets you switch to three, so you can test it on your own traffic. Judge it on completed orders over whole weeks, split by device. Fewer surprises beats fewer pages, and a short page full of unanswered questions still loses people.
Can email fix checkout abandonment on its own?
No. The abandoned checkout flow wins back people who were interrupted or unsure, and it's worth having. It can't remove a delivery charge, a missing payment method or a slow page. If the same objection keeps coming back in replies to the flow, fix it in the checkout and the flow gets easier too.
Rather we explained it on your own account?
Bring your Klaviyo account to a growth consultation. We'll walk through what this means for your numbers, in plain English, and what we'd fix first.
Half an hour with Theo, our founder.
We're all about relationships built on trust, mutual respect and a shared vision for success. If that sounds like your vibe, let's make some waves together 🌊
