11 Ecommerce Checkout Best Practices to Convert More Shoppers (2022)

The volume of sales you’ll process through your ecommerce website depends on the effectiveness of your checkout. Research shows almost 70% of shoppers who’ve added an item to their online cart abandon the checkout process without completing their order.

As part of conversion rate optimization (CRO) strategy, you want to make the ecommerce checkout process as smooth and friction-free as possible, while still collecting the information you need to process an order.

Use these ecommerce checkout optimization tips to recoup lost revenue and improve your store’s conversion rate.

1. Showcase trust signals

Online shoppers purchase from brands they trust. But your mission to build trust doesn’t end once they’ve added an item to their online shopping cart. Continue proving to potential customers that your ecommerce website can be trusted with sensitive payment information via trust signals.

Trust signals do what they say on the tin: reassure customers your business can be trusted with sensitive information (most importantly, their credit card details). Examples of trust signals you can use throughout an online checkout include:

2. Make the checkout mobile friendly

In 2021, nearly one-third of US internet users used their mobile device to make a purchase each week. A mobile-friendly checkout encourages these shoppers to complete the transaction.

Take this example from The Citizenry. Its online store uses Shopify Checkout to provide a mobile-friendly experience. The checkout page automatically resizes for a small screen, and shoppers see large finger-friendly checkout buttons and fonts that encourage them to complete a purchase through their smartphone.

3. Remove additional costs

Did you know 55% of shoppers abandon their online cart because extra costs are too high? Shoppers want to know the price they see on product pages is the exact amount that’ll come out of their bank account.

Sometimes, there’s no way around additional costs like shipping, customs, or tax. But by presenting this information on the product page or offering free shipping to orders over a certain threshold, the additional costs don’t come as a surprise—one that deters them from making a purchase.

4. Show a checkout progress bar

Best practice is to remove all unnecessary form fields at checkout. Studies have shown the fewer fields an ecommerce checkout process has, the more likely a customer is to complete the form. A fast checkout flow convinces 27% of people who would have otherwise abandoned their online cart to continue their purchase.

Alex Birkett of Omniscient Digital suggests, “If you have a free shipping threshold, create a dynamic banner that shows how close they are to unlocking free shipping. I’ve tested this and it’s usually either null or positive on conversions, but tends to increase AOV and revenue.”

That said, there’s a lot of information you need to process orders—especially if you offer customized or personalized products. In that case, show a progress indicator so people know how long they’ve got before their order is complete, like this example from Taylor Stitch.

 

5. Allow multiple payment methods

Customers have a selection of payment options to choose from when purchasing online. Some 7% of them will abandon the checkout process if the site doesn’t allow them to use their preferred method of payment.

Improve checkout conversion by allowing customers to pay using their preferred payment option. That includes:

6. Autofill their shipping and billing address

The more time someone spends in the checkout flow, the longer they have to rethink their decision.

Speed things up with Google Autocomplete. It prefills a customer’s billing and shipping address when they start typing it, which is proven to save time by 20% and reduce mobile errors.

7. Hide the discount code field

Nine in 10 shoppers use discount codes when buying online. But if they’re initiating a purchase and showing a discount field, they might exit the checkout flow to find one.

Consider hiding the discount code field behind a dropdown (like Shopify does on mobile). That way, it’s still there for customers who have a promo code to redeem, but not off-putting to potential customers purchasing without a coupon.

8. Use upsells or cross-sells

Help people get more value from their order with upsells and cross-sells.

An upsell recommends a higher priced product similar to the one already in their shopping cart. Cross-selling recommends products that complement the items they’re buying. If someone has a $19.99 three-piece bowl set in their cart, for example, recommend a $24.99 one that contains five items, or a $3.99 mug that matches the bowl set.

The added bonus: both upsells and cross-sells increase average order value, so you squeeze more revenue out of each customer.

9. Allow a guest checkout

A quarter of people abandon their shopping carts because the site wants them to create an account. Ditch forced account creation and keep online shoppers engaged by offering one (or both) of the following options:

10. Enable chat support

Not everyone who’s added an item to their online cart is ready to hit Purchase. Ease online shoppers through any last-minute concerns with in-checkout live chat support.

With Shopify Inbox, you can communicate with customers and answer questions they have during the checkout process. Give real-time automated answers to things like returns policies, shipping delays, and product-related questions to reassure customers they’re making the right choice.

11. Offer 1-click checkout

1-click checkout is the fastest way to speed up your customer’s ecommerce checkout process. Features like Shop Pay allow customers to complete their order in one click, using a secure digital wallet that stores their billing information and payment details.

Betty Jade Gifting Company, for example, uses 1-click checkout. Shoppers can press “Buy with Shop Pay” to purchase the item in record time. There’s just one button to click on the checkout page before their order is confirmed—an ecommerce checkout hack shown to increase conversions by 35.62%.

Improve conversions with an optimized checkout flow

The checkout process is the stage that’s the hardest to optimize for maximum revenue. But if you focus on eliminating the worst conversion killers, you’ll see a bigger revenue lift than from small tweaks like button colors or product headlines.

Ecommerce checkout FAQ

What makes a good checkout experience?

A good ecommerce checkout experience is fast and easy. This might mean using guest or social media login, limited form fields to only type the information required to process an order, or 1-click checkout.

How do you upsell at checkout?

Shopify apps like Zipify, Zoorix, and In Cart Upsell allow you to upsell higher priced products at checkout.

What is a good checkout abandonment rate?

Studies show that 69.57% of people abandon their carts when online shopping. A good cart abandonment rate is anything that falls below that percentage.

How do you reduce checkout abandonment?