Shoppers might love what you’re selling but leave without completing their purchase due to unexpected fees, confusing forms, or a failed payment. These eCommerce checkout best practices help you remove those obstacles and make buying easier.
eCommerce Checkout: Key Findings
- Fix failed payments and confusing forms first, then use checkout data to prioritize further improvements.
- Give shoppers clear delivery dates: LeMieux’s test found 10.3% higher checkout drop-off among shoppers shown only a general delivery estimate.
- Test checkout on actual phones to catch problems with typing, navigation, and payment that desktop testing can miss.
Why Do Customers Abandon Carts During Online Checkout?
The eCommerce checkout process takes shoppers from reviewing their cart and entering shipping details to choosing a payment method, ending with confirmation that the order was received. Each stage can add obstacles to a purchase.
But cart abandonment and checkout abandonment measure different things:
- Cart abandonment includes shoppers who add items without buying
- Checkout abandonment concerns those who start checkout but don’t finish
Baymard Institute puts average cart abandonment at 70.22% across 50 studies. But not every abandoned cart indicates a checkout problem, of course, as 42% of US online shoppers reported abandoning because they were browsing or weren’t ready to buy.
Among the other reasons given by respondents, there are several that can be addressed directly:
| Reason for abandonment | Share of respondents |
| Shipping, taxes, or fees were too high | 40% |
| Delivery was too slow | 20% |
| Concerns about sharing credit card information | 19% |
| Account creation was required | 18% |
| Checkout was too long or complicated | 17% |
| Website errors or crashes | 17% |
Source: Baymard Institute, accessed September 2026. Selected reasons for abandonment, excluding “just browsing.” Respondents could give multiple reasons.
Treat that as a starting point for eCommerce checkout optimization. So, if shoppers leave when shipping costs appear, investigate pricing and delivery expectations. If they struggle with forms or payment errors, focus on usability and reliability.
1. Make Guest Checkout Easy to Find
Of course you want people to sign up, but forcing shoppers to create an account just to place an order is self-defeating. Guest checkout lets first-time customers buy without choosing a password or completing a registration form.
Be sure to make “Continue as Guest” prominent alongside the sign-in option, especially on mobile. Don't hide it among registration fields or with vague labels like “New Customer.”
Explain that guests will still receive an order confirmation and a way to track their delivery to reassure shoppers that support is available even without an account.
After purchase, offer optional account creation using the details already entered with a practical reason to sign up, like easier returns or faster repeat orders. Save the optional profile questions for later.
2. Simplify Checkout by Reducing Unnecessary Fields
Simplify the eCommerce checkout process by asking only for the information needed to process payment and fulfill the order.
Baymard’s research puts the average US checkout at roughly 23 visible form elements, including 15 input fields. An ideal flow can use just 12-14 elements, including 7-8 fields.
Instead of simply fitting checkout onto fewer pages, focus on reducing what shoppers need to fill in.
To make checkout forms easier to complete:
- Enable autofill and address suggestions, with manual entry available.
- Use the shipping address for billing by default, with an option to change it.
- Place optional fields, such as company name or address line 2, behind expandable links.
- Explain why a phone number is needed if you require one for delivery.
Single-Page vs. Multi-Step Checkout
Single-page checkout combines shipping, payment, and order review in one view. Multi-step checkout separates them into focused screens. Choose based on how clearly shoppers can complete the required tasks.
| Checkout layout | Main advantage | What to watch for |
| Single-page | Keeps information together for review and editing. | A long page can feel overwhelming, especially on mobile. |
| Multi-step | Breaks the process into manageable stages. | Unclear progress or awkward navigation can make editing difficult. |
In either layout, be sure to preserve entered information when shoppers go back, keep costs visible, and make the next action clear. For multi-step flows, use descriptive progress labels such as “Delivery,” “Payment,” and “Review.”
3. Offer Payment Options Your Customers Use
Payment preferences vary by market and purchase size, and it's important to offer the payment methods your customers recognize and use.
Build a payment mix that suits your store:
- Credit and debit cards: Keep card entry straightforward and show which cards you accept.
- Digital wallets: Offer options such as Apple Pay or Google Pay to reduce manual entry, particularly on mobile.
- Local payment methods: Check which options customers use in each market you serve.
- Buy Now, Pay Later: Consider installment payments where they suit your products and customers, weighing provider fees against additional sales.
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Platforms like BigCommerce can help you adapt checkout for different markets, with support for multiple storefronts, currencies, and locally relevant payment options.
Test each payment method on mobile and check that shoppers can complete the transaction.
Relevant Payment Options Lifted Revenue 12% in Stripe's Test
In a holdback experiment published in April 2025 covering more than 50 payment methods, Stripe found that when its checkout surfaced at least one relevant option beyond cards, businesses saw an average 7.4% increase in conversion and 12% increase in revenue.
Local preferences mattered most. Offering BLIK in Poland increased conversion by 46%, while iDEAL in the Netherlands delivered a 39% boost.
4. Avoid Checkout Surprises With Clear Pricing
A product that looks affordable can feel like a different purchase once shipping, taxes, and fees are added. Revealing those costs only at the payment step can break trust and send shoppers back to comparing prices.
Help customers understand the total before they commit by...
- Showing shipping and tax estimates on the cart page. Offer a postcode or country selector when needed.
- Explaining what still needs calculating, then display the final total before ordering.
- Confirming applied discounts and explain exclusions.
- Identifying the payment currency and whether import charges are included.
When shoppers change their address, delivery method, or order quantity, update the total immediately and make the adjustment easy to see.
5. Provide Clear Delivery Dates and Flexible Shipping Options
Some shoppers need an order quickly while others will wait to save on shipping. You’re sure to turn more visits into sales by giving them a clear choice of cost and arrival date.
Make delivery options easy to compare:
- Show estimated arrival dates: “Estimated delivery: September 18–20” is more reassuring than “3-5 business days.” Remember to account for processing time and order cutoffs.
- Offer meaningful choices: Display standard, express, and pickup options where available, with the price beside each.
- Explain free-shipping thresholds: Show how much more shoppers need to spend and any exclusions.
- Allow changes during checkout: Let shoppers switch between delivery and pickup without restarting or losing their details.
For orders arriving in separate shipments, show an estimated delivery window for each so customers know what to expect.
LeMieux: Delivery Uncertainty Linked to 10.3% Higher Drop-Off
Equestrian brand LeMieux and delivery platform Scurri A/B tested delivery information at checkout. In a 2026 case study, Scurri reported that shoppers shown a general "3–5 business days" estimate were 10.3% more likely to drop off between the delivery and payment steps than those shown a named arrival date.
6. Build Confidence With Clear Checkout Trust Cues
Before sharing their details, shoppers want to know their information is protected and that they can get help if something goes wrong. Checkout should make that clear.
Use familiar payment logos, authorized security badges, and concise security and privacy messaging near payment fields and the order button. Make sure any reassurance reflects the protections you actually provide.
Before shoppers pay, summarize the return window, any return costs, and relevant exclusions. You should also let shoppers read the full policy without losing their place in checkout.
7. Make Order Details Easy to Review and Edit
Give shoppers a final opportunity to check their order before completing the purchase. They should be able to confirm the right size, quantity, and delivery address without retracing their steps.
Keep the order summary easy to find throughout the eCommerce checkout process:
- Show product details: Include thumbnails, names, selected sizes or colors, and quantities.
- Confirm delivery choices: Display the destination, shipping method, and estimated arrival date or pickup location.
- Break down the total: List discounts, shipping, taxes, and the final amount due.
- Make corrections simple: Let shoppers change quantities, remove items, or edit delivery details without clearing information they’ve already entered.
On mobile, you’ll want to use an expandable order summary with the total visible when collapsed. Update the details and costs whenever shoppers make a change so they can review the revised order before paying.
8. Make Checkout Easy on Mobile Devices
A checkout that works on desktop can still be frustrating on a phone. Small screens, touch keyboards, and slow load times can make a simple purchase harder than it needs to be.
Use mobile-first layouts with readable fields, comfortably spaced buttons, and a clear path to payment. Then test the full checkout on actual phones:
- Reduce typing: Enable autofill, appropriate keyboards for email and number fields, and supported digital wallets.
- Check keyboard behavior: Make sure the keyboard doesn’t obscure the active field, error message, or next action.
- Make errors easy to fix: Show specific guidance beside the relevant field and preserve information already entered.
- Test interruptions: Check what happens when shoppers switch apps, cancel a wallet payment, or return after authentication.
- Try slower connections: Confirm that delivery options and totals update reliably, with clear feedback while payment is processing.
Compare mobile completion rates by browser and payment method to spot problems your testing could've missed.
Stikky's Merchants Saw Up to 15% Higher Conversion After Moving Checkout In-App
In 2024, Shopify app developer Stikky replaced a flow that pushed shoppers from its merchants' mobile apps out to the web for payment, using Shopify's Checkout Kit to keep checkout inside the app.
Preloading cut checkout load time by more than 90% against its previous setup, and Stikky reported that early metrics showed its merchants seeing conversion increases of up to 15%.
The case is specific to native apps, but the underlying point applies to mobile web too: the handoff into payment is worth testing as carefully as the form fields before it.
9. Help Shoppers Recover From Checkout Errors
A failed payment or rejected address doesn’t have to end the purchase, so tell shoppers what happened, what they can do next, and whether their order went through.
You can make errors simpler to resolve by...
- Being specific: Replace “Invalid input” with guidance such as “Enter the expiry date shown on your card.” Put the message beside the affected field.
- Preserving their progress: Keep contact, delivery, and order details intact so shoppers only need to correct the problem.
- Offering a payment alternative: If a card is declined, let shoppers try another method without restarting. Don’t guess at the reason for the decline.
- Clarifying interrupted payments: If a connection drops, check the payment status before asking shoppers to retry. Make it clear whether the order is confirmed, pending, or unsuccessful.
- Providing a route to help: Give shoppers a visible support option when they can’t resolve the issue themselves.
Go over recurring errors with your development and payment teams. If customers repeatedly encounter the same problem, you should be focused on fixing the underlying cause.
10. Optimize Checkout Performance With Better Reporting
Effective eCommerce checkout optimization starts with knowing where purchases stall. Track the journey from checkout entry to confirmed order, then investigate the steps where shoppers struggle.
Start by keeping your measures separate, because they cover different ground:
| Metric | What it measures |
| Cart abandonment rate | The share of created carts that never become orders. The widest of these measures: it counts shoppers who never started checkout alongside those whose payment failed at the last step. |
| Checkout completion rate | The share of initiated checkouts that end in a completed order. Your core checkout number. Checkout abandonment rate is the same figure inverted, so pick one and report it consistently. |
| Step-level drop-off | Where shoppers leave between stages, such as delivery and payment. |
| Payment success rate | The share of payment attempts that end in a captured payment. Define the denominator before you track it, and keep it distinct from authorization rate, which only covers requests that reached the issuer. |
Cart abandonment spans the whole funnel, including shoppers who never start checkout, so Baymard’s roughly 70% average isn’t a like-for-like benchmark for checkout abandonment.
Three rules keep the numbers trustworthy:
- Count consistently: Same rules, same reporting periods.
- Don't count repeated clicks as new checkout starts: Inflated starts depress completion rate.
- Segment by device, browser, market, and payment method: One broken combination disappears inside an average.
Delivery drop-offs may reflect cost, timing, or technical error, while payment failures can be input mistakes, authentication, issuer declines, or fraud rules. Check failure codes alongside support tickets and recorded sessions to identify usability issues and choose the right fix.
From there:
- Fix broken paths first. A failing payment method or a form that won't submit on one device isn't an optimization question.
- Test one hypothesis at a time. For example, test whether showing delivery estimates earlier lifts completion (a practical starting point for conversion rate optimization).
- Watch order value and margin alongside conversion, so extra sales don't quietly cost more than they bring in.
Low traffic makes reliable A/B testing hard. Use observed checkout sessions and customer feedback to guide changes and treat before-and-after results with caution (promotions, seasonality, and traffic mix also affect conversion).
Conversion is only half the picture. Nirav Sheth, CEO of Anatta, points to repeat purchase rate as the companion measure:
"A high conversion rate will illustrate that customers enjoy shopping on your site, love your products and that acquisition efforts are paying off. Meanwhile, a high repeat purchase rate ... can illustrate that customers who convert once, are likely to convert again."
eCommerce Checkout: Make Every Step Easier
Meaningful eCommerce checkout improvements make it easier for customers to finish their purchase. You don’t need to change everything at once, just start with the problems shoppers run into most and check whether your fixes help.
Case studies offer ideas worth testing, but your own results will show you where to invest next.
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