What is Checkout Optimization?
Checkout optimization is the process of making your customers' shopping experience as easy, convenient, and pleasant as possible.
It's all about making sure your customers do not feel like they're being bombarded with too many options or that they're being forced to make any unnecessary choices.
The idea is to make the checkout process as streamlined and straightforward as possible so that you can get your customers into their shopping carts without fuss.
This can be done by optimizing your site's design, reducing friction points in the purchasing process, and more, as we will walk through below in a hot second!
Shopify Checkout Optimization Tips
1. Customization for a User-Friendly Look
You don't want your checkout page to look overwhelming. This will make the customers think there are so many things to do to purchase and, therefore, scare them away.
One way to make your checkout page user-friendly is to use a few form fields, just enough to get the vital information only. Asking for too much information may cause checkout abandonment. You can decide what to ask on Shopify admin panel.
Changing the font and the color of the text can also go a long way in increasing user experience. Instead of using the default font and color, you can choose the ones that will go well with your brand image in the theme editor.
This way, you can increase the trustworthiness of your store as having an insistent design is always a good sign in the eyes of the customers.
Using images at this point may not be the best idea as they will distract the customers and delay the checkout process. However, adding one or two emojis wouldn't hurt. 😊
2. Placing a Clear CTA
CTA (Call-to-Action) buttons come to the rescue when your customers aren't sure what to do next. You want to make sure you use contrasting colors to make your CTA stand out from the rest of the page.
It is always a good idea to leave enough space around it to make it impossible to miss.
3. Guest Checkout Option
Have you ever left the checkout page because you were forced to create an account first? Well, it happened to the best of us.
You know that the checkout process can be a hassle. You have to enter your payment information, address and contact information, and then agree to terms of use. It's a lot to take in while you're trying to buy something!
That's why we're so excited about guest checkout. With guest checkout, customers can check out without having to create an account.
They don't have to input all of their personal information—they just pay and go. This makes the process much easier for shoppers, which means they'll keep coming back!
You can allow this option from Shopify admin under "Checkout".
Guest checkout is also great for businesses because it encourages repeat business from returning customers who don't want to enter their information again. That means more sales for you!
4. Make Use of FOMO
A little push towards a successful checkout is necessary when your customers seem to need it. This is when FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) marketing steps in.
Adding a countdown timer feeding the scarcity may make your customers finish their purchases right away. You can even use a countdown timer popup for this aim.
Your countdown timer may point out a low-stock (you can use Shopify low-stock alert apps for it), limited-time offer, last chance, or free shipping.
5. Asking for Card Information
This step might seem unimportant as the purchase cannot be made without card information, obviously. However, paying attention to when to ask for card information is crucial to create a sense of security in the customers.
If you ask too early, before even entering their address or other personal information, they will be reluctant to continue.
Asking for the card information in the last step is the way to do it. This allows customers to feel safe after checking out all the steps and ensuring they placed the correct order in the right amount and to the right address.
6. Leave the Shopping Cart Open
Imagine you entered all the necessary information at the checkout page and remembered one last item to add to your shopping cart. If you go back to add it, you have to start all over again, writing every detail one by one.
Who would like that? Well, nobody.
That's why allowing your customers to continue shopping during the checkout process without having to restart matters. They want to add more products? No problem!
This way, they'll know they won't have to bother going through all the steps all over again. Making the process simple is the key.
Having the shopping cart open will retain your customers and increase checkout conversion rates before you know it.
7. Build Trust
Shopping online brings security concerns most of the time. To make your customers feel safe while shopping, adding trust badges are essential. There are different ways to create trust with your customers.
- Security Badges: You can create a sense of security by displaying SSL certificates, money-back guarantee badges, and antivirus software logos.
- Adding Your Business Logo: Although Shopify uses your store name by default and displays it as text in the checkout, you can also upload your logo instead.
- Payment Badges: Displaying multiple payment options will show the customers you have reliable payment gateways, increasing trust.
- Use testimonials from happy customers.
- Direct to the privacy policy or display it. This one is pretty easy to do from the admin panel. You can create your policy or build it from templates.
8. Use the Power of Exit-Intent Popups
Think about an e-commerce magic trick that brings customers about to leave back to the checkout page. This magic is called "Exit-Intent Popups"!
Exit-intent popups track the visitors' mouse movements and scrolling behaviors and appear when a visitor is about to leave your checkout page.
You can offer free shipping or discounts utilizing your exit-intent popups to increase your checkout page conversion rate.
9. Make the Checkout Flow Visible
It's easy to get lost in the checkout process if it takes too long. If there is no way to cut it short, showing the steps of the purchase may make it more relaxed.
Online shoppers visit various pages, from choosing the product to the payment section. At this point, they want to know where they stand in the process.
As you can see the Colourpop's example above, a progress bar at the bottom or top of the page keeps potential customers updated throughout the process and enhances the user experience.
They know how much time they have before their purchase is finalized.
10. Mobile Optimization
Mobile e-commerce statistics show that 40% of users will switch to a competitor after a poor mobile experience, and 84% have experienced difficulty completing a mobile transaction.
These numbers are enormous, and e-commerce businesses cannot afford to lose mobile customers as more than half of the traffic comes from mobile. So what to do?
- Ensure that your checkout page is mobile responsive to many touch gestures.
- Optimize the code for faster loading times.
- Have a responsive design that automatically adapts to different screen sizes.
- Use large, finger-friendly buttons for actions.
11. Cross-Sell and Upsell
An optimized Shopify checkout doesn't only mean it is useful for customers, an optimized checkout should also serve your business interests. But how to do that?
In order to increase your average order value, you can recommend an item that complements the one that's already in your customer's shopping cart (Waterproof mascara goes really well with strong makeup removers👀). This is cross-selling.
Or you can recommend a better mobile phone than the one that your customer is holding in their shopping cart. This is known as upselling.
Thanks to these strategies, you will optimize your checkout page to your advantage, and who knows, maybe your customer will come across a product that they never knew they needed.
12. Offer Free Shipping or Gifts
The benefits of offering free shipping or gifts for checkout optimization are solid.
Free shipping not only makes it easier for customers who are on the fence about buying your products to pull the trigger, but it also makes them feel like they're getting a better deal than if they had to pay for shipping (even if they might end up paying more overall).
It's also a way to incentivize purchases, so they'll be more likely to make other purchases when they return.
As you can see in the example from skkn by Kim example below, offering gifts with purchases at checkout is another great way to encourage customers to complete their purchases.
You can offer discounts on other products or give away something like a t-shirt or hat that has your brand on it, which makes people feel like they're getting something special by buying from you.
These things not only increase sales but also create loyalty among customers by making them feel like they're part of your company's mission.
13. Optimize the Speed and Loading Time
Page speed and loading time are two of the most important factors when it comes to optimizing your Shopify checkout experience.
Page speed reports show that nearly 70% of consumers admit that page speed affects their willingness to buy from an online store which means the faster your checkout process is, the more likely your customers are to complete it.
There are a few simple things to do for this purpose:
- Make sure all of your images are optimized for size and resolution.
- Make sure all of your scripts are minified (this means they are compressed, so they download more quickly).
- Use caching plugins (these will cache your site's pages, so they don't have to be regenerated every time someone visits)
14. Take Advantage of Auto-Completion of Customer Information
We all want to get through checkout as quickly and painlessly as possible. That's why taking advantage of auto-completion for customer information is so important.
With auto-completion, you can save customers from having to enter their addresses or phone number over and over again.
This is especially true for customers who have already purchased from you before—you don't want them to have to type their information multiple times!
And that's not all. Auto-completion also helps reduce errors, which means fewer returns! With auto-completion, customers won't have to worry about making mistakes in their order details because the system will automatically fill out the fields for them.
15. Provide Multiple Contact Methods
Shopify allows you to provide your customers with multiple contact methods after the purchase. For example, on the checkout page, customers can choose "email" or "phone number or email."
Not everyone checks their email regularly. Thanks to the "phone number or email" option, they won't have to. If they want to receive an SMS from you about the order updates, they can opt for this option.
This way, you will increase customer satisfaction as your customers will know that they will not miss any updates about their purchases.
16. Present Refund and Return Information
Returning a product that doesn't fit or look like what it did on the model may sound familiar. Whatever you buy, there are so many things that can go wrong, and you may end up returning the item.
At this point, customers will be looking for an easier return policy.
That's why, when they reach the last step of their purchase, the checkout page, seeing your return policy will make them feel safe. Knowing the conditions for return and refund will clear up the potential questions in their mind.
This is pretty easy to do in the Shopify admin panel. You are allowed to write your own policy or use templates.
17. Offer Multiple Payment and Shipping Methods
Showing multiple payment options on your Shopify checkout page is an excellent way for checkout optimization.
It allows your customers to choose their preferred payment method, which can sometimes be more convenient than the default option.
For this reason, on your Shopify checkout, accept a variety of payment methods, such as:
- Credit or debit cards
- Shopping apps such as Shop Pay and PayPal
- Samsung Pay, Apple Pay, and Google Pay are examples of digital wallets.
- Or allow them to shop now and pay later by installments.
You can add payment methods from the Shopify admin under "Payments" section.
18. Offer 1-Click Checkout
You know what's the worst? When you're ready to check out, but then you have to click through a bunch of different steps just to get your order placed.
That's why 1-click checkout is so vital for Shopify checkout optimization! It is all about making sure your customers can get their stuff and get out as quickly and efficiently as possible.
It allows customers to complete their purchase with only one click, which means less time spent on your site, fewer chances for them to get distracted by something else online, and fewer opportunities for them to abandon their cart altogether.
Thanks to 1-click checkout, customers only have to enter their information once. Their name, email address, and shipping address are saved for future use, allowing them to complete the online checkout process with a single click.
19. Provide Carbon Neutral Shipping
It's time to get environmentally friendly with your Shopify checkout optimization.
Did you know that shipping with a carbon-neutral carrier can reduce your carbon footprint? This means less pollution, less waste, and fewer greenhouse gasses—and that's good for everyone!
Furthermore, if a customer pays with Shop Pay or chooses Shopify Shipping, Shopify covers the costs.
It's also good for your brand image because it shows customers that you care about how they feel about their environment and what kind of impact their purchases have on it.
20. Make the Support Easy to Find
Showing contact information or integrating a chat into your checkout may seem like a small change, but it can actually go a long way towards making the customer experience better.
Below you can see an example from Hermes where customer support information is clearly presented and a chat bubble in the corner is visible.
For example, suppose the customer wants to contact you about anything during checkout, and you give them the option to do so without leaving their current page.
In that case, they're going to be more likely to do so (and more likely to leave positive feedback).
If they're not sure about something about their order and want clarification before moving forward with it, having contact information available will allow them to ask questions without having to search for it themselves—which means less hassle for both parties involved!
Using a free chat popup could be a great idea for this goal. You can get your free chat popup today!
21. Use the Power of Testimonials
Customer testimonials are one technique that can help with checkout optimization. A customer testimonial is essentially a review or recommendation from a customer for your product or service.
They're usually pretty short and sweet, but they pack a big punch in terms of getting people to take action.
They're a great way to show off the benefits of your products—and they can evoke the feeling of trustworthiness.
If you are not sure how to ask for testimonials for your business, here you can check out some quick tips: How to Ask For Testimonials For Your Business? 6 Quick Tips
22. Activate Checkout Abandonment Emails
Did you know that you can automatically send emails from your Shopify store to customers who did not complete their purchases?
You can find it in your Shopify admin under the title of "Abandoned Checkout Notification." You can also customize the email subject line and the message.
According to an article on the timing of abandoned cart emails, it is found that 60 minutes after the last interaction of the customer in your store is the optimal time for sending these kinds of emails.
Sending too soon or waiting too long will not affect your conversion rates positively.
23. Don't Skip the Thank-You Page
When a customer completes the checkout process and makes a purchase, they're going to be excited.
They've just made an important decision (to buy your product), and they've also done something that makes them feel good (shopping).
With this in mind, it's important that you provide a "thank you" page that lets customers know how much you appreciate their purchase.
While you are at it, you can utilize the thank you page by adding a survey about their shopping experience, upselling or cross-selling your products, or inviting them to follow you on social media channels.
This way, you will both present your appreciation and benefit your business in different ways.
Before You Leave…
The checkout process is the most crucial part of your online store. After all, if customers can't complete their purchase in a way that feels easy and intuitive, they will abandon the cart and go to a competitor's site.
Checkout optimization helps you make sure your customers are having a positive experience with your website during this critical stage of the shopping process.
If you want to increase sales and decrease cart abandonment rates, then you need to optimize your checkout process.
Shopify checkout optimization can make a big difference in changing the mindset of your customers. Sometimes a little thing like button color and position will go a long way in enticing more people to complete their purchase.
So, why not try it out? If made right, implementing these checkout options should enhance your site and encourage more purchases, which is always a good thing!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Shopify Shop Pay?
Shop Pay is a checkout option that allows customers to save their information, such as shipping and billing. This can save your customers time at checkout, especially if they've previously opted into Shop Pay on any Shopify store.
What is a Good Shopping Cart Abandonment Rate?
According to Cart Abandonment Rate Statistics, the average documented online shopping cart abandonment rate is 69.99%. Though this is an average rate, it is better to keep your cart abandonment rate lower than this with optimization.
