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"You can't really change the Shopify checkout... so what's the point in analysing it?"
This is one of the most common objections we hear when introducing the Zuko Shopify app that tracks checkout user behaviour to identify the points of friction that are causing abandonment.
It’s an understandable concern. Many people think that checkouts are “solved” - they’ve evolved to a place where you can’t really make them better. True, there may be less scope to get funky with questions like you might do on a financial or lead gen form but you certainly can still mess things up and cause people to drop-off if you’re not careful. There are still many checkout optimization opportunities you can take advantage of.
Shopify has a reputation for tightly controlling the checkout experience especially after phasing out the older `checkout.liquid` customization system in favour of the new Extensibility framework. But here’s the thing: while Shopify has changed how you can modify the checkout, it hasn't eliminated your ability to customize it.
There is still a long list of elements you can change or optimize. This article outlines some elements you can still test on a Shopify checkout to improve conversions. Note that while many of these suggestions can be done on any Shopify checkout, some can only be done if you are using the Shopify Plus tier.
Shopify’s custom UI functionality allows you to add elements and functionality to the site to help nudge your customer along in their purchase pathway. Some of the things you can test are:
Reassure customers and inspire trust by including selected third party endorsements of your service or security. Just don’t go too far - avoid the “Nascar effect” where you spam far too many icons and reduce credibility.
Test whether a sense of scarcity improves conversion through injecting a sense of urgency to the process. You can do this through simple messaging (referencing the limited stock left for example) or via something more dynamic like a countdown timer.
The Baymard Institute has found that a significant proportion of eCommerce customers have abandoned checkouts due to concerns around shipping & returns policy. Adding these details may reassure customers, delivering sales you would otherwise have lost.
Even if your brand has a strong competitive edge (like premium materials, free shipping, flexible returns, or a social cause) it may not be obvious to your customers during checkout. You can customise the page to clearly communicate those benefits. Simple, well-placed messages can reinforce trust and positively influence purchase decisions.
Add an element that shows relevant add-ons or complementary products based on what the customer has in their cart. For example, if a user is purchasing a laptop, the checkout might show a message suggesting they add a sleeve or extended warranty with a single click. These offers can be tailored by cart content, customer profile, or even geographic location using available Shopify APIs and extensions and can potentially deliver higher average order values.
Brand consistency is important. If a customer moves from your website, through the product pages into the checkout, and the journey doesn’t seem like each page is part of the same flow they’re going to get uneasy at best or downright suspicious at worst. There will be a segment of these visitors that will be scared away simply because something doesn’t feel right.
Shopify’s customization function allows you to add and change colours, logos, backgrounds and fonts. You can use this to test visual executions until you find the one that inspires the most trust.
Forcing users to create an account is one of the biggest things that will cause them to leave without buying. The Baymard institute found that 26% of checkout abandoners cited the fact they had to create an account as their reason for dropping out.
Fortunately, testing the impact of a guest checkout option is relatively straightforward in Shopify. Navigate to your store’s settings, pick the Checkout section and then make sure that “Require customers to log in to their account before checkout” is unticked.
Back to Baymard again; their research indicates that lack of desired payment methods can drive abandonment by some customers. Their survey of US online shoppers revealed that 11% had dropped out of a checkout because they didn’t offer their preferred payment method.
Shopify has a number of built-in payment options and there are additional 3rd party plug-ins. Based on your audience profile, experiment with adding payment methods and test whether they have a significant impact on sales conversion.
One of the most important things you can do with any form is to pay attention to the individual questions you are asking users and Shopify checkouts are no exception. Here are some of the things you can test to improve the user experience of your checkout and reduce abandonment.
Data from across Zuko’s extensive form database showed that the phone number field is one of the most abandoned fields on all forms (second only to password). In an eCommerce context you need to be asking yourself whether you really need that information.
Customers hate giving you their phone number. They are petrified you’re going to spam them with sales calls or sell their data to another party. Unless you have a very good reason to ask for the information, excluding it from the checkout process altogether should mean more sales.
Following on from the previous point. If you absolutely must ask for sensitive information like phone number then make sure you are telling the customer what you will (or will not) be doing with it. This adds a layer of reassurance making it less likely that they will drop out. You can use features like Shopify checkout blocks to achieve this.
Continuing with the principle of data minimisation; Shopify lets you only ask for the user's surname, meaning they don’t have to fully identify themselves with a first / given name. It could be worth testing whether this has an impact on abandonment.
‘Address Line 2’ can be surprisingly confusing for users. People often don’t know what it is for and it can drive doubts on whether they have answered ‘Address Line 1’ correctly. You can remove some of the potential negative effects on your form by making it optional, hiding it behind a link or removing the field altogether.
Opt in / opt out checkboxes can be super confusing for users. “Do I check or not check the box if I don’t want to be spammed?”
Shopify allows you to display marketing options and for these checkboxes to be pre-selected if you want, giving you an additional layer of customization that could help or hinder the customer journey.
The discount / voucher / promotional code is consistently the biggest point of checkout friction that we see in Zuko data. People see a big open code box above the payment section and they feel compelled to fill it. This leads to them going offsite to try and find a precious code. They may never come back but, even if they do, they might have an invalid code that gives them a ‘feel bad’ experience and increases the chances of abandonment.
Fortunately, you are able to change the discount code experience to remove some of this risk using the following methods:
Overall, if you take nothing else from this article, just know that you *Can* optimize your Shopify checkout much more than you think. The Shopify checkout may be more controlled than other platforms, but it’s far from static. With tools like Checkout UI Extensions, Shopify Functions, and the Branding API, there’s plenty of scope to test and iterate - especially for Shopify Plus users.
If you want to understand where customers are currently struggling with your Shopify checkout, give Zuko’s Checkout Analytics app a try.
Zuko is the most powerful form analytics platform available on the market. Find out how to improve your form and checkout conversion by taking a product tour.
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