Checkout optimisation means removing the costs, doubts and effort that make shoppers leave between the cart and the order confirmation. The biggest gains usually come from showing total cost early, allowing guest checkout, asking for fewer fields, offering the payment methods buyers expect, handling errors kindly and proving the store can be trusted with payment.
Most abandoned carts are not lost to price alone. They are lost to surprises and friction: delivery charges that appear at the last step, a forced account, a long form on a small screen, a failed UPI payment with no clear retry. This listicle gives 21 practical fixes, grouped by stage, each with what it is, why it matters and how to do it.
Key takeaways
- Show the full cost, including delivery and fees, before the payment step. Surprise costs are the top abandonment reason in Baymard’s research.
- Offer guest checkout and make account creation optional, after the order if possible.
- Cut fields to what fulfilment and payment actually need, and use autofill and address lookup.
- Support the payment methods your buyers use, such as UPI, cards, wallets and cash on delivery, and make retries easy.
- Test the full checkout on a mid-range phone every month and after every plugin, theme or payment change.
What does recent research say about cart abandonment?
Baymard Institute calculates an average documented online cart abandonment rate of 70.22%, based on 50 studies. Many of those shoppers were only browsing, but Baymard’s survey of US online shoppers shows that a large share of abandonment comes from fixable checkout issues. It also finds that the average checkout shows 23.48 form elements, while an ideal flow can be as short as 12 to 14, and estimates that large eCommerce sites could gain a 35.26% increase in conversion rate through better checkout design alone.
Why shoppers abandon orders during checkout (Baymard Institute)
Indian stores face extra checkout questions: UPI payment success, cash on delivery, pincode serviceability and OTP-based logins. The fixes below cover both the universal issues and these local ones. For deeper form guidance, see our form optimisation guide.
Fixes 1–5: How do you remove cost surprises and build trust?
1. Show delivery cost and timing before checkout
What: Display shipping charges and an estimated delivery date on the product page and in the cart. Why: Unexpected extra costs are the most common abandonment reason in Baymard’s survey. How: Add a pincode or postcode check on the product page and show a running total in the cart, including delivery and any fees.
2. Explain free delivery thresholds clearly
What: Tell shoppers how far they are from free delivery. Why: A clear threshold turns a surprise charge into a choice. How: Show a progress message in the cart such as “Add ₹250 more for free delivery”, and keep the threshold consistent across the site.
3. State taxes and fees honestly
What: Show whether prices include GST and list any convenience or COD fees before payment. Why: Fees added at the last step feel like a trick, even when they are small. How: Show the full breakdown in the order summary and avoid adding new fees on the payment page.
4. Show trust signals where payment happens
What: Place security and policy information next to the payment step. Why: Baymard found 19% of surveyed shoppers abandoned because they didn’t trust the site with card details. How: Use recognisable payment logos, a short returns summary, contact details and a clean, consistent design on the payment step. Avoid sending shoppers to an unbranded page without explanation.
5. Make returns and cancellation terms easy to find
What: Summarise the returns policy in one line in the cart and checkout. Why: Shoppers who know they can return an item are more willing to buy, especially first-time buyers. How: Link to the full policy, and keep the summary consistent with the policy page.
Fixes 6–10: How do you reduce effort in the checkout form?
6. Offer guest checkout
What: Let shoppers buy without creating an account. Why: 18% of shoppers in Baymard’s survey abandoned because the site wanted them to create an account. How: Make guest checkout the default or equal option, and offer account creation on the confirmation page with one click.
7. Use phone and OTP login where buyers expect it
What: Let returning buyers identify themselves with a mobile number and OTP. Why: Many Indian shoppers are more comfortable with a phone number than with a password. How: Offer OTP login as an option, keep it fast, and handle OTP delays with a clear resend timer.
8. Cut the number of fields
What: Ask only for what delivery, payment and invoicing need. Why: Baymard found the average checkout shows 23.48 form elements against an ideal of 12 to 14. How: Combine first and last name, hide “address line 2” behind a link, make company and GST fields optional, and remove marketing questions from checkout.
9. Autofill addresses from the pincode
What: Fill city and state automatically when the shopper enters a pincode. Why: It saves typing on small screens and reduces address errors that cause failed deliveries. How: Use a reliable pincode lookup, let shoppers correct the result, and set autocomplete attributes on every field.
10. Use the right keyboards and input types
What: Set input types for phone, email and pincode. Why: The right keyboard appears on mobile and browsers can autofill correctly. How: Use type=”tel” and inputmode=”numeric” where appropriate, autocomplete tokens such as postal-code and tel, and visible labels on every field.
Fixes 11–15: How do you make payment fast and reliable?
11. Offer the payment methods your buyers use
What: Support UPI, cards, net banking, wallets and, where it makes sense, cash on delivery. Why: A shopper who cannot pay their preferred way often leaves. How: Check your order data and payment gateway reports to see which methods are used and which fail, then put the most used options first.
12. Make UPI payments resilient
What: Handle UPI intent and collect flows smoothly on mobile and desktop. Why: UPI payments can fail or time out because of app switches, bank downtime or slow networks. How: Show a clear waiting state, confirm the order automatically when payment succeeds, and offer an immediate retry or another method if it fails.
13. Recover failed payments
What: Contact shoppers whose payment failed, with a link to retry. Why: Failed payments are often high-intent buyers who hit a technical problem. How: Send a polite retry link by email or WhatsApp where the shopper has opted in, and keep the cart intact for a reasonable period.
14. Manage cash on delivery carefully
What: Offer COD where it helps conversion, with clear rules. Why: COD can raise conversion for first-time buyers but also increase returns and failed deliveries. How: Consider COD limits by order value or pincode, confirm COD orders by SMS or WhatsApp, and show any COD fee before the order is placed.
15. Keep the payment step on a fast, stable page
What: Load only what the payment step needs. Why: Heavy scripts and pop-ups at payment slow interactions and can break payment widgets. How: Remove marketing pop-ups, chat widgets and non-essential tags from checkout, and test Interaction to Next Paint on the payment step.
Four questions to ask of every checkout
Does the shopper know the total before paying?
Is every field and step necessary?
Can they pay their preferred way and retry easily?
Do they know who you are and how returns work?
Fixes 16–19: How do you handle errors, mobile and speed?
16. Write helpful error messages
What: Explain what went wrong and how to fix it, next to the field. Why: Vague errors such as “invalid input” make shoppers give up. How: Validate inline after a field is completed, keep entered values after an error, and connect messages to fields so screen readers announce them.
17. Design checkout for thumbs
What: Use a single column, large tap targets and a visible order summary. Why: Most Indian shoppers check out on phones. How: Keep the primary button visible, collapse the order summary into an expandable panel on mobile, and avoid side-by-side fields.
18. Show progress and keep steps few
What: Let shoppers see where they are and how much is left. Why: Uncertainty about length makes checkout feel longer than it is. How: Use one page or a short sequence of clearly labelled steps, and never ask for the same information twice.
19. Test speed and stability on real devices
What: Measure checkout performance on a mid-range Android phone. Why: Slow scripts, layout shift and timeouts hurt conversion at the most sensitive step. How: Check field data for the checkout template, remove unused scripts, and see our Core Web Vitals guide for diagnosis.
Fixes 20–21: How do you recover abandoned carts and measure improvement?
20. Send helpful, permission-based cart reminders
What: Remind shoppers who left items in the cart. Why: Some shoppers were interrupted or were comparing options. How: Send one or two reminders by email, and by WhatsApp only where the shopper has opted in. Show the items, total and a direct link back. Note that WhatsApp marketing templates are charged per message; our email and WhatsApp marketing guide covers costs and rules.
21. Track every checkout step
What: Measure where shoppers drop out, by step, device and payment method. Why: Without step-level data you cannot tell whether a change helped. How: Use GA4’s begin_checkout, add_shipping_info, add_payment_info and purchase events from Google’s ecommerce measurement guide, and compare payment success rates by method in your gateway dashboard.
| Checkout step | Metric to watch | Common cause of drop-off |
|---|---|---|
| Cart | Cart to checkout start rate | Unexpected delivery cost, no delivery date |
| Contact and login | Completion rate of this step | Forced account, slow OTP |
| Address | Completion rate, address error rate | Long form, pincode not serviceable |
| Delivery option | Selection rate by option | Slow or expensive options only |
| Payment | Payment success rate by method | UPI timeouts, missing method, gateway errors |
| Confirmation | Orders per checkout start | Unclear confirmation, duplicate charges |
Which checkout fixes should you do first?
Not every fix suits every store. Start with the changes that remove blockers, then reduce effort, then refine:
- Blockers: broken payment methods, missing retry after failed payments, pages that error on mobile, and fees added at the last step.
- Big friction: forced accounts, long forms, missing pincode autofill and no delivery estimate.
- Trust and clarity: returns summary, payment logos, clear order summary and progress indicators.
- Recovery and refinement: cart reminders, COD rules, express payment options and copy tests.
Use step-level data to confirm where the biggest drop-off is before choosing. Payment gateway dashboards, GA4 checkout events and a handful of recorded sessions on mobile usually show the problem within a week. A store losing most shoppers at payment needs different fixes from one losing them at the address step. Re-check the order of priorities every quarter, because new plugins, payment changes and campaigns shift where shoppers struggle.
How should you test checkout changes?
Checkout changes carry risk because they affect revenue directly. Run a full test order on every payment method after any change, and keep a rollback plan. When traffic allows, A/B test one change at a time and measure orders and revenue per visitor, not just clicks. When traffic is low, use before/after comparisons over full weeks and watch payment success rate and refunds as guardrails. Our conversion rate optimisation guide explains how to avoid misreading results.
What should you know about checkout on WooCommerce and Shopify?
- WooCommerce gives full control over fields and steps, but payment plugins and extra add-ons can slow checkout. Exclude cart and checkout from page caching and test after every update. See our WooCommerce SEO and speed guide.
- Shopify has a fast, standardised checkout, with customisation limited by plan. Focus on cart clarity, delivery information, payment options and apps that add scripts to the cart.
- Third-party one-click checkouts can reduce effort for returning buyers but add a dependency. Check data ownership, fees and how failures are handled before adopting one.
What are the most common checkout mistakes?
- Adding delivery or COD fees only on the final step.
- Forcing account creation before payment.
- Asking for date of birth, gender or marketing preferences in checkout.
- Showing pop-ups or exit offers on the payment page.
- No retry path after a failed UPI or card payment.
- Never testing the full checkout on a real phone after updates.
Which related guides should you read next?
- Form optimisation: 20 fixes covers field-level detail behind many checkout fixes.
- Product page optimisation shows delivery and cost information earlier in the journey.
- eCommerce KPIs: 25 metrics explains how to measure checkout and order performance.
- Email and WhatsApp marketing for eCommerce covers abandoned cart and post-purchase messages.
- Conversion rate optimisation covers testing methods and guardrails.
Frequently asked questions
What is a normal cart abandonment rate?
Baymard’s average across 50 studies is 70.22%, but rates vary by category, device and traffic source. Compare your own rate over time and by step rather than chasing a single benchmark.
Should I offer cash on delivery?
COD can help first-time buyers trust a new store, but it can increase returns and failed deliveries. Many stores offer COD with limits by order value or pincode and confirm orders before dispatch.
Is a one-page checkout better than multi-step?
Neither is always better. What matters is the number of fields, clarity and speed. Test with your buyers; a short multi-step flow can work as well as one page.
How many abandoned cart reminders should I send?
One or two well-timed reminders are usually enough. Send them only to shoppers who have given permission for that channel, and stop as soon as they buy.
Do trust badges help?
Recognisable payment logos and a clear returns summary near the payment step can help. Generic or unverifiable badges add little and can look untrustworthy.
How often should I test my checkout?
Run a full test order on each payment method after any change to plugins, themes, payment settings or apps, and do a full review at least monthly.
Sources and further reading
- Baymard Institute: cart abandonment rate statistics
- Baymard Institute: checkout usability research
- Google Analytics: measure ecommerce
- W3C: WCAG 2.2 quick reference
- Meta for Developers: pricing on the WhatsApp Business Platform (updated 30 September 2026).
- Baymard survey figures relate to US online shoppers. The 21 fixes and checkout review model are Bargaon’s editorial guidance, not research data.
Want a checkout that turns more carts into orders? Bargaon’s eCommerce development service audits and rebuilds checkout flows, payments and tracking for Indian and international stores.