CRO Case Study 1: Improving Checkout Flow UX
Industry:
Ecommerce – The client, a DTC brand with strong traffic and high cart adds, was experiencing significant drop-off during checkout. Despite heavy investment in paid acquisition, the conversion rate at the final step remained well below industry benchmarks.
Problem:
The checkout experience had friction points that led to high cart abandonment and low checkout completion rates. Specific issues included:
- A multi-step checkout process with unnecessary form fields.
- Poor mobile experience with slow load times and clunky navigation.
- Lack of trust signals (e.g. security badges, guarantees) and limited payment options.
- No clear visibility into where or why users were abandoning.
Solution:
We ran a CRO project focused on optimizing the checkout UX, with the goal of reducing abandonment and improving completion rate. The solution included:
- Conducting user behavior analysis via session recordings, heatmaps, and funnel tracking.
- Simplifying the checkout to a single-page experience with auto-fill and fewer distractions.
- Improving mobile responsiveness and reducing load time by optimizing assets.
- Adding trust signals and alternative payment methods (e.g. Apple Pay, Klarna).
- A/B testing improvements to validate impact before full deployment.
Execution:
- User Journey Audit – Analyzed funnel data to identify major drop-off points and friction areas.
- Heatmap & Session Recording Review – Used tools like Hotjar and GA4 to observe user behavior on desktop and mobile.
- Form Optimization – Removed non-essential fields, added auto-fill, and streamlined address input.
- Design & UX Enhancements – Improved layout, reduced visual clutter, and emphasized key CTAs.
- Trust & Payment Features – Added badges, money-back guarantees, and more payment options.
- A/B Testing & Rollout – Ran controlled tests to measure impact, then rolled out improvements site-wide.
Challenges & Roadblocks:
- Internal Hesitation to Simplify – Stakeholders initially resisted removing fields they believed were necessary.
- Mobile UX Constraints – Custom code was needed to improve the mobile version due to limitations in the ecommerce platform.
- Test Velocity – Traffic volume limited how quickly statistically significant A/B test results could be achieved.
- Balancing Design with Performance – Ensuring visual improvements didn’t slow down load times required careful asset management.
Results:
- Increased checkout conversion rate by 22%, with mobile-specific improvements contributing the most.
- Reduced average checkout time by 35%.
- Lowered cart abandonment rate by 18%.
- Increased revenue per visitor by 12% through a smoother, more trusted experience.
Dashboard:
Key Takeaways & Learnings:
Continuous testing and iteration is key to CRO—optimize based on data, not assumptions.
Small UX improvements in checkout can lead to significant gains in revenue and conversion.
Mobile-first design is essential for ecommerce success, especially with rising mobile traffic.
Trust signals and payment flexibility directly impact buyer confidence at the point of purchase.
Related Strategy Work:
Business Analysis Case Study 1: Diagnosing Funnel Gaps to Improve Conversion Efficiency