CRO Case Study 2: Increasing Revenue Per Visitor Through Checkout Optimization
Industry:
Ecommerce – The client, a DTC brand selling premium lifestyle products, was driving high traffic through paid and organic channels. While product interest was strong, the checkout process had notable friction, leading to underperforming conversion rates and lower-than-expected revenue per visitor.
Problem:
Although users were adding products to their carts, many abandoned during checkout. Key issues identified included:
- A multi-step checkout process with confusing form fields.
- Lack of progress indicators or visual cues.
- Limited payment options, especially for mobile users.
- No clear upsell or cross-sell offers to increase cart value.
These factors contributed to a high cart abandonment rate and missed opportunities to increase average order value.
Solution:
We focused on optimizing the checkout experience to reduce friction, improve trust, and encourage higher-value purchases. This involved:
- Streamlining the checkout flow into a clean, single-page format.
- Enhancing mobile UX for smoother interactions and faster load times.
- Introducing upsell modules and cart recommendations.
- Expanding payment methods to include digital wallets and buy-now-pay-later options.
- A/B testing design and messaging changes to validate their impact on conversion and order value.
Execution:
- Funnel & Drop-Off Analysis – Used GA4 and Hotjar to analyze drop-off rates and session recordings.
- Checkout Redesign – Consolidated steps, reduced form fields, added autofill, and implemented a mobile-first layout.
- Trust & Speed Enhancements – Added badges for secure checkout, optimized image and script loading, and improved field validation.
- Cart Value Optimization – Introduced real-time cart suggestions, free shipping thresholds, and bundled offers.
- A/B Testing – Tested variations of CTA placement, checkout layout, and upsell strategies to measure performance lift.
- Dashboard Implementation – Built a Looker Studio dashboard to monitor cart abandonment, revenue per visitor, and mobile performance metrics.
Challenges & Roadblocks:
- Checkout Platform Constraints – Some layout changes required custom dev work due to platform limitations.
- Mobile Optimization – Ensuring consistent performance across devices took additional testing and QA.
- Upsell Fatigue Risk – Needed to balance upsell opportunities without overwhelming the user experience.
- Tracking Accuracy – Ensured all changes were properly tagged for clean attribution in analytics tools.
Results:
- Increased revenue per visitor by 18% across all devices.
- Reduced cart abandonment by 22%, particularly among mobile users.
- Improved checkout conversion rate by 25%.
- Boosted average order value by 12% through upsell and bundling strategies.
Dashboard:
Key Takeaways & Learnings:
A/B testing validates changes before rollout, reducing the risk of negative impact.
Small changes in checkout UX can drive significant revenue gains.
Mobile-first optimization is crucial, as most friction originated from mobile interactions.
Upselling works best when it feels natural and helpful—not intrusive.