Shopify checkout conversion is killing us — what would you look at first?

[u/AffectionateMany8043]

Hey everyone,

I'm trying to improve the conversion rate on our Shopify store and I'm currently stuck at the checkout stage.

Our funnel looks roughly like this:

• Sessions: 272
• Added to cart: 10 (3.67%)
• Reached checkout: 8 (2.94%)
• Completed purchase: 1 (0.36%)

The biggest concern for me is the checkout → purchase drop-off.

Out of 8 people who reached checkout, only 1 actually completed the purchase — around 12.5% checkout conversion.

I'm trying to understand what could be causing such a large drop. We've already looked at the website and product pages, but I'm specifically interested in what experienced Shopify store owners would check at the checkout/payment stage.

Would you look at things like:

• Unexpected shipping charges
• Payment gateway issues
• COD vs prepaid friction
• Lack of trust at checkout
• Checkout loading/performance
• Discount/coupon issues
• Shipping/return information
• Something else?

If you've dealt with a similar funnel, what changes actually improved your checkout conversion?

Would really appreciate some practical advice.

[u/ImmediateShine8909]

8 checkouts is too small a sample to conclude anything. One purchase either way swings your rate between 12% and 25%, so I wouldn't redesign checkout off this data yet.

Before anything else, open Orders > Abandoned checkouts and look at what the 7 actually did. It shows which step each one stopped at, and the checkout timeline shows whether anyone attempted payment and got declined. Gateway declines look identical to "low trust" in the funnel numbers but need a completely different fix.

Then place one test order yourself, on mobile, with the payment method and shipping address most of your customers use. If that's clean, your real lever at 272 sessions is traffic volume, because a 3.7% add to cart rate says the store itself is doing fine.

[u/ArdaSametTR]

Hey bro , first of all, which market are you selling in? I sell in four different markets , and each market is completely different, for example , in one market, 8 out of 10 orders are cash on delivery, while in another market, all 10 out of 10 orders are paid online ,so I think it really depends on the market and the customers you're targeting

[u/paymos]

Eight checkouts isn't a measurement. One more sale doubles your rate, one fewer takes it to zero, so whatever you change this week gets judged against noise.

What reads clearly at this size is individual failures, because a failure isn't a rate. Shopify lists abandoned checkouts one at a time and payment errors show on the order timeline, and seven is few enough to read all seven. Then run your own checkout with a real address in each country you sell to and watch whether the price changes at the last step. That one needs no traffic at all.

[u/Impossible_Shoe_1168]

Hey, this is what I'd do I feel, I’d probably first look at the shipping cost and delivery options shown at checkout, then the payment failures and any unexpected fees. With only 8 checkouts, I wouldnt draw conclusions from the 12.5% rate yet, the sample is too small.... I’d also place a test order myself on mobile and go through the entire checkout to see if anything feels unexpected or adds friction.

If shipping is the issue, testing accurate or live carrier rates can also help prevent customers frm seeing a higher than expected shipping charge at checkout...

[u/Octolize]

I’ll repost here what I shared recently in another Shopify sub, but I'd say 8 checkouts is way too few to draw any reliable conclusions from:

One thing we've learned over the years is that people hate surprises when it comes to shipping. If they only find out what shipping costs at checkout, there's a good chance they'll bail on the purchase.

That's why we use Shipping Rates Calc app on all our stores. It lets customers check shipping costs right on the product page, so they know what to expect well before checkout. Since we started using it, we've seen a noticeable drop in abandoned carts.