We broke down an e-commerce checkout that converts at 2× the industry average. The interesting part wasn't what it added — it was what it removed.
The average e-commerce checkout converts at around 2–3%. That means 97 people out of 100 who get to the checkout do not complete the purchase. Most of them wanted the thing. Something between them and the purchase made them stop.
We recently audited a checkout that converts at nearly double the industry average. The interesting discovery: it doesn't do more than other checkouts. It does less.
The default state of most checkouts
- 7–12 form fields on a single screen
- Upsells and 'recommended items' packed into the flow
- Account creation required or aggressively prompted
- Validation that only fires on submit
- Shipping costs revealed at the very last step
What this one does instead
- 3 fields on the first screen, 4 on the second
- One upsell — offered after the purchase, not before
- Guest checkout is the default; account creation is a post-purchase offer
- Inline validation as you type
- Shipping cost shown from the first screen
Every additional step is a chance to lose someone. The best checkouts earn the steps they ask for.
The principle
Most checkout friction isn't necessary — it's legacy. It's there because someone in 2014 decided the business needed the phone number, and nobody has questioned it since. The best e-commerce teams audit every field with a simple question: what happens if we remove this?
More often than not, the answer is: nothing. The revenue holds. The support tickets don't spike. And more people complete the purchase.
What we'd steal
Two things. First, the discipline of removing rather than adding. Second, the reveal of shipping costs at the start, not the end. The second one costs a small percentage of completed orders — people who see $12 shipping and bounce. But it earns the trust of everyone who stays. Trust compounds. Cart abandonment doesn't.