Shopify questionAnswer4 min read
Why Are Customers Leaving at Checkout?
Shoppers who reach checkout have already decided they want the product. When they leave, something at that step changed their mind.
Key takeaways
- Extra costs are the top reason for abandoning an order, cited by 40% of US shoppers in Baymard Institute's research.
- Slow delivery (20%), not trusting the site with card details (19%) and forced account creation (18%) follow.
- Shopify's conversion funnel shows how many sessions reach checkout and how many complete it.
- Most checkout problems start earlier: costs and delivery times should be clear before the shopper clicks Checkout.
- Who it is for
- Store owners losing sales at checkout
- Time needed
- 5 minutes to read
- What you need
- Access to Analytics and Orders
Most shoppers leave checkout because of a surprise: costs they didn't expect, delivery slower than they hoped, or a step that asks too much of them. In Baymard Institute's research, 40% of US shoppers who abandoned an order, leaving aside those just browsing, blamed extra costs such as shipping, tax and fees. Find the step that loses people in Shopify's conversion funnel, then fix the cause at that step or before it.
I look at checkout data on most CRO projects I run. Here is how I read it, with Baymard's figures from its page updated in October 2026.
Checkout abandonment vs cart abandonment
Cart abandonment happens before checkout starts: someone adds a product and leaves. Checkout abandonment happens after: they've started entering details and stop. Shopify counts a checkout as abandoned when it stays incomplete for more than ten minutes after the customer has entered their email. The two have different causes, so look at them separately. My answer on reducing abandoned carts on Shopify covers the earlier stage.
The main reasons, and the fix for each
| Reason | Share | First fix |
|---|---|---|
| Extra costs too high | 40% | Show shipping before checkout |
| Delivery too slow | 20% | Show delivery dates early |
| Didn't trust the site | 19% | Reviews, returns, contact details |
| Had to create an account | 18% | Allow guest checkout |
| Too long or complicated | 17% | Express payment buttons |
| Errors or crashes | 17% | Test on real phones |
Further down Baymard's list: an unsatisfactory returns policy (13%), not seeing the total cost up front (12%), a declined card (10%) and too few payment methods (9%). Separately, 42% of US online shoppers said they were just browsing or not ready to buy, which no checkout fix will change.
Find where people drop out
Shopify's conversion funnel shows four steps: all sessions, sessions with cart additions, sessions that reached checkout and sessions that completed checkout. Compare the last two. If many reach checkout but few complete it, the problem is inside checkout or in costs revealed there.
Then open Orders > Abandoned checkouts. Each checkout's timeline shows payment events, which is where declined cards and payment errors appear. A separate Blocked view lists checkouts that Shopify Payments stopped as high risk. If you see the same error again and again, you've found a technical fault, not a persuasion problem.
Fixes that work on Shopify
- Reveal costs early. Show shipping prices on the product page or cart, and a free shipping threshold if you have one.
- Show delivery dates, not just "3 to 5 business days" buried in a policy page.
- Turn on accelerated checkouts. Shop Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal appear in an express section at the start of checkout, ordered to show each customer the fastest option.
- Don't force accounts. Let people buy as guests and offer an account afterwards.
- Test the whole flow on a phone with a real card at least once a month, and after every app install.
My guides to optimizing your Shopify checkout and enabling Apple Pay, Google Pay and Shop Pay cover the settings step by step.
How much better design can help
Baymard estimates that the average large ecommerce site could gain a 35.26% increase in conversion rate through better checkout design alone. That figure is for large sites with solvable usability issues, so don't read it as a promise for a small store. On Shopify, the checkout itself is already standardized, which means the biggest wins usually come from what happens before it: clear costs, delivery information and trust.
By country: tax and payment methods
- US: sales tax is usually added at checkout, so it's one of the "extra costs" that surprise people. Say "plus tax" near the price. My guide to Shopify US sales tax explains the setup.
- UK, EU and Australia: shoppers expect prices to include VAT, BTW or GST, so a price that grows at checkout feels like a trick.
- Payment methods: offer iDEAL in the Netherlands, Clearpay in the UK and Afterpay in the US and Australia if your customers use them.
What to do next
- Open the conversion funnel and compare "reached checkout" with "completed checkout".
- Read ten recent abandoned checkouts and note any payment errors.
- Fix the top reason that applies to you, starting with costs.
- Want an expert to look? My Shopify CRO service starts from $500.
Free tools
Check your own store
Free, no sign-up. Each one runs a part of this guide for you.
Frequently asked questions
What is the checkout abandonment rate?
It's the share of shoppers who start checkout but don't complete an order. In Shopify, compare sessions that reached checkout with sessions that completed checkout in the conversion funnel.
What is the main reason for checkout abandonment?
Extra costs. In Baymard Institute's research, 40% of US shoppers who abandoned an order cited shipping, tax or fees that were too high.
What's the difference between cart abandonment and checkout abandonment?
Cart abandonment happens before checkout starts; checkout abandonment happens after the shopper begins entering details. They have different causes, so measure them separately.
How do I see why a checkout was abandoned in Shopify?
Open Orders, then Abandoned checkouts, and check each checkout's timeline for payment events such as declined cards. Patterns of errors point to technical problems.
Does guest checkout reduce abandonment?
Forced account creation is cited by 18% of shoppers who abandoned in Baymard's research. Letting people buy as guests removes that reason.
Will express checkout buttons help?
They address the 17% who found checkout too long or complicated. Shopify's accelerated checkouts save returning customers' details and show the fastest option first.
Sources
- Cart abandonment rate statistics, Baymard Institute
- Recovering abandoned checkouts, Shopify Help Center
- Behavior reports, Shopify Help Center
- Accelerated checkouts, Shopify Help Center
Related services and work
I'm a Shopify developer and CRO specialist. I have built and improved Shopify stores since 2018, completed more than 1,000 projects, and hold a 4.96 average rating across 719 client reviews.
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