Importance of an Optimized Checkout Experience

I've worked with SFCC brands pulling in 9 figures a year. And many leaked revenue at the same exact place. Checkout. Let's be honest: You can have the perfect product. A smooth PLP. A stunning PDP. But if your checkout makes customers hesitate (even for a second) they're gone. And they don't come back. Here's what I've learned the best brands do differently when optimizing checkout in Salesforce Commerce Cloud - without sacrificing UX. 1. Don't just reduce friction. Eliminate it. Customers abandon for simple reasons: • Promo codes that don't work • Forms that ask for info twice • Shipping costs that show up too late Top brands build flows that assume urgency: • Pre-filled fields from session data • Real-time validation with inline feedback • Shipping transparency up front A slow or unclear step isn't "just UX." It's lost revenue. 2. Offer fewer payment methods than you think - but make them obvious More isn't always better. Confusion creates delay. Delay kills conversion. What works: • Credit/debit (always) • Apple Pay / Google Pay • PayPal / Shop Pay • Affirm / Klarna (only if AOV supports it) Smart brands prioritize based on data. They test placement, auto-detect device types, and default to what converts fastest. 3. Mobile isn't secondary - it's everything The biggest brands I've worked with design for tap-first, scroll-second. That means: • Full-width input fields • Large tap targets with spacing • One-column flow • Sticky CTA at the bottom of the screen If your checkout feels like a spreadsheet on mobile, you're already losing. 4. Use Business Manager like a growth engine, not just a CMS I've seen many teams hard-code checkout logic. Top teams know better. They use: • A/B tests for live checkout experiments • Real-time rules that adapt without redeploys SFCC is powerful - if you treat it like a tool, not a template. Your checkout is the last conversation your brand has with your customer. If that conversation feels clunky, confusing, or exhausting - you won't get a second one. Want to grow revenue without spending more on ads? Fix the one place that silently kills conversions: Checkout. What did I miss?

Building your checkout flow is like crafting a sales conversation. Every element either moves customers closer to purchase or creates friction that drives them away. Most DTC brands obsess over ad creative but underestimate checkout design. Here's the truth: A well-designed checkout can lift revenue more than your best-performing ad. 3 critical areas to master: 🥵 Cognitive Load → Every question, field, or decision point in checkout adds mental friction. Your job? Remove unnecessary thinking. If a customer has to calculate free shipping thresholds or wonder about the order’s arrival day, that’s friction. 👍 Trust Signals → First-time buyers need different reassurance than repeat customers. Your checkout should adapt. New customers might need reviews and press features. Loyal customers want their status acknowledged and rewarded. 💎 Value Perception → Shipping costs hit differently at various price points. A $7 shipping fee on a $30 order feels expensive. The same fee on a $100 order? Barely noticeable. The problem is even when brands know these principles, they struggle to implement and test them effectively. That's where smart checkout optimization comes in. At Obvi, we've been methodically testing these elements. Our latest focus is reducing cognitive load around free shipping thresholds (FSTs)... Using PrettyDamnQuick with Avi Moskowitz, we tested adding a simple note showing exactly how much more a user needed for free shipping. No complicated math for customers. No uncertainty about what the threshold is or how to reach it... The results after 25 days →  • +$0.78 more revenue per customer (meaning the messaging IS pushing people to add more to their cart) • Better conversion rates • Higher average order values across the board This nicely illustrates why checkout optimization matters. One small friction point removed = real revenue impact.

The moment of truth in ecommerce isn't adding to cart - it's CHECKOUT. This is where your revenue is either captured or lost. With over 80% of Shopify traffic now coming from mobile devices, an optimized checkout experience is essential. Master these 20 checkout optimization tactics to boost your conversion rate: 1. Allow guest checkout (account creation can wait, but use Rivo for that) 2. Offer multiple payment options 3. Display security badges prominently (use Platter+) 4. Design for mobile FIRST 5. Minimize form fields ruthlessly 6. Show ALL costs upfront (no surprises) 7. Use clear progress indicators 8. Use one-page checkout flow (can test against multi-page, but one-page outperforms in our experience) 9. Design clear, compelling CTAs 10. Capture exit intent with smart prompts 11. Support autofill functionality 12. Optimize loading speed (critical on mobile) 13. Show visual cart reminders throughout 14. Enable "save cart" features 15. Move account creation AFTER purchase 16. Offer risk reversal/return policies 17. Make support options post-purchase clear and easy 18. Test and measure continuously 19. Add post-purchase offers (use Platter+) Checkout optimization isn't one-and-done, but you can easily improve your checkout performance by double-digit percent. Commit to making small, continuous improvements based on data that comes in.

One of the biggest UX insights we discovered this year? We stopped thinking about "checkout" as a single moment. Instead, we started breaking down our cart experience into distinct “moments”. And that has changed everything. Here are the 5 moments that can drive your AOV 🆙 Brands tend to think about checkout like this: Add to cart → Payment → Done But there are actually 5 points in the process where you can connect with shoppers and increase purchase intent. They are: 1. The Cart Dance 2. The Trust Check 3. The Investment Window 4. The Celebration Gap 5. The Confirmation Page  Each needs its own tactics and attention… Moment #1: The Cart Dance 💃  This isn't just "items in a basket." It's when customers start mentally committing to the purchase. We leverage this moment with →  • Free shipping threshold progress bars • Upsell recommendations based on cart items  • Free Gift With Purchase tiers to promote higher AOV Moment #2: The Trust Check ✅  Before entering payment info at the cart step, customers subconsciously do a final trust assessment. We've seen success with →  • Money-back guarantee badges • "Join 250,000+ customers" social proof • Product-specific reviews Moment #3: The Investment Window 💳 This is when your customer’s wallet is literally out. Meaning when they're MOST receptive to relevant offers. We focus on seamless one-click experiences →  • Relevant product add-ons • Easy cart upsells • Simple payment flow Moment #4: The Celebration Gap 🎉  It's easy to waste the space between "Submit Order" and "Thank You." But we turned this into a revenue generator →  • Sequenced 1-click post-purchase offers • Time-sensitive bonus deals • Urgency and scarcity messaging Moment #5: The Confirmation Page 🎉  Most brands treat their thank you page as the end, but we turned it into another opportunity. We use this space for →  • Premium Network Offers that drive incremental profit • Other product recommendations • Social proof from happy customers We built all this with AfterSell by Rokt's no-code solution. They help us painlessly test and optimize different tactics for each moment without the hassle of custom development. That’s how we were able to put our checkout customization into overdrive this year. Okay, but does all this actually work? Yup →   • +$7.50 higher AOV • Network Offers earn an average of +$0.50 per order • Each "moment" generating incremental revenue we were missing before So stop thinking about "checkout optimization" and start thinking about "moment optimization." Each stage of the journey is a unique psychological state. Treat it that way and you’ll open up new opportunities to delight your customers and increase your AOV.

Streamlining the Checkout Experience: A Win-Win for Merchants and Customers The checkout journey is more than a transaction—it's an integral part of the customer's overall experience with your brand. An efficient, seamless checkout can spell the difference between a confirmed sale and an abandoned cart. 🎯 Here's how you can elevate your checkout process: 1. Diversify Payment Options: Variety is the spice of life, and the same goes for payment methods. Enable options like credit cards, mobile payments, and even crypto to provide a convenient experience. 2. Smart Data Usage: If a customer has shopped with you before, use this data to pre-fill their shipping and billing details, streamlining their next purchase. 3. Harness Autofill Features: Leverage browser capabilities that auto-populate personal details, thereby shaving off valuable seconds from the checkout process. 4. Simplify to Amplify: Consider a single-page checkout that cuts down the steps needed to complete a transaction, making it quicker and more user-friendly. 5. Clear, Unambiguous Language: Opt for simplicity and clarity in your wording to steer clear of any misunderstanding or confusion. 6. Live Chat Assistance: A real-time support system can resolve queries and roadblocks instantly, keeping the customer engaged till the final click. 📌𝐁𝐨𝐧𝐮𝐬 𝐓𝐢𝐩𝐬: - Security First: Trust is invaluable. Use a secure payment gateway to encrypt customer data, reinforcing the notion of a safe shopping environment. - Incentivize Quick Checkout: Sweeten the deal by offering a timely discount or free shipping to accelerate the checkout process. - Regular Audits: Consistently test your checkout process to keep it glitch-free and efficient, ensuring it adapts to user needs and technological advancements. By implementing these strategies, you're not just streamlining a process; you're enhancing a crucial touchpoint that can lead to customer loyalty and increased sales. Follow Naim Hamdar for more such insightful content. #StreamlinedCheckout #EfficiencyWins #PaymentInnovation #Payzli #CustomerExperience #Merchants *Image credits - Google

The most successful ecom checkouts have only 8 form fields, max. Yet the industry average? A whopping 14.88 fields. Your customers are mentally exhausted before they even reach your checkout page. They've already made dozens of micro-decisions just to select your product. Google's Retail UX research shows 27% of users abandon orders due to "too long/complicated checkout processes." Every unnecessary dropdown, checkbox, and text field creates another opportunity for your customers to give up. We've identified three form optimizations that consistently boost conversions: ↳ Use a single "Full Name" field instead of separate first/last name fields ↳ Default "Billing Address = Shipping Address" and hide it unless changed ↳ Eliminate optional fields entirely... if you don't absolutely need the data, don't ask for it Every extra form field costs you conversions. And according to that Google report, the best performing sites have slashed their checkout forms by 56%. The psychology is simple: every decision depletes your customer's mental energy. By the time they reach payment, their decision tank is running on empty. Are you sabotaging conversions by asking for information you don't actually need?