Experiment library
Reduce checkout abandonment · method v1
Checkout friction removal
Remove one identified friction point from checkout for a random share of visitors and compare collected orders.
- Hypothesis
- A specific checkout step (forced account creation, surprise shipping, extra fields) causes buyers with intent to abandon.
- Change
- Remove or change the single friction point in the treated version.
- Who is included
- Visitors who reach checkout during the test.
- Compared with
- The current checkout.
- Assignment
- Random split per visitor at checkout entry.
- Measurement
- Collected orders per checkout start per arm, net of refunds and chargebacks.
Worked example
1,500 checkout starts at 42% gives 630 orders a week. A 3-point improvement adds about 45 orders, or roughly $2,900 a week at $65. Check fraud and refunds before counting it.
Evidence you need
- Checkout stage events per visitor
- Collected orders with refunds
Implementation steps
- Map each checkout stage and its drop-off
- Choose one friction point
- Ship the variant behind a split
- Run until each arm has enough completed orders
- Compare collected orders net of refunds
Cost components
- Engineering time
- Testing tool
- Possible fraud exposure if verification is removed
Stop if
- Chargebacks or fraud flags above the comparison
- Payment errors increase in the treated arm
Scale if
- Higher net collected orders per checkout start over two full weeks
Does not apply when
- Fewer than a few hundred checkouts per week
- Regulated checkouts where steps are legally required
Adapt this experiment to your business
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