As a small business owner, you've likely put your heart and soul into creating a fantastic product or service. But all your hard work can go down the drain if your checkout process is longer than the time it took your customer to decide to buy their item. We've all experienced it: a shopping cart that's impossible to find, surprise shipping fees, and a payment page that wants everything short of your social security number, to be entered manually, of course. The checkout process is the last step in a customer's journey and might just make or break your sale

Studies show that 69.57% of people abandon their carts when online shopping, leaving easy to attain revenue on the table. Below you’ll find Shopify’s must-haves for a checkout experience that not only converts, but turns shoppers into satisfied customers. If you're headed to Future Summit: Austin, see how your business’s checkout experience stacks up ahead of our workshop The Expert-Approved Ways To Optimize Your Checkout Flow.

Transparency

Display Trust Sharing things like security badges, customer reviews, influencer partnerships, and shipping and return policies may contribute to gaining a new customer’s trust.

No Surprise Fees If you can’t avoid shipping costs, ensure the cost is communicated up front, and not on the last step of the checkout page.

Ask for the payment information in the last step Customers will feel safer after completing all checkout steps like inputting the correct address and seeing the final cost before sharing their information.

Enable Chat Support Answer potential customer's questions quickly so they feel confident making a purchase.

Efficiency

Autofill Information and Expedited 1-Click Checkout Manual entry and multiple steps waste valuable seconds needed to close the sale.

Preferred Payment Options Go beyond the major credit and debit cards and consider buy now, pay later services and Apple and Google Pay.

Experience

Mobile Friendly It's predicted that 187.5 million people will use their smartphones to shop by 2024. Automatic resizing for the small screen is key.

Checkout Progress Bar Set expectations for your customers so they know exactly how much of their time will be dedicated to the process.

Provide Multiple Contact Methods Increase customer satisfaction by ensuring they won’t miss any updates on their order.

Guest Checkout Accept that not everyone will want to create an account. Don't miss out on these customers.

Marketing Automation

Checkout Abandonment Emails Re-engage your customers after their last interaction with your site. 60 minutes after is the sweet spot.

Exit-Intent Pop-Ups Track your visitor's mouse movements and a trigger pop-up to appear when they’re about to leave the checkout page.

Upsells and Cross-Sells Cross-selling recommends products that complement the items they’re buying. An upsell recommends a higher priced product that's similar to the one in their shopping cart.