Shopify Checkout Optimization: Why 70% of Your Customers Abandon and What You Can Do About It

The Cart Abandonment Reality

Here is the sobering truth: 70.22% of all online shopping carts are abandoned before purchase. This is not an outlier -- it is the average across more than 50 different studies according to Baymard Institute.

Let us translate that into real numbers: Out of 100 visitors who add a product to their cart, only 30 actually buy. 70 walk away. With an average cart value of 80 EUR and 1,000 cart creations per month, you are leaving 56,000 EUR on the table every single month.

Of course, you will never reach 100% conversion. Some visitors are just browsing, comparing prices, or saving products for later. But Baymard's research shows that by fixing documented checkout usability issues, you can increase conversion rates by up to 35.26%. In our example, that would mean 19,700 EUR more revenue per month -- just from a better checkout.

The Top Reasons for Cart Abandonment

Baymard has studied the reasons in detail. Here are the most important ones -- and nearly all of them are preventable:

What stands out? The top 3 reasons have nothing to do with your product. They are about the process. And processes can be changed.

The German Market: Unique Challenges

The German e-commerce market has specific characteristics that directly impact checkout performance:

The Conversion Rate Landscape

Germany has an average e-commerce conversion rate of 2.22% -- more than double that of Italy (0.99%) and one of the highest values in Europe. That sounds good, but it is also a warning: German customers have high expectations. They are used to everything working flawlessly.

Mobile vs. Desktop

63% of e-commerce revenue in Germany now comes from smartphones. But here is the problem: Mobile conversion rates are significantly lower than desktop. The cart abandonment rate on mobile devices is 80.2%, compared to only 70-73% on desktop.

This means the majority of your traffic comes from devices where conversion is worst. If you have not optimized your checkout for mobile, you are losing the game.

Payment Method Expectations

German customers expect specific payment methods -- and they are more uncompromising about this than customers in other countries. Up to 82% of German shoppers abandon their purchase if their preferred payment method is missing. That is one of the highest rates in Europe. In Germany, this specifically means:

• PayPal: Mandatory. Approximately 30% market share in online payments
• Klarna (invoice/installments): Approximately 20% market share, especially popular in fashion
• Credit card: Standard, but less dominant in Germany than internationally
• Apple Pay / Google Pay: Growing, especially among shoppers under 35
• SEPA direct debit: Popular for recurring purchases

7 Concrete Optimizations for Your Shopify Checkout

1. Cost Transparency from the Product Page

39% abandon due to unexpected costs. The solution: Show shipping costs as early as possible.

Concrete measures:

• Shipping cost calculator on the product page: "Shipping to Germany: 4.90 EUR | Free above 50 EUR"
• Tax notice: Place "All prices include VAT" prominently
• Shipping cost banner: Permanently visible in the header -- "Free shipping on orders over 50 EUR"

Shopify's Checkout Extensibility Framework allows you to place custom elements directly in the checkout -- including shipping cost estimates before the actual checkout process begins.

2. Prioritize Guest Checkout

26% abandon because they have to create an account. Shopify offers guest checkout by default -- make sure it is enabled.

Best practices:

• Guest checkout as default: Account creation comes after purchase ("Would you like to create an account to track your order?")
• Shop Pay: Shopify's accelerated checkout remembers customer data -- one-click checkout without forcing account creation
• Social login: Login via Google or Apple as an alternative to manual registration

3. Optimize Shipping Options

21% abandon due to slow delivery. You cannot always change delivery times -- but you can offer options.

• Offer express shipping: Even if it costs extra -- the option alone reduces abandonment
• Communicate delivery times clearly: "Delivery in 2-3 business days" instead of vague estimates
• Include parcel lockers as an option: DHL Packstationen are extremely popular in Germany -- offer them as a delivery option

4. Build Trust

19% do not trust the site. In Germany, trust is particularly important. Measures:

• Trusted Shops / buyer seal: The best-known trust badge in Germany. Costs 50-300 EUR/month, but trust badges increase conversion by up to 8.72% -- and 61% of shoppers will not buy without visible trust signals
• SSL badge: Show the lock symbol prominently in the checkout -- security badges alone deliver 32% more conversions on checkout pages
• Known payment provider logos: PayPal, Klarna, Visa, Mastercard -- payment logos increase purchase probability by 81%
• Legal notice and contact details: German customers check these. Ensure your legal notice (Impressum), terms of service, and contact options are easily accessible
• Reviews: Customers who interact with reviews convert 128% better. Products with 10+ reviews see a 45% conversion lift. Show reviews in the checkout or on the cart page as well

5. Simplify the Checkout Process

18% find the checkout too complicated. Shopify's standard checkout is already optimized, but there is room for improvement:

• One-page checkout: All steps on a single page -- converts approximately 7.5% better than multi-page alternatives. Shopify has modernized checkout with Extensibility, delivering an average 4-second faster checkout completion
• Address autocomplete: Integrate the Google Places API -- the customer types a few characters and the address is automatically completed
• Fewer form fields: In A/B tests, simply removing the email confirmation field produced 5.8% more conversions. Do you really need the company field? The second address line? Every field you remove reduces friction
• Consistent CTA buttons: Consistent button design in the checkout increased checkout completion rates by 12.3% in tests

6. Expand Payment Methods

11% abandon due to missing payment methods. The math is simple: every missing payment method costs you revenue.

The minimum configuration for the German market:

An often overlooked point: Buy on invoice (e.g., via Klarna) holds approximately 27% market share as the second most popular payment method in Germany after PayPal -- and delivers a 54% conversion boost. The reason: it is the most trustworthy payment method from the customer's perspective (inspect the goods first, then pay). For merchants it is the riskiest -- but that is precisely why it converts so well.

Another surprising data point: White-label payment solutions (meaning payments directly on your site, without redirecting to PayPal or Klarna) reduce cart abandonment by 21%. The redirect to an external site creates uncertainty -- even when the payment method itself is trusted.

7. Cart Abandonment Recovery

Not every abandonment is final. With the right recovery strategy, you can win back 5-15% of abandoners:

• Automated emails: Shopify offers a built-in abandoned cart email. Activate it -- it is the email with the highest ROI you will ever send
• Timing: First email after 1 hour, second after 24 hours, third after 3 days
• Content: No pressure, no spam. "You forgot something" with a direct link to the filled cart
• Incentive: Starting with the second email, consider offering a 5-10% discount or free shipping

Mobile Checkout: The Blind Spot

Since 63% of revenue happens on mobile, but the abandonment rate there is 80%, the mobile checkout is your biggest optimization opportunity.

Quick Wins for Mobile Checkout

1. Large buttons: Minimum 44x44px tap target. Fingers are larger than mouse cursors
2. Numeric keyboard: Automatically activate the number pad for postal codes and phone numbers
3. Support autofill: Name input fields correctly so browser autofill works
4. Place Apple Pay / Google Pay prominently: Express checkout buttons directly at the top of the cart
5. Sticky buy button: The CTA should always be visible, even while scrolling
6. Load time under 3 seconds: Every additional second of load time costs 7% conversion

Shop Pay: Shopify's Secret Weapon

Shop Pay is Shopify's accelerated checkout -- and the numbers are impressive: Conversion rate up to 50% better than standard guest checkout, 4x faster completion. Over 40% of all Shopify checkouts are now completed via Shop Pay. Activation alone increases conversion by up to 18%.

Customer data is stored encrypted, and on the next purchase (even in other Shopify stores) everything is pre-filled. For mobile, this is a game-changer: instead of filling out 15 fields on a small screen, a single tap is enough.

A/B Testing: Measure Instead of Guess

No checkout optimization should happen without data. What works for Shop A can hurt conversion for Shop B.

What You Should Test

• Free shipping threshold: Free shipping at 40 EUR vs. 50 EUR vs. 75 EUR
• Payment method order: PayPal first vs. credit card first
• CTA text: "Buy now" vs. "Proceed to checkout" vs. "Complete order"
• Trust badges: With vs. without Trusted Shops, badge positioning
• Form fields: With vs. without optional fields (company, second address line)

Tools for A/B Testing in the Shopify Checkout

• Shopify Plus: Offers native checkout customization and A/B testing
• Google Optimize: For non-checkout pages (product page, cart)
• Checkout Extensibility: Shopify's newer framework allows deeper checkout customizations on all plans

ROI Calculation: What Does Checkout Optimization Deliver?

Conservative Scenario

A reduction in abandonment rate from 70% to 60% -- that is 10 percentage points, which is entirely realistic -- produces 8,000 EUR more revenue per month in this example. And that is without a single additional visitor.

The Key Takeaway

Most Shopify merchants invest in ads, SEO, and social media to attract more visitors. That is not wrong -- but it is the more expensive approach. Acquiring a new visitor costs 1-5 EUR. Persuading an existing visitor to buy often requires nothing more than a checkout adjustment.

Start with the low-hanging fruit: shipping cost transparency, all important payment methods, guest checkout. Then work your way toward the bigger optimizations: mobile checkout, Shop Pay, A/B testing.

Because a 70% abandonment rate does not have to be your reality.