You've done the hard part: someone wanted your product enough to start checking out. Then a chunk of those people leave before paying, and across ecommerce that chunk is large.
Baymard puts the average cart abandonment rate at about 70%, and a good share of it occurs at checkout due to costs, friction, and trust. The upside is that checkout is one of the most fixable parts of the funnel, and because a fix applies to every sale, even a few points add up to real money.
If 1,000 shoppers reach your checkout each month at a $60 average order, lifting completion from 30% to 33% is about 30 more sales, roughly $1,800 a month or $21,000 a year, on traffic you already have.
This guide covers what a checkout conversion rate is, how to calculate it, what counts as good, and the changes that most affect it.
Quick answer
To increase your checkout conversion rate, remove cost surprises, cut friction, and build trust at the moment of payment: show the full price early, offer guest checkout, trim form fields, add the payment methods people expect, and keep the flow fast on mobile. Most of the biggest wins come from the same handful of fixes, because the same handful of reasons drive most abandonment. Recovering the people who still leave (through abandoned-checkout emails) then claws back revenue you'd otherwise lose.
What is a checkout conversion rate?
What are checkout conversion rates?
Your checkout conversion rate is the percentage of shoppers who complete a purchase after they start checkout. It measures the checkout step specifically, not your whole site, so it isolates how well the payment flow turns intent into revenue. A low checkout conversion rate points to friction in the flow itself, not a traffic or demand problem.
To calculate it, divide completed purchases by started checkouts and multiply by 100:
Checkout conversion rate = (completed purchases ÷ started checkouts) × 100
So 320 completed purchases from 1,000 started checkouts is a 32% checkout conversion rate. Track it alongside your cart abandonment rate and average order value to see the full picture.
What is a good checkout conversion rate?
It varies by industry, traffic source, and price point, so treat benchmarks as a guide rather than a target. Littledata reports that an ecommerce conversion rate above 3.2% is good, with the top 10% of stores at 4.8% or higher. For the checkout step alone, a streamlined single-page flow often completes 60% to 80% of checkouts that start. If your checkout completion sits below about 40%, friction is almost certainly costing you sales rather than weak demand.
Why shoppers abandon checkout
Most abandonment traces to a short list of causes, and they're the same ones year after year. The table below shows Baymard's ranked reasons for abandoning checkout, a useful prioritization list: fix the top rows first.
Reason for abandoning checkout | Share of shoppers |
|---|---|
Extra costs too high (shipping, tax, fees) | 39% |
Delivery was too slow | 21% |
Didn't trust the site with card details | 19% |
Site required creating an account | 19% |
Checkout was too long or complicated | 18% |
Couldn't see the total cost upfront | 14% |
Not enough payment methods | 10% |
Source: Baymard Institute reasons for checkout abandonment; shoppers could select more than one, so shares exceed 100%. Average documented cart abandonment is about 70%.
The pattern is clear: cost surprises and friction do most of the damage, and trust sits right behind them. Baymard estimates the average large ecommerce site can lift conversions by around 35% through better checkout design alone, so this is high-leverage work.
13 ways to increase your checkout conversion rate
Below are 13 ways to increase your checkout conversion rate, mapped to the abandonment reasons above and ordered roughly by impact. For the full deep dive, see our 13 checkout page optimization strategies; to focus specifically on drop-off, see 10 ways to prevent checkout abandonment.
1. Show the full price early
Showing shipping, tax, and fees before the final step is the single highest-impact checkout conversion fix, because unexpected costs are the top reason shoppers abandon. Surface the total on the product page or the first checkout step, so it never jumps at the end.
2. Offer guest checkout
Letting shoppers pay without creating an account removes a trigger behind 19% of checkout abandonment. Invite buyers to create an account after the purchase instead. Checkout Page is guest-by-default for this reason.
3. Cut the form to the essentials
Every extra form field is a chance to lose the sale. Ask only for what you need to fulfill the order, turn on address autofill, and hide optional fields like promo codes behind a link.
4. Add the payment methods people expect
Cards alone are no longer enough: Apple Pay, Google Pay, and buy-now-pay-later options like Klarna and Affirm let buyers pay in one tap. Express wallets matter most on mobile, where typing card details is the slowest step.
5. Keep checkout to a single page
A single, mobile-optimized one-page checkout with a visible running total removes the steps where people quit. Multi-step flows still suit complex orders, as long as they show clear progress.
6. Speed up your checkout, especially on mobile
Even a second or two of extra load time measurably raises checkout abandonment. Compress images, cut third-party scripts, and test the flow on a mid-range phone rather than your laptop.
7. Make it visibly secure
Recognizable payment logos, an SSL indicator, and a clear refund policy ease the trust concern behind roughly a fifth of abandonment. Our guide to secure checkout covers the signals that matter, including when to add 3D Secure on higher-value orders.
8. Set delivery expectations upfront
Slow or unclear delivery drives 21% of checkout abandonment, so show delivery dates and options before the final step. For digital products, reassure buyers that access is instant, and deliver on the confirmation page and by email.
9. Remove distractions and exit points
A checkout with no site navigation, no sidebar, and one clear call to action keeps the buyer moving toward payment. Every extra link is an invitation to leave and not come back.
10. Match the checkout to what you sell
Generic best practice misses friction that is specific to your product type. Subscriptions should state renewal terms in plain language, event tickets need a fast mobile flow, and donations convert best with suggested amounts and a one-tap recurring option.
11. Recover abandoned checkouts with email
Abandoned-checkout emails claw back revenue from shoppers who left their details but never paid. One reminder within a few hours, with a direct link back to a prefilled checkout, recovers a meaningful share of cart abandonment.
12. Lift order value after the click
Order bumps and one-click upsells raise revenue per buyer without adding friction before payment. The bump appears as a tickbox at checkout; the upsell appears after payment, when saying yes is easiest.
13. Test one change at a time
Measure checkout completion as its own funnel, change one thing, and confirm the lift before moving on. Watch completion rate, abandonment, and average order value by device, since mobile and desktop often behave differently.
A no-code checkout page builder lets you apply most of these without a developer, on your own Stripe account.
Quick summary
- Your checkout conversion rate is completed purchases divided by started checkouts; it isolates the payment step, not your whole site.
- About 70% of carts are abandoned, and cost surprises, friction, and trust drive most of it (Baymard).
- The highest-impact of the 13 fixes: show full costs early, offer guest checkout, trim form fields, add express payment methods, and keep the flow to one fast page.
- Better checkout design can lift conversions by around 35% (Baymard), and recovery emails claw back revenue from those who still leave.
Checkout conversion rate FAQ
What is a good checkout conversion rate?
It depends on your industry and price point, but as a guide, Littledata reports an ecommerce conversion rate above 3.2% is good and the top 10% of stores exceed 4.8%. For the checkout step alone, a streamlined single-page flow often completes 60% to 80% of started checkouts. Below about 40% usually signals friction.
How do I calculate my checkout conversion rate?
Divide the number of completed purchases by the number of started checkouts, then multiply by 100. For example, 320 purchases from 1,000 started checkouts is a 32% checkout conversion rate. Measure it over a consistent period and segment by device, since mobile and desktop often convert very differently.
What is the average cart abandonment rate?
Baymard puts the documented average at about 70%, based on dozens of studies, and mobile tends to run higher than desktop. Knowing the difference between cart and checkout abandonment helps, since not all of it is fixable: some shoppers are only browsing, but a large share comes from checkout issues like unexpected costs, forced account creation, and long forms.
What is the fastest way to improve checkout conversion?
Start with the top abandonment reasons: show the full price (including shipping and fees) early, and turn on guest checkout. Those two address the largest causes of drop-off and usually need no redesign. Adding express wallets like Apple Pay and trimming form fields are quick follow-ups.
Does a one-page checkout convert better?
Often, yes, for digital products and simple purchases, because it removes steps and clicks where shoppers drop off. Multi-step checkouts still suit complex orders with many options, as long as they show clear progress. The bigger driver is reducing total friction, whichever layout you use.
