Eight-step checkout cut to one step: +68% order completions
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsCutting an eight-step checkout down to a single basic step raised order completions by more than 68% for an online store.
MECLABS ran the test with one of its research partners and published it on MarketingExperiments in February 2010. The old flow forced account creation over three pages and asked shoppers to confirm their order twice.
- Order completions rose by over 68%. The article headline rounds this to 67%.
- No sample size, test length or confidence level was shared.
- Several things changed at once: fewer steps, no forced account and no double confirmation. The lift belongs to the whole new flow.
The change
Forced registration and double confirmation removed; checkout becomes one basic step
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
Eight steps from product page to receipt: cart, an account choice, three account-creation pages for details, shipping and payment, an order confirmation page, then the receipt. New shoppers had to register before they could buy.
Variant
The process was reorganised into one basic checkout step. Forced registration and the extra confirmation page were removed.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- Each extra page is a chance to leave. Going from eight steps to one removes most of those exits.
- Making new shoppers create an account before paying puts a hurdle in front of the purchase they came for.
- Asking people to confirm an order they already confirmed adds doubt at the last moment.
Caveats: The test is from around 2010 and the store's industry is not stated. No sample size, duration or confidence level was shared, and several changes shipped together.
Who ran it
MECLABS ran this test for an online store (MECLABS research partner) and published the results (MarketingExperiments). The numbers are theirs; the summary and commentary on this page are ours.
Read the original case study on MECLABS →
How to run this test on your store
- Hypothesis
- If we remove forced account creation and extra confirmation steps from checkout, then more shoppers will complete orders, because there are fewer pages and fewer reasons to drop out.
- Primary metric
- Order completion rate from cart
- Guardrails
- Accounts created after purchase
- Order error and cancellation rate
- Average order value
- Who should test it
- Stores with a long or registration-gated checkout. If you are on a modern hosted checkout that already offers guest checkout, the gain will be much smaller.
Questions
Should I force customers to create an account at checkout?
Usually not. In this test, removing forced registration was part of a 68% rise in completed orders.
You can offer an account after the purchase instead.
Is a one-page checkout always better than multi-step?
Not always. This test cut eight steps and removed forced sign-up at the same time.
A tidy two- or three-step checkout can perform well, so test your own flow.
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