Unnecessary checkout steps removed: +29% conversion
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsRemoving unnecessary steps from a fitness company's checkout lifted conversion by 29%.
MECLABS ran the test and presented it in a web clinic on shopping cart optimization, published on MarketingExperiments.
The recap does not say which steps were cut.
- Conversion: +29% against the original checkout.
- The recap reports only this headline figure. No sample size, duration or confidence level is given.
The change
The variant drops the steps that weren't needed to place an order.
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
The original checkout made shoppers go through steps that were not needed to complete the order.
Variant
The same checkout with the unnecessary steps taken out, so shoppers reached the end of the order sooner.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- Every extra step is another point where a shopper can leave, so fewer steps likely meant fewer drop-offs.
- Shoppers in checkout are already motivated. Getting out of their way may matter more than persuading them further.
- MECLABS framed simple checkouts as common knowledge that many stores still don't apply, which suggests the original had obvious friction to remove.
Caveats: Old data: MECLABS presented this test in a December 2012 web clinic, and the written recap gives only the headline number. Sample size, duration and confidence are not shared. We don't know which steps were removed.
Who ran it
MECLABS ran this test for a fitness company 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 checkout steps that are not needed to place the order, then more shoppers will complete checkout because there are fewer points to drop off.
- Primary metric
- Checkout completion rate (orders / checkout starts)
- Guardrails
- Average order value
- Order errors or failed payments
- Opt-in rate for any data you stop collecting
- Who should test it
- Stores whose checkout has extra pages, account steps or optional screens. If your checkout is already a short one-page flow, there may be little left to cut.
Questions
How many steps should a checkout have?
There is no fixed number. Keep only the steps you need to take payment and ship the order, and test removing anything else.
Is a one-page checkout always better?
Not always. Some stores do better with a few short steps.
What matters is removing work the shopper doesn't need to do, so test it on your own traffic.
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