Goal: Reduce Cart Abandonment

Reduce checkout abandonment caused by shipping friction — coverage gaps, unexpected costs, and missing free shipping options — by optimizing the delivery step of the checkout funnel.

Business Goal

The merchant wants to reduce the percentage of customers who abandon checkout, specifically at the delivery/shipping step. Shipping-related friction is the leading cause of checkout abandonment, and the delivery step conversion rate (delivery_step_cvr) is the primary metric.

Benchmark: A healthy delivery_step_cvr is approximately 65%. Stores below this benchmark have significant shipping-related friction.

KPIs

Triggers

Activate this goal when the merchant expresses any of the following intents:

• "cart abandonment"
• "checkout drop-off"
• "shipping friction"
• "delivery step"
• "people are leaving at checkout"
• "customers not completing orders"
• "why are customers abandoning"
• "checkout conversion"
• Any request about reducing drop-off during the purchase flow

Diagnostic Questions

Before recommending actions, assess the root cause of abandonment. Ask or investigate:

1. Where are buyers dropping off? — Is it specifically the delivery step, or payment, or earlier in the funnel?
2. Are shipping costs visible before checkout? — Surprise shipping costs are the #1 abandonment driver.
3. Is there a free shipping option? — Free shipping (even with a threshold) dramatically reduces abandonment.
4. Are there shipping coverage gaps? — Customers in unserved regions cannot complete checkout at all.
5. Are shipping rates reasonable? — Rates above 10-15% of order value cause sticker shock.
6. Are payment methods adequate? — Missing payment options can look like shipping-step abandonment in metrics.
7. Are recovery emails enabled? — Abandoned cart emails can recapture 5-15% of abandoned carts.

Recommended Actions (Prioritized)

Actions are ordered by impact. Address blocking issues first, then conversion drivers, then optimization.

Priority 1: Flow: Fix Shipping Coverage Gaps (Blocking)

Coverage gaps are the most critical issue — if a customer's region is not covered by any shipping option, they literally cannot complete checkout.

When to use: When delivery profiles show regions without active shipping options, inactive regions, or missing domestic coverage.

Impact: Removes a hard blocker. Customers in uncovered regions have 0% conversion.

Priority 2: Flow: Add Free Shipping (Conversion Driver)

Free shipping is the single most effective lever for reducing cart abandonment. Even with a minimum order threshold, offering a free shipping option significantly improves delivery step conversion.

When to use: When the store has no free shipping option, or when the existing free shipping threshold is set too high relative to AOV.

Impact: Typically improves delivery_step_cvr by 10-20 percentage points. The threshold should be calibrated to AOV (typically 1.2x-1.5x AOV).

Priority 3: Flow: Optimize Shipping Rates (Sticker Shock Reduction)

High shipping rates cause sticker shock even when coverage exists. Rate optimization ensures pricing is competitive and proportional to order value.

When to use: When shipping rates are disproportionately high relative to product prices, or when rates lack tiered/conditional pricing.

Impact: Reduces abandonment from price sensitivity. Most effective when combined with free shipping at a threshold.

Measurement Plan

Before optimization

1. Record baseline delivery_step_cvr from site metrics
2. Record current cart abandonment rate
3. Identify the specific shipping configuration state:
   • Number of active regions with shipping options
   • Presence/absence of free shipping
   • Average shipping rate as percentage of AOV

During optimization (weekly monitoring for 30 days)

1. Track delivery_step_cvr weekly
2. Compare week-over-week trend
3. Monitor free shipping qualification rate (if threshold was added)
4. Check for new coverage gaps if regions were modified

After optimization (30-day assessment)

1. Calculate CVR improvement: new_delivery_step_cvr - baseline_delivery_step_cvr
2. Estimate revenue recovered: cvr_improvement * checkout_sessions * AOV
3. Evaluate threshold effectiveness:
   • Free shipping qualification rate > 40% = threshold well-calibrated
   • Free shipping qualification rate < 10% = threshold too high, consider lowering
4. Assess whether further optimization is needed:
   • delivery_step_cvr >= 65% = healthy, monitor quarterly
   • delivery_step_cvr 50-65% = improving, continue optimization
   • delivery_step_cvr < 50% = investigate non-shipping causes (payment, UX)

Decision Matrix