You pay for traffic, they add to cart… then vanish. Most of that drop off isn’t random: it’s friction: too many steps, hidden costs, unclear delivery, slow pages. Remove the friction, and abandonment falls. The 10 moves below target the biggest psychological tripwires (effort, uncertainty, surprise costs, mistrust) and show exactly how to enable the fixes in Shopify.
1. Accelerated checkouts + dynamic checkout buttons (Shop Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal)
What it does & why it works
Accelerated wallets skip typing and use saved details—fewer steps means fewer exits. Shop Pay in particular is consistently shown to lift conversion (and even its presence helps), because it collapses effort and signals trust.
Set it up in Shopify
Settings → Payments: enable Shop Pay + any supported wallets.
Online Store → Themes → Customize → Product page: turn on Dynamic checkout buttons (shows “Buy it now”/wallets so high intent shoppers bypass the cart). Note: dynamic buttons buy a single variant; that’s normal.
Learn more about dynamic checkout buttons.
Psychology shorthand: less typing = less cognitive load; familiar brands = more trust.
2. One page checkout (reduce page hops)
What it does & why it works
Keeping checkout on one page lowers perceived effort and opportunities to second guess. It also cuts load times between steps.
Set it up in Shopify
Settings → Checkout → Customize (gear icon) → Checkout layout → One page checkout → Save.
Psychology: “Just one step” framing reduces friction and abandonment.
3. New, passwordless customer accounts (but keep guest checkout)
What it does & why it works
New accounts let returning customers log in with a 6 digit code (no passwords). Great for repeat purchases, but don’t force login—forced accounts spike drop offs.
Set it up in Shopify
Settings → Customer accounts: select Customer accounts (new).
Keep Require customers to log in before checkout off to allow guests. More on customer account settings.
Psychology: saved details = speed; optionality avoids reactance (“don’t make me create an account”).
4. Show the true total early (shipping, taxes, duties)
What it does & why it works
“Surprise” costs are the #1 abandon reason. Show taxes where expected, estimate shipping up front, and if you sell cross border, collect duties at checkout so there’s no nasty bill on delivery.
Set it up in Shopify
Settings → Taxes and duties: decide if prices include tax (common in VAT markets).
Settings → Markets → [Market] → Taxes & duties: enable collect duties and import taxes at checkout (meets certain requirements). This way, if you sell cross border, you can collect duties at checkout so there’s no nasty bill on delivery. Tax setup guide.
Psychology: cost transparency reduces loss aversion and last second regret.
5. Estimated delivery dates (EDD) on PDP/cart/checkout
What it does & why it works
“Will it arrive in time?” is a confidence killer. Clear EDDs reduce uncertainty and boost purchase completion. Shopify explicitly notes EDDs can encourage completion.
Set it up in Shopify
Add processing time + carrier transit times so a date range shows.
Settings → Shipping and delivery → Expected delivery dates → Manual delivery dates.
Add Transit time to rates if needed. Managing processing time guide.
Psychology: certainty calms. Dates beat vague “3–7 business days”.
6. Localise checkout (currency + local pay methods)
What it does & why it works
People convert more when they can pay how they normally pay, in their own currency. Shopify Markets + Local Payment Methods (e.g., iDEAL, Bancontact, Klarna) make this native.
Set it up in Shopify
Settings → Markets → [Market] → Products & pricing: enable local currency and rounding/adjustments.
Settings → Payments: enable region specific methods supported in that market. Local currency setup guide.
Psychology: familiarity + reduced currency math = less friction, more trust.
7. Trim checkout fields + enable address autocompletion
What it does & why it works
Every field is a quit point. Make non critical fields Optional and use address autocomplete to cut typing and typos. Recent updates to autocomplete settings.
Set it up in Shopify
Settings → Checkout and accounts → Checkout form options: set Company/Phone to Optional (or Hidden) as appropriate.
Settings → Checkout → Customize → Settings (gear): enable Use address autocompletion. Checkout form options guide and autocomplete setting changes.
Psychology: less effort + fewer errors = more completions.
8. Painless returns (clear policy + self serve returns)
What it does & why it works
A visible, easy return path reduces perceived risk. Shopify’s self serve returns let customers request a return from their account; your policy link appears in the right places.
Set it up in Shopify
Settings → Policies → Return & refund policy: publish a clear policy (also link on PDPs).
Settings → Customer accounts: turn on Self serve returns. Self serve returns setup guide.
Psychology: risk reversal increases purchase confidence.
9. Smarter recovery: abandoned checkout automation + cart/checkout permalinks
What it does & why it works
If they leave, bring them back to a pre filled cart/checkout with no re work. Time emails/SMS sensibly (e.g., hours, not days). Cart permalinks make this possible.
Set it up in Shopify
Marketing → Automations → Abandoned checkout: turn on and edit timing/content.
Use Cart permalinks in emails to pre load items (and even discounts). Abandoned checkout automation guide and cart permalink documentation.
Psychology: reduce re effort; create a smooth “resume where you left off” path.
10. Fix speed (especially PDP & cart)
What it does & why it works
Slow pages kill intent before checkout. Faster stores feel more trustworthy and give shoppers less time to reconsider. Shopify’s performance guidance: keep themes lean, reduce JS, compress media, and avoid heavy apps.
Set it up in Shopify
Audit theme/app bloat; remove unused sections/apps; lazy load media; compress images; follow Shopify’s theme performance best practices. (Track improvements in your speed reports.) Theme performance best practices.
Psychology: speed = competence; fewer waits = fewer exits.
Conclusion
Abandonment isn’t a mystery: it’s friction + uncertainty. Speed up payment, show total cost and delivery early, keep forms short, and make returns easy. Do the ten steps above and you’ll see fewer ghosts and more orders. Want me to tailor this to your theme/apps and flag anything adding friction right now? I can do a quick audit and prioritised fix list.
