7 Reasons Your E-commerce Loses Sales at the Checkout Stage
The customer has chosen their product, added it to the cart, and is about to pay — then they abandon. If this sounds familiar, you're not alone. The average checkout abandonment rate in e-commerce hovers around 70%, meaning most online stores lose the majority of their sales even when the customer was almost ready to convert. The good news? Most of the reasons are entirely avoidable — and it all starts with the quality of the platform you choose for your store.
In this article, you'll discover the 7 most common reasons customers abandon checkout — and what you can do to fix them once and for all.
1. The Checkout Process Has Too Many Steps
A checkout with 5, 6, or 7 stages is a recipe for abandonment. Every additional step is an opportunity for the customer to change their mind, get distracted, or simply give up out of frustration.
The ideal is a 1 to 3-step checkout, where the customer enters their delivery details, chooses a payment method, and confirms their order — all quickly and intuitively. The smoother the process, the higher the conversion rate.
Remove unnecessary fields (are you asking for data you'll never use?)
Use a single-page checkout wherever possible
Show a progress bar so the customer knows where they are in the process
2. Forcing Customers to Create an Account Before Buying
This is one of the most common — and most damaging — mistakes. Many customers are buying for the first time and simply don't want to create an account. They just want to buy and be done with it.
By requiring registration before payment, you're creating an unnecessary friction barrier that drives away a huge number of potential buyers. Studies suggest this single step alone can account for up to 35% of checkout abandonments.
The solution is simple: always allow guest checkout. You can suggest registration at the end of the purchase, once the customer is already satisfied and more receptive to the idea.
3. Lack of Relevant Payment Methods
In 2026, consumers expect a variety of payment options. If your store only accepts credit cards, you're excluding a significant portion of potential buyers.
The most widely used payment methods you should consider offering include:
MB Way — essential for the Portuguese market
Multibanco (reference payment) — still widely used
Credit and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard)
PayPal — especially for more cautious customers
Apple Pay / Google Pay — growing rapidly on mobile
The more relevant options you offer, the fewer reasons customers have to abandon at the last moment.
4. Your Site Is Slow or Doesn't Work Well on Mobile
Over 60% of online purchases are made via mobile phone. If your checkout isn't optimised for mobile — small buttons, fields that are hard to fill in, slow-loading pages — you're losing the majority of your potential buyers.
Speed is also critical: every extra second of loading time can reduce conversions by up to 7%. A slow site isn't just frustrating — it costs you real money.
An e-commerce store built from the ground up, like those Webfy develops, takes mobile performance into account from day one — it's not an add-on, it's a foundation.
5. No Trust Signals
When a customer is about to enter their card details, trust is everything. If your checkout doesn't feel secure, they'll close the tab and buy from a site where they feel more protected.
The trust elements that must be present in a checkout:
Visible SSL padlock (HTTPS) in the address bar
Secure payment badges (e.g. Verified by Visa, Mastercard SecureCode)
A clear and accessible returns policy
Visible customer support contact (email, phone, or WhatsApp)
Reviews and testimonials from real customers
The absence of any of these elements sows doubt — and doubt kills the sale.
6. Surprise Costs at the End of Checkout
Picture this: the customer sees a product for €29.90, adds it to the cart, goes through the entire checkout process — and on the final step discovers €8 in shipping costs and a €2 processing fee. Total: €39.90. Result? Abandonment.
Surprise pricing at checkout is the leading cause of abandonment in e-commerce worldwide. Customers won't tolerate feeling deceived, even if it wasn't intentional.
The solution involves:
Displaying shipping costs on the product page
Offering free shipping above a minimum order value (and communicating it clearly)
Never adding hidden fees at the end
Including a shipping cost calculator before the checkout
7. No Optimisation of the Post-Abandonment Stage
Even with all these improvements in place, some abandonment will always happen. What separates stores that recover those sales from those that lose them forever is a solid abandoned cart recovery strategy.
Some of the most effective tactics include:
Automated recovery email sent 1–2 hours after abandonment
A follow-up email with an incentive (e.g. 10% discount) sent 24 hours later
Retargeting via social media ads
Push notifications for registered customers
For this to work, you need an e-commerce platform that supports these integrations — which isn't always the case with generic solutions or off-the-shelf templates.
The Root of the Problem: The Platform You Choose
Many of these issues share a common root: stores built on generic platforms, with rigid templates that don't allow you to optimise the checkout in the way your business actually needs.
A custom-built online store gives you full control over every step of the buying process — from the checkout structure to payment integrations, loading speed, and the mobile experience.
That's exactly what Webfy does: we build online stores from scratch, using AI to speed up development and human professionals to guarantee quality. The result is a fast, secure, conversion-optimised store — without the limitations of ready-made templates.
"An online store that doesn't convert isn't an asset — it's a cost. Optimising checkout is one of the highest-return growth levers in e-commerce."
If you're curious about how much it costs not to have the right platform, it's worth reading our article on what businesses lose by not having a professional website — many of the same principles apply directly to e-commerce.
You can also compare approaches in your own website vs social media to understand why a professional online store remains the most valuable digital asset for any business.
Conclusion: Don't Leave Money on the Table
Checkout abandonment is frustrating, but it's highly fixable. Simplify the process, remove the barriers, build trust, and eliminate price surprises — and you'll see your conversion rate rise consistently.
But to implement these improvements properly, you need a store that's built for it from the start. If you want an e-commerce store that converts, begin by exploring Webfy's plans from €197 or create your free account and talk to us about what you need.
Your next customer is already searching. The question is whether your checkout will let them buy — or drive them away.
