revert one-page checkout back to 3-step checkout, and abandoned email flows for one-page checkout

[ptoxa]

Hi,

I have a shopify plus account.

How can I revert one-page checkout back to 3-step checkout?

For the conversion report attached, will there be any change to the definition of 'Reached checkout' column between these 2 styles of checkouts?

Is my understanding correct?

With the one-page checkout follow, the system won't be able to get any user information until they finish the checkout(unless there are any payment errors).  So I won't be able to get any user information to recover abandoned carts via emails?

[avilevin2003]

@Shopify Team, this is a CRITICAL problem for abandoned carts issue.
Is there any way to revert to 3 steps? or to separate the consumer information from the payment section?

[SuzChalan]

Oh my gosh, I have this issue too - I read you can only change it if you have Shopify PLUS,  is that the $299 a month plan?  Good grief Shopify - WHY would you do this - removing so many critical features (like shipping options which is what got me here)  HOW DARE YOU not allow us to change something back when we didn't get a chance to test run it - not everyone has the same needs, and many of us already had express options in place for fast checkout - this goes along with dumbing down the admin - but right now I'm focused on my NEXT problem - how to run my business while Shopify makes changes to core features.  HOW DO WE PUT IT BACK

[emmalovell]

Have you seen any improvement? 

[Josh_Uebergang]

"If your store is on the Shopify Plus plan, then you can switch between one-page checkout and three-page checkout from the Branding settings section of your checkout editor." From: https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/checkout-settings/checkout-extensibility/one-page-checkout

You guys have to remember the purpose of abandoned cart emails are to nab sales. Shopify has run extensive tests on this. It's why it's rolled out. It would be good to see personal statistically significant results for the checkout.

Further more, if you're on Klaviyo, you can trigger add to cart events before users hit the checkout. This happens for people who already have a profile and the Klaviyo cookie on the device.

[SuzChalan]

Josh,  The SHopify Plus plan is $2000 a month - TWO THOUSAND dollars a month - and for that you get to choose how to run your own checkout? Woo hoo - what a bargain!

What about the rest of us in the bleachers?  I really don't care how much Shopify tested it - you mean like they did on the new squiggly homepage that shows no information? No, this is really unfair - and people have many reasons for opting out of a single checkout - MANY buyers on complicated orders want a 'final review' page to make sure all appropriate selections/addresses are in place.   FORCING people to use this and not be able to roll back isn't fair - the whole idea was to give people a way to customize their stores to the way they want it - the fact that a toggle to go back is available if you pay $2000 a month but you can't get even a response for $79 a month is galling.

[sss1128]

I don't know what Shopify Plus plan is.  I don't even see that plan on my account.

The # of checkout sessions / # of add to carts ratio has gone from 80% to 50% since I enabled the one page checkout option.

Most of our users are new customers.  So Klaviyo cannot capture any of the new user's information from the add to cart event.

Shopify, stop being arrogant, and listen to your customers.

Answer our calls.  

For now, I'd just drive my traffic to Amazon.

[SuzChalan]

Hey Sss1128, see below, I wasn't kidding it's $2000.00 a month. Isn't that great!  They actually say that with a straight face "if you have Shopify Plus you have that option"

 

[giga667]

@Josh_Uebergang This issue needs to be solved ASAP. It's absurd that we can't use 3 page checkout if we don't pay 2000$ every month, it's a joke.

Kindly do everything in your power to let everyone have the option roll back to the 3 step checkout, it's a super simple process that EVERY normal platform offers.

Moreover, I can see that because this option is reserved only for Shopify Plus users, you know as well that the 3 step checkout works better, otherwise you wouldn't reserve it for premium users only.

[sampwtide]

It's really starting to grate on us how Shopify is increasingly becoming more and more strategically aggressive with their Shopify Plus business model. It is nothing short of obscene to continue to dangle the Shopify Plus carrot to the overwhelming number of small businesses working hard to make their stores work, in an evermore competitive market place. $2000 pm is simply not viable and unlikely to ever be viable for the vast majority of stores.

This is just another big green tick in the in 'Should we move to Woocommerce' column for our business.

Oh, incase I need to be more clear - PLEASE ALLOW NON-SHOPIFY PLUS STORES TO REVERT TO 3-PAGE CHECKOUT

[sss1128]

I am going to email Shopify CEO tobi lutke @ tobi at shopify.com.

I found his email at https://twitter.com/tobi/status/1172641237008048129.

You should do so to let him know your feedback.

[OneMobile]

Hi @ptoxa,

Since you have multiple questions, I will answer them one by one:

1. How can I revert one-page checkout back to 3-step checkout?

As you have a Shopify Plus account, you can switch back to the three-page checkout through the Settings > Checkouts > Checkout branding and customizations in your checkout editor.

2. Will there be any change to the definition of 'Reached checkout' column between these 2 styles of checkouts?

Yes, there will be a change to the definition of the 'Reached checkout' column between the two checkout styles.

• With the 3-step checkout, a customer is considered to have reached checkout when they have completed the first step of the checkout process, which is the cart page.
• With the one-page checkout, a customer is considered to have reached checkout when they have begun the checkout process by entering their shipping information.

So, yes, your understanding is correct.  With the one-page checkout, you won't be able to collect any user information until they have completed the checkout process. This means that you will not be able to recover abandoned carts via email if the customer abandoned their cart before completing the checkout process.

But if that's what you are concerned about, I think you make the right decision when reverting to the 3-step checkout style.

I hope this helps!

[ptoxa]

I don't have a plus account. I only have the $79/month account.

Please allow me to switch back to multi-step checkout.

[giga667]

@Shopify Team, please make sure to add an option to revert back to the 3 step checkout to EVERYONE. This is absolute nonsense that I have to pay 2000$ for a very basic feature, and it doesn't matter how much you tested it. I can tell you that from my testing, it damages my business.

[matze214]

Now is the Business for some fellow Web Developer to bring back the 3 Page Checkout in Form of an App or something. My Shop got Hit pretty Hard. We are on a Top this Year on the Side of Traffic. ONLY Thing Chancg with that is the one Page Checkout voila, we are down 85% on Sales, if we wouldnt have a Point of Sale and direct Customers via Instagram and more, i need to fire Staff to stay in Business. When there is not coming the Ability to switch back in the time frame of one Month i am switching to another Platform.

[giga667]

Let me know which one you're thinking about, I'm already looking for alternatives.

[55trexodore]

Let's start a petition to re-enable the option for 3 page checkout!!

I'm not sure how the 1 page checkout was tested by Shopify before releasing but it seems to be entirely negative feedback from merchants across the Shopify community. We've seen a significant decrease in conversion rates ~25% or more since switching to 1 page checkout. It seemed like a good idea in theory but my guess is it's a combination of not capturing email addresses for abandoned cart emails, showing shipping costs on the first page, and who knows what else.

Additionally, we've also had quite a few more customer complaints saying that they "couldn't checkout" but that their card was charged.

Comment on this post and share your store's experience with the 1 page checkout!

[nasir3000]

purchase completion is abysmal right now, had a customer send me a screenshot of payment failure and all Shopify did was recreate it on their end. But why wouldn't it work on their end? Shopify needs to take this more seriously because less sales for us means less fees for them. There needs to be a solution FAST and hopefully before November.

[Don]

Hi there @55trexodore!

Thanks for reaching out here in the Shopify Community to share your critical feedback.

For stores using Shopify Plus, you can select whether your store uses one-page or three-page checkout by following these steps given in our help doc:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Checkout.
2. In the Checkout customizations section, click Customize to open the checkout editor.
3. In the checkout editor, click the cog icon to access the Checkout profile settings.
4. In the Checkout layout section, click the current layout to open the checkout layout options.
5. Click Three-page checkout or One-page checkout to set the checkout layout.
6. Click Save.

You can find the steps for doing so via your mobile device by checking directly on the help centre doc here. 

Thanks again for taking the time to share this with us!

[55trexodore]

I'm on the Advanced plan and don't have that option which means huge caveat: you can only switch back on Shopify Plus plans. Am I wrong?

[Don]

Hi again, @55trexodore!

That's correct!

My apologies for not making that clear, as per the help doc shared above this option is available on the Shopify Plus plan where checkout editing is possible.

I will edit my original reply next, to avoid any further confusion.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention!

[Lubo18]

Hi @Don  , could you report our issues with the one-page checkout to Shopify? If Shopify can't give us an option to choose between both of them, then a lot of merchants will leave Shopify and go to another platform...

[BLeather]

@Don ,

Is there a way we can pay to get the 3 page checkout back? As a small business, the $2000 /month Shopify Plus plan is not feasible. I've prepaid for 3 years on shopify basic, so I'm kind of screwed now with Shopify. I would gladly pay a bit more to get the 3 page checkout back.

My shop is a 6 figure /year shop. Since October 2nd, I have taken a 68% hit to revenue, and a 56% hit to total # of orders. 

This has historically been the busy season for me and was on-trend as of September. Profits are currently negative now for the first time in my 4 years of running an online store.

Please provide some options for us (other than the $2,000 /month Plus plan).

[EvaF1]

Sounds very similar to my numbers! Since the (forced) change to one page checkout, I am down 64% in revenue. I have never every EVER in my 3 years on Shopify seen anything like it. 

We need a real solution, and we need it fast! (first prise, we just get the option to revert back to the checkout we had before)

[emmalovell]

Have you seen your sales recover or do you think the one page checkout is still hurting you?

[EvaF1]

Hi @Don please raise the concerns you see here urgently with Shopify. We need a solution, and fast. The loss of revenue is already ugly, and small businesses cannot take the hit to the conversion rate caused by the new one page checkout. 

If there is no real solution soon, many of us will have no choice but to move to a different platform

[emmalovell]

Is shopify looking at any of these accounts? Sales have been dismal since the changeover. It feels like I should just pack up and go home!!

[pythagoryan]

Signed. Absurd that this is only available on Shopify Plus.

[Lubo18]

Signing, my completed checkout rate decreased very very much. Now only 50% of checkouts are completed. Before it was about 80%. 

[Sorta]

I’ll throw my hat in this ring as well. Our conversions are down significantly. Having the option to use either seems like a no brainer to me. Shopify usually makes good decisions regarding merchants choice, I’m surprised we don’t have the option on all plans!

[BLeather]

Chiming in here. My business has also taken a beating this week from all of the abandoned shopping carts. 

Shopify, please make the option to switch between 1 and 3 page checkout available. I have prepaid for 3 years for shopify basic and will be in rough shape if I'm going to be losing money going forward.

[Tomic23]

Return the old shopify checkout since update came everybody CR dropped. 

[Sboom]

I agree, the conversion rate in my store dropped significantly after implementing the one-page checkout. Customers are complaining about the inability to make payments and sending screenshots of the error.

[Mani_Fazeli]

Have you had a chance to share those screenshots and details of the customer complaint with us?

[EvaF1]

Same here!!! Since I changed to one page checkout, my conversion rate has tanked. BADLY. In 3 years on Shopify I have NEVER seen anything like this. My customers have small babies, and that means they get interrupted when they trying to complete tasks.

Before, they got to checkout, entered their contact details, clicked forward, and then might have closed their browser to complete later. They came back and converted with abandoned checkout.

Now, when they can see the whole checkout on one page, they are exiting without entering any details, so no abandoned checkout email, and no conversion.

I have just been chatting to someone in Customer support, and they made suggestions of how I can try get customer email earlier by basically flashing discount codes/ offers at them while they browsing, which is NOT in line with my brand, and even if I managed to get hold of the emails earlier, not only benefits if they come back next time on the same device, and without having cleared their cookies. 

I am absolutely flabbergasted that we are being forced into the one page checkout when it is clearly hurting the business of many stores! Surely we should have the choice, and only those stores whose specific business/ customer base benefit from one page, can choose to change to it!

For the first time since joining Shopify, I am about to start looking at alternatives, so I can jump this ship. 

If we are not heard on this, and the checkout is not changed back, I will have no option but to change to a different provider. My business will not survive on the current conversion rate.

[EvaF1]

Also, have you started an actual petition? If so, please share it so I can sign! We need this rectified by Shopify URGENTLY! 

[Don]

Hi again, folks!

I just wanted to post again here to let you know I have filed your collective feedback as a feature request to let our developers know you're looking for the option to revert the checkout type used in your stores.

I have also flagged this thread internally with the relevant team so they can see that our merchant Community is looking for changes in this regard.

Thanks for taking the time to share your critical feedback with us here!

[EvaF1]

Hi @Don , is there any feedback from Shopify on the matter yet? Are you monitoring the other threads on this same topic, because there are quite a few now?

[giga667]

@Don Hello Don, just here to join everyone else and let you know that it is ABSOLUTELY critical to let us have the option to revert back to the old checkout type. I can say for myself that I'm a small business and there is no way I'm going to pay 2000$ for a 3 step checkout, it's absurd. 

My store has experienced a drop in conversions and I can't reach abandoned cart visitors to recover them since there is no email capture( It's strange that the developers didn't think about this crucial step before enforcing the new checkout page).  

Kindly let the developers know so they prioritise this issue before we decide to switch to other platforms.

Thank you.

[Sorta]

Thank you for getting attention put on this issue!  It is extremely frustrating to say the least when your business takes a huge negative impact and there’s nothing you can do about it. I appreciate your help to surface this to the relevant individuals!

[emmalovell]

Hi Don, I too feel like my store has been negatively affected by the changeover. Sales have literally ground to a halt since the change -  it's not happened like this in 8 years of doing business. I feel like we are being held to ransom and it seems like such a strange thing reserve for Shopify Plus customers. Please give small businesses the chance to choose checkout process. i am going backwards here and feel very desperate for our livelihood that it's something I can't control.

[emmalovell]

Hi Don, do you have any feedback as to whether the powers of b are going to allow all Shopify users to choose their checkout type. My sales have also tanked and I can't see any changes other than the one page checkout. My customers are mum to newborns and small children - their attention span is short and they have many reasons to distract them. We absolutely need the ability to capture email before offering shipping options. We get lots of our customers once they have had time to ponder how our product can help improve their babies sleep routine. At this rate, I will be shutting up shop as the sales drop is just too much.

[Saithx]

Hello Don

We were switched to OPC two days ago, upon this switch we noticed a HUGE decrease in sales. When investigating this issue I stumbled upon not only this thread, but many on Reddit and users on X reporting the exact same issue of a huge conversion drop. This is not imaginary, we have the stats to back this up in our stores. If this continues we will no longer be able to operate, at least not on the Shopify platform. Please urgently have this looked into, and not as a feature request but rather a bug because *something* is going on here and your users need some answers.

What really concerns me here is that despite this issue being raised with Shopify, more people are being migrated (we were just moved two days ago, these issues seem like they have been around since the start of Oct.) Why?

[AntZoo]

Agreed, as one-page checkouts go, this one is awful.

[bones12e241]

Guys Shopify staff showed us they incapable, that's why it's best that we all here mass switch to Woo or Shoplazza. They're pretending that there is no problems when in fact take a look here how many people are experiening th3 ECACT SAME ISSUE.

Join me by swtiching to WooCommerce. FU*K SHOPIFY

[Tejas_Mehta]

Hi there @55trexodore et al, Tejas here from Shopify's Product team. Myself and the team are actively reading and addressing each and everyone of your concerns so appreciate all your feedback so far.

Conversion is a top priority for Shopify:

• We prioritize the success of our merchants. We only ship products after extensive testing and optimization to ensure they drive real improvements, like better conversion and buyer experience. The one-page checkout has been rigorously tested across the world for over 12 months; we've validated and are confident that it is an improvement across our merchant base. We also understand that each merchant is different and there might be issues that your individual checkouts are facing and we are actively investigating submissions to resolve bugs and instability.

Let’s talk about the specific issues:

• Generic checkout errors: We have scoured known issues and new reports across one-page (the majority of Shopify's global traffic) and three-page, and have found no systemic problems. We have heard of sporadic payment errors and have investigated them, but none have been due to the one-page checkout change. If you are continuing to experience issues, please share screenshots, videos, checkout URL, or any additional details you have as each new piece of information helps us better diagnose what may be happening.
• Abandoned checkouts: With the whole checkout form available on page load, a small subset of buyers are skipping the email field before interacting with the rest of the checkout. When they abandon, this results in fewer emails for retargeting, but it doesn’t affect their ability to pick back up where they left off if they return after a few days. Many buyers have celebrated the clarity that merchants are bringing to their buying experience by showing shipping options sooner. Meanwhile, we're actively working on opportunities to entice buyers to input their email address earlier in the one-page checkout.
  
• Monitoring checkout conversion trends: The one-page checkout is indeed a big change but there are a few other factors that influence your conversions. We do ask for your patience and recommend that you look at the broader trends in your analytics. We recommend viewing the detailed report of your online store conversion rates and looking at a 90 day period at a weekly granularity to understand whether there is indeed a major inflection after the launch of one-page checkout or part of regular fluctuations. This information is available in the Analytics section of the admin and you can find more information here.

[BLeather]

@Tejas_Mehta 

Thank you for the update.

Can you elaborate on why there is no option to switch between 1-page and 3-page checkout? Was this a technical complexity for Shopify?

Are there any plans to re-enable the 3-page checkout option for the non-plus members?

[Tejas_Mehta]

@BLeather  One-page checkout is now the standard checkout for Shopify and this is the experience we will always start with when it comes to improvements and optimizations moving forward.

[emmalovell]

the one page checkout is not working for many of us.

If one page checkout is best practice then why are you giving ONLY your highest paid customers the ability to choose between both?? It's not good practice for Shopify to allow their biggest customers to better their store and not allow the rest to do the same on their way up. $2000 per month is reserved for huge corporations. I think it's a bad move to take away the choice for your minions. It's left a very bad taste in my mouth - and is affecting my livelihood! 

[AntZoo]

Thank you for the detail. 

For us, this is not about generic checkout issues. The issues are:
1)  Logged in customers skipping over details as all sections collapsed.
- They are selecting incomplete old addresses as the full address is not visible.
- They are experiencing mail delays as their items take longer to reach incomplete addresses, if at all
- They are not seeing all the shipping methods available, and it is our interest to show the tracked and faster shipping methods.
2) The lack of checkout admin settings
- Why are the headings different sizes?  Eg H2, H3
- Why do we have to change our font weight and size across the entire store to fix one page?
-Why can't we change the font colour?
-Why are these very simple options not available in the checkout settings?

I have attached some screenshots of the dire formatting.  If Shopify chose this, why?  If it is the theme developer (via theme store) doing, can they fix the checkout?

I would be grateful for your feedback on this.