Check-out problem for US and Canada customers

Technical Q&A

Topic summary

A shop owner selling to US and Canada markets is experiencing zero orders and high cart abandonment rates from these regions. Abandoned carts contain only free gifts (automatically added via Cartbot app when purchasing book sleeves), with the main products mysteriously missing.

Testing revealed two critical bugs (occurring specifically for US/Canada visitors, not EU):

  • Free gifts often fail to appear automatically after adding products; customers must manually reload the cart page
  • When removing the main product, customers can still checkout with only the free gift if they click checkout quickly before the page fully loads

Root cause: The Cartbot app fails to properly remove free gifts when main items are deleted from US/Canada carts, unlike the EU experience where this works correctly.

Proposed solution: Switch to the BOGOS app, which offers automatic gift addition, fraud protection to prevent gift-only checkouts, and additional promotion features.

Status: The shop owner plans to contact Cartbot about fixing the bug before deciding whether to switch apps.

Summarized with AI on October 29. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
1

Hi everyone,
I could use some help from someone based in the US or Canada!

For the past couple of months I have been opening orders on my shop to customers in the US and Canada.

I added United States and Canada to my markets, updated the products and did the tests - all regular at check out.

However, to date I have not received any orders from the USA or Canada and I have noticed a lot of abandoned carts from these two places, where only the free gift added to the cart when they buy a book sleeve remains visible (which is strange because when you delete the product to buy it should be deleted automatically).

I use Cartbot to add products automatically.

Could you do a checkout test to see if the products stay in the cart?

My shop is: https://www.ofthreadsandbooks.it/en (without completing the transaction of course :joy: )

Or alternatively suggestions as to why this happens are welcome!

Thank you!

Tina

1 Like
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Hi @TinaOTAB :blush: Iā€™m Ellie, Shopify promotion expert (5y+ experience).

:glowing_star: ISSUE: Iā€™ve tested and found 2 BIG ISSUES that could cause the ā€œhack giftā€ problem (many orders are checking out with only free gifts):

Noted: I tested by switching my VPN to the US, and the issue didnā€™t occur when using an Italy VPN.

  • When I add a product to my cart (a book sleeve), the app should automatically add the free gift. However, I often need to reload the cart page for the gift to appear. This might be the main reason for many abandoned carts-> as customers didnā€™t receive the free gift & didnā€™t know they had to reload page.

Screenshot 2025-04-16 103047.png
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  • If the free gift and main product are in the cart, and then I delete the main product, I can still check out with only the gift. This happens when I click ā€œcheckoutā€ button quickly before the page fully loads. (Unfortunately, many could exploit this bug to hack the free gifts, potentially causing you to lose a lot of sales)

Screenshot 2025-04-16 102721.png
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:glowing_star: SOLUTION: Personally, I highly recommend trying the BOGOS app.

  • Automatically add free gifts to the cart ā†’ smooth experience for a less abandoned cart rate for customers.

  • Support fraud protection feature to enhance your storeā€™s security, preventing any check out with only gifts. ā†’ a safe selling experience for store owners.

EllieBOGOS_0-1744776424719.png
EllieBOGOS_0-1744776424719.png1224Ɨ429 28.5 KB

  • Utilize the app to launch bundles, upsells, and discounts alongside gift offers ā†’ a cost-efficient solution, yet powerful promotion app.

:glowing_star: Experience BOGOS for 7-day free here(4.9 average ratings, 2.600+ reviews)

Itā€™s so lovely of you to Like and Accept as Solution. Iā€™m really appreciated

1 Like
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Dear Ellie,

thank you very much for taking the time to answer my request.
I therefore believe that the problem is not ā€˜main item disappearing from the shopping cartā€™ but rather the fact that the free gift is not automatically removed, as it is for those who buy from the EU.
I will definitely look at the BOGOS app and decide whether to change.
So far I have always been very happy with Cartbot so I will see if they are able to fix the bug first.

Thanks again!

Tina

1 Like
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:blush: Thank you, @TinaOTAB ! I truly hope Cartbot could fix the bug, and Iā€™m also glad to hear youā€™re considering the BOGOS app!

Whatever you decide, I hope the issue gets resolved soon, as it could potentially lead to a loss of your sales.

Feel free to reach out if you need any further help :blue_heart: :heart_suit: