This is my 90-day Analytics, you can see the rate of “Added to cart” and “Reached checkout” are super high. but the real Conversion is only 0.07% -super low. At first I thought it caused by facebook ads, so I paused it. But the data is still keeping weird until now. I can’t figure out the reason or any solution.
Topic summary
A Shopify store owner is experiencing a puzzling analytics pattern: strong engagement metrics with high “Added to cart” and “Reached checkout” rates across 62,000+ sessions over 90 days, but an extremely low 0.07% conversion rate. The issue persists even after pausing Facebook ads, suggesting the problem lies in the final purchase step rather than traffic quality.
Primary suspects identified:
- Checkout technical issues – Bugs, slow loading, or broken payment flows on different devices/browsers
- Unexpected costs – Hidden shipping fees appearing late in checkout are the most common conversion killer
- Payment limitations – Missing popular options like PayPal, Apple Pay, or Shop Pay
- Trust deficits – Lack of security badges, return policies, or delivery information at critical moments
Recommended diagnostic steps:
- Manually test the complete checkout on desktop and mobile with each payment method
- Review Shopify’s Abandoned Checkouts report for patterns
- Analyze conversion rates by product, traffic source, and geography to identify specific problem areas
- Consider session recording tools or exit surveys to capture user friction points
- Implement abandoned cart recovery emails with direct cart links
The discussion remains open with no confirmed resolution, though multiple responders suggest the high checkout initiation rate indicates strong product interest being blocked by fixable technical or trust barriers.
Hi @LilJH
Thanks for sharing your data. It looks like your “Added to cart” and “Reached checkout” rates are strong, but the 0.07% conversion rate suggests something is getting in the way at the final step. Here are a few things you might check:
1. Checkout issues
-
Test the checkout process on different devices and browsers
-
Watch for bugs, slow loading, or confusing steps
-
A small error can cause most people to drop off
2. Shipping or delivery concerns
-
Unexpected shipping fees or no clear delivery time can cause hesitation
-
Try showing estimated delivery earlier in the process
-
You can use ParcelPanel to show accurate delivery times and real-time tracking after checkout
It’s easy to install, and their support team is available 24/7 if you need help
3. Payment method or gateway errors
-
Check if customers are running into payment issues
-
Look at your Abandoned Checkouts tab in Shopify for patterns
-
Make sure your payment options match what your audience expects
4. Traffic mismatch
-
If your ads attract the wrong audience, even paused campaigns can have lingering traffic
-
Make sure your product pages match the message or offer shown in ads
5. Ask for feedback
-
Add a quick message like “Any trouble checking out?” on your cart or checkout page
-
A small exit popup or post-abandon email can help uncover hidden issues
Hope this helps at a starting point!
Hi LilJH,
The other replies already go into some common culprits for having a large drop off by users reaching checkout but not making it to the completed purchase:
- Simply not working - is there a bug?
- Extra costs like shipping were too high. For online stores in general, this is the most common reason.
- Lacking payment methods.
- Lacking information such as return policies or if you deliver to the customer’s location.
- Lacking trust.
Check nothing’s broken
Checking for bugs is something you can do immediately to rule it out as a possibility if you haven’t done so already. Try going through your checkout process on both desktop as well as mobile, and test each payment method. Make sure there’s nothing broken, or anything that would impede your users from being able to complete the purchase.
Dig in to your data reports
Try looking at your purchase conversion rates for different products, different referral sources, and different date ranges. It seems you’re concerned about the Facebooks ads and you may have already looked into it. If you haven’t though, check the conversion rates of people who came from Facebook versus other sources. Or, select the date ranges before and after stopping the ads to see if any patterns emerge. I would also check the conversion rates for different products. How different products behave can vary greatly from store to store, and in some cases some of your products may behave differently from others which may give you ideas on what do to. Where the user is located geographically might be a good thing to check as well.
Try using a session recording app
If the cause continues to be unclear with the information you have right now, the next step would be to start gathering evidence. MIDA seems to be a popular session recording app with positive reviews and a free plan available. With session recording you can see WHAT your customers are doing, however it may not be immediately obvious WHY they are doing it. If the session recordings by itself gives a clear idea of the problem - great. In my experience they help, but it lacks a lot of context on why your customers are behaving the way they are.
Gather customer feedback
To understand WHY your customers are abandoning the checkout process, it is very helpful to gather feedback from them directly. Survey apps like Gojiberry have cart abandon surveys that can help, however they tend to get very few responses - users who are thinking to leave your website are not very motivated to fill out a survey.
Alternatively, you can try adding a customer support live chat widget to your website using apps like Gorgias. It’s extra work on your end to respond to help requests, however it is a great source of customer feedback. When your customers are asking questions like “do you support this payment method?”, “do you ship to our location?”, or “does your product have this feature?” - they are telling you their needs and concerns. Based on that feedback, you can develop some ideas on what may be preventing that final purchase conversion step. Not to mention - good customer support is an important part of giving your customers a great user experience.
I hope these ideas help you find the cause of your problems! Your customers seem interested in your products, and I hope fixing this bottleneck gives you a big boost!
1 Like
Hi @LilJH ,
A sharp gap between adds to cart or checkouts started and actual purchases can be
frustrating. It usually points to friction in the final steps rather than top-of-funnel traffic quality. Here are some areas to investigate:
- Review the checkout experience
- Test the full flow on desktop and mobile, looking for slow pages, confusing fields, or unexpected redirects.
- Ensure multiple payment options are active, especially popular wallets like PayPal, Apple Pay, or Shop Pay.
- Double-check that shipping rates appear early. Surprise costs are a top reason shoppers abandon at payment.
- Check for technical errors
- In your Shopify admin, open Settings: Checkout and verify there are no warning banners about payment gateways.
- Use a browser’s console to spot JavaScript errors that might block the final submit button.
- If you are using third-party apps, temporarily disable them and run test orders to see if one app causes the drop-off.
- Build trust and reassurance
- Display security badges and clear return policies on the checkout page.
- Add customer reviews or testimonials near the cart to remind buyers of social proof.
- Send an immediate cart reminder email with a brief FAQ covering common concerns like shipping times.
- Re-engage near-purchasers
- Create an abandoned checkout email that fires within one hour, then a gentle follow-up after 24 hours.
- Include a direct link back to the exact cart, plus a short incentive such as free shipping for completing now.
Looking for an Easier Way to Set Up These Follow-Ups?
**Retentionly – AI Email Marketing **offers a beginner friendly platform with AI integration that guides you through abandoned checkout and post-purchase flows. You only pay for the emails you actually send, and the team will set up your automations for free, so you can focus on solving the real checkout blockers.
Need a hand? Just reach out via our live chat, we are happy to help!
Cheers,
Retentionly Team
If this helped, feel free to like or mark it as solved so others can find it too.
Hello!
Your data clearly shows a healthy number of sessions (over 62,000) and strong engagement through the add-to-cart and checkout stages. However, the final conversion rate of 0.07 percent is definitely low, especially considering how many users are reaching checkout.
Since you already paused Facebook ads and the issue continues, the problem might be happening at the payment or checkout stage. A few things you could check:
- Test your entire checkout process manually. Make sure there are no hidden errors, slow page loads, payment failures, or broken links.
- Review your shipping costs and policies as high or unexpected shipping fees often cause drop-offs at the last step.
- Add trust signals near checkout for things like showing security badges, payment method icons, or customer guarantees can help. Apps like SP Sales Pop by CareCart can also add social proof notifications that appear during the shopping journey to build more trust.
- Enable abandoned cart recovery. Using something like Cartly Abandoned Cart Recovery by CareCart can help bring back those almost-buyers through well-timed reminder emails or WhatsApp messages.
Finally, check Shopify’s abandoned checkout reports to see if there’s a common pattern like failed payments or missing customer info. Small technical issues or trust gaps at checkout can quietly kill conversions, even if everything else looks good upfront.