I’m looking for some feedback on a sudden drop in performance. We launched last week on January 13th. On Day 1, we had 3 sales, followed by 1 sale each day for the next 4 days. Since then, sales have completely died off for week 2. I understand that its a new store and takes some time to build trust but I’m curious where the friction is once customers reach checkout.
I am running Meta Ads, and the data shows the ads themselves are performing well. I’m getting a high number of Add to Carts (ATC) and Initiated Checkouts, but the sale itself is the cutoff point. I’ve also noticed a slight decline in the total number of ATCs this week compared to that first week.
From my research it sounds like this might be somewhat normal for a new store to have an initial “burst” and then flatline? But, since customers are reaching the checkout but not finishing, where might I be causing friction or missing something?
I’d appreciate any insights on what pain points I should audit first. Thanks!
Yes it does take time. You’re about 6 months too early to be inquiring about such things. Don’t count your chickens before they hatch. Just do your business and let analytics build so you have something substantial to look at.
Second, you just started and are worrying about the drop in sales How you started a sentence, I thought you had a year-old store. So do not worry and have some patience.
And note that you did something a lot of people can not say, you sold on all the first 5 days. If you search here for “no sales,” you see people struggling for months, even years.
I am currently offering free shipping so I know it is not that. I also don’t seem to see any issues with taxes at checkout but I have only ran tests on my end so not sure if it’s different for others.
Hello there @tjpratt I just had a look at your store and here are some suggestions I have for you.
The pictures on the homepage are all high quality from my experience on the mobile view, I think to make the watches look even more interesting adding a short video to maybe give a full 360 view and what not won’t be a bad idea.
Add in some FAQs on the homepage as well. This is an avenue to provide clarity on some matters relating to how you do business and what customers should expect from you.
Lastly, you should consider sending mails to customers who abandon carts when possible- these mails could follow with special discounts or new packages that could basically increase the chances of that customer returning to the store.
Thank you for sharing your store link. In general, it is a nice store, with some good sections and great images.
But I do not like all marketing stunts, like $50 off from $150 to $99 for a watch that is $9 from supplier. Maybe i am wrong, but I found a few places that offer that with custom brand for logo.
And then talk on About us, very good marketing, probably half is true but other part uses wording like you design it and make it with your own hand. “Intentional by Design”, “We believe quality should be felt, not explained.” *not sure for $9 , could be fine. “Now it exists for anyone who’s still building something of their own.”
Plus “With over 1,200 sign ups already on the waitlist,” is that rue really? You should not have issues with sales then, right?
And that 13 5-star reviews comes from where? I do not see any app so you can give
Anyway, solid store, great images, good marketing story, and wish you luck with sales. Even I think it is overpriced but we will see what customers say.
Hi @tjpratt,This actually happens quite often with new stores. When you see strong ATC and Initiate Checkout but no purchases, the friction is usually at checkout, not the ads. The first things I’d audit are unexpected shipping costs or taxes, lack of express payment options (Shop Pay / Apple Pay / PayPal), checkout trust signals (returns, delivery times, guarantees), and any extra steps or required fields that slow people down. Also worth checking: mobile checkout speed and whether pricing looks different at checkout than on product pages. The “launch burst then flatline” can be normal, but consistent checkout drop-off usually means something there is breaking confidence at the final step.
High Add to Carts, but low conversions typically indicate checkout friction. Review shipping fees, payment methods, mobile checkout, and trust signals such as return policies. Try making forms shorter, accepting multiple payment options, and/or sending abandoned cart emails and/or small incentives to finish the purchase, all the while keeping product and pricing info clear.
Hi @tjpratt If people were adding to cart and starting checkout in week one and now aren’t finishing, that’s usually not just “new store patience.” It’s a decision point at checkout that got heavier or lost trust after first contact.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I work on the Checkout team at Shopify.
The community replies here already cover some great points. When you’re seeing strong add-to-carts and initiated checkouts but no completed purchases, the friction is almost always at the checkout step itself rather than your ads or product pages.
I just posted a detailed breakdown of the highest-impact checkout optimizations in our Checkout Optimization AMA. The short version: make sure Shop Pay and wallet payments are enabled, try one-page checkout, and check that there are no surprise costs appearing at checkout that weren’t visible earlier.
How you started a sentence, I thought you had a year-old store. So do not worry and have some patience.