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

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Topic summary

Shopify’s forced switch to one-page checkout (OPC) is linked by many merchants to sharp conversion (CVR) declines, lost abandoned-checkout capture, and sporadic checkout errors. Reported impacts range from ~25% drops to 70–80%+ in sales; some cite zero orders post-switch. Several attach analytics screenshots and error images to support claims.

Reversion options and definitions:

  • Shopify Plus merchants can toggle between one-page and three-page checkout in Checkout editor; non-Plus cannot. Shopify staff filed a feature request to restore the option for all.
  • Confusion over analytics: some say “Reached checkout” is counted differently between flows, complicating comparisons.

Key friction points raised:

  • Email capture: OPC can show shipping costs before contact entry, reducing emails for abandoned-cart flows.
  • UX issues: collapsed sections cause address mistakes, hidden shipping options, inconsistent typography; some customers report missing card fields/refresh errors.

Shopify responses:

  • Product team says OPC was tested globally for 12+ months and improves conversion on average; no systemic errors found. They request URLs/screenshots, advise 90‑day, weekly analytics reviews, and note abandoned checkouts are recorded once contact info is entered.

Workarounds: add step-like headings to encourage email first, force login, use Klaviyo pre-checkout events.

Status: Ongoing, no resolution; broad calls to re-enable 3-step checkout for all tiers.

Summarized with AI on January 13. AI used: gpt-5.
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Conversions down 100% after one-page checkout.

Our conversions for this week (10/16/23 to 10/20/23)

  • Mon 10/16: 8 orders

  • Tue 10/17: 8 orders

  • Wed 10/18: 3 orders

  • Thu 10/19: 4 orders

  • Thur evening: Shopify changed us over to one-page checkout
  • Fri 10/20: 0 orders

We have a large AdWords budget and traffic for Friday was close to 1,000 visitors. So we know that the traffic is strong and sales were climbing week-over-week, but now nothing… Coincidence?

I guess we can call this the “Fall of 2023”, right Shopify?

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