I’m running store from 8 months with apparel for womens. I’m getting 1 sale per 1/2 days since I’ve started posting ads on tiktok. Only 39 for 99 customers have decided to finish check out. Why is that?
Hey @sweetvictoria,
Getting sales is the problem of every merchant who start on Shopify. Without implement the correct stratigies it’s not possible to sales. Can you share your store url so that I can take a look and suggest you the best approaches to follow for your store?
“Finishing checkout 39/99 is 60% drop-off - that is actually pretty good compared to ~70% drop-off that industry sees on average.” This isn’t your actual problem though.
TikTok traffic is impulse traffic; it’s not search traffic. Friction during checkout will kill this traffic immediately: hidden shipping charges, mandatory account signup, limited payment options.
Look for 3 things: shipping cost displayed prior to checkout, guest checkout enabled, 2-3 quick payment options (Shop Pay, PayPal, Apple Pay) available upfront.
This same exact problem exists in multiple TikTok-first stores: traffic is fine, but the checkout is designed as if the user has already made his decision to purchase. A session recording tool (Hotjar, Lucky Orange) will pinpoint exactly where your 60 drop off.
Share your shop URL, but please check guest checkout and shipping cost visibility first.
Use the search button and look at all the “I have sessions but no sales” posts. Look how many aren’t getting sales at all.
Hey there!
Your numbers displayed aren’t bad at all - 39/99 finishing checkout is better than what most stores can do. So most customers do like the store and the products, However, something is stopping them at the last step. Keep an eye out for the following points :
- Show shipping cost early on in the purchase journey so that if it pops up as a surprise at checkout, people leave.
- Let people check out as guests so that they can complete the payment without making an account.
- Add fast payment buttons like Shop Pay, PayPal, Apple Pay, on the cart page itself for swifter payments/checkouts.
- Monitor how customers use your site. Apps like Microsoft Clarity (free) shows you where they get stuck in the user journey.
TikTok buyers act on impulse, so any additional step and they might lose interest.
First off, getting people all the way to checkout from cold TikTok traffic is the hard part, so that’s actually a good sign. There’s always going to be some drop-off at that last step. No store converts everyone, so I wouldn’t read it as something being broken.
For women’s apparel, the hesitation is almost always the same short list: sizing and fit, trust, and returns or shipping. Someone lands from a TikTok, likes the piece, but isn’t sure it’ll fit or what happens if it doesn’t, and that doubt is enough to close the tab.
The fix really has two layers.
- Build all the answers into the site: reviews, lifestyle images, on-body images, clear return and shipping policies, the brand’s mission, and so on.
- Communicate all of that concisely before the visitor leaves.
That second part is the whole reason I built Carti. Not every visitor needs all of the information, but if you leave even one question unanswered, that alone can cost you the sale.
Carti answers questions, detects objections, and overcomes them using your own policies, reviews, and content. It usually gives a measurable lift in conversion too. The good news is that at your scale it’d be completely free, and it’s only about 5 minutes to set up.
Thanks for sharing the numbers - a ~39% checkout completion rate definitely points to something fixable rather than a traffic problem.
A couple things I’d want to check first:
Your cart setup - Are you running a simple cart, or are you doing any cross-selling/upsells at that stage (like “add this too” prompts)? Sometimes those extra steps or offers can actually slow people down or make them second-guess the purchase instead of helping.
Checkout costs - Are you adding anything extra at checkout - shipping fees, taxes, handling charges - that isn’t clearly shown earlier in the buying journey? Surprise costs at the last step are one of the most common reasons people abandon carts.
If you’re comfortable sharing your store link, I (or others here) can take a quick look and point out anything that might be causing friction. Sometimes it’s a small thing like unclear shipping costs, a clunky checkout flow, or trust signals missing (reviews, secure payment badges, etc.) that’s an easy fix once you spot it.
Your checkout completion rate works out to about 39% (39 of 99 who reached checkout), which is close to typical for Shopify stores, average sits roughly around mid-40s for Shopify, so you’re a bit behind but not in a broken range. That’s actually not where I’d focus first.
The real question is what happened before those 99 people even reached checkout. How many total clicks or sessions did your TikTok ads bring in? If it’s, say, 3,000+ clicks landing only 99 at checkout, that’s under 3.5% of visitors even starting checkout and that’s usually a mismatch between what the ad promises and what the product/landing page delivers, or TikTok’s algorithm hasn’t found your actual buyer audience yet (early campaigns often serve to broad curiosity clicks before it learns).
Check your TikTok Ads Manager for click-through rate and landing page view-to-add-to-cart rate separately from checkout completion, right now all the blame is probably landing on checkout, when the bigger leak is likely upstream of it.
Half the replies here are telling you 39% checkout completion is normal, and they’re right, so I’d stop staring at that number. It’s not where your money is leaking.
The number that matters is the one you didn’t post: how many sessions did it take to get those 99 checkouts? If TikTok is sending a few thousand visitors and only 99 reach checkout, the leak is on the product page, not the checkout. Cold TikTok traffic is impulse - someone saw a video, tapped through, and now the product page has about 3 seconds to close them. If the on-body photos, price, and sizing aren’t right there without scrolling, they bounce.
So the breakdown you actually want is: sessions → product views → add to cart → reached checkout → purchased. That points straight at the step that’s bleeding.
Drop your store URL here and I’ll take a proper look on mobile (that’s where your TikTok traffic lands) and point at the specific things costing you the sale, instead of guessing.
Hello there @sweetvictoria
For a 39% checkout abandonment rate, that translates to losing about two out of every five customers who begin the checkout process. Review shiping costs and delivery times, payment methods and the checkout process for anything that might be giving you pause. Also check if your tiktok ads and your product pages are cohesive because when there’s a disconnect, that can also make people drop off. If you can, enable accelerated payment such as Shop Pay and analyze your abandoned checkout data to identify patterns and test improvements one at a time.
In your case, I’d honestly focus on both improving your checkout and diversifying your ad campaigns.
For the checkout, I’d make sure your shipping is sorted out first. When people can see the shipping cost and estimated delivery date right at checkout, they’re much more confident about placing the order. It removes that “I wonder how much this is going to cost me” feeling. If you’re on Shopify, apps like PH Multi-Carrier Shipping Label can display live shipping rates and delivery estimates, which can definitely help build trust.
As for TikTok, it’s awesome for getting eyeballs on your products, but people there are often just browsing and don’t always have strong buying intent. I’d keep TikTok running if it’s bringing traffic, but I’d also branch out and test something like Google Ads. People searching on Google are usually looking for a product to buy, so you may end up seeing better conversion rates there.
Your checkout number isn’t the scary part. 39/99 finishing checkout means people who get that far are at least somewhat serious.
I’d look one step earlier: how many TikTok clicks became product-page views, add-to-carts, then checkouts. With apparel from TikTok, the usual leak is the product page not answering fit, returns, shipping time, and trust fast enough on mobile.
Also test the page on a real phone — if it loads slow or feels jumpy, cold traffic bounces before Shopify ever counts a checkout issue. This breakdown on Shopify bounce rate / landing-page dropoff is useful: Shopify Bounce Rate Benchmarks: What's Normal + Speed Fixes (2026)