CASE STUDY
SPORTS RETAILER CHECKOUT
01
OBSERVATIONS & HYPOTHESIS
User Recordings' Analysis:
Checkout funnel analysis and session recordings revealed that a non-negligible percentage of users dropped between the first and second step of the checkout. While users successfully initiated checkout, many abandoned before completing the process—often without any visible error or friction signal.
Session replays showed repeated patterns:
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Users hesitating after completing the first step
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Back-and-forth navigation between steps
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Pauses suggesting re-evaluation or loss of momentum
These behaviors indicated a momentum break caused by step separation, rather than issues with form fields or validation. The additional page load and perceived complexity appeared to increase the psychological cost of completion.
To address this, we tested a one-page checkout variant, consolidating all required steps into a single, continuous flow to reduce friction and preserve decision momentum.
Hypothesis
If we consolidate the checkout process from two pages into a single page, we will reduce perceived effort, eliminate unnecessary interruptions, and maintain user momentum—resulting in a higher completion rate.
By removing step transitions and visual breaks, users will perceive checkout as faster, simpler, and more controllable, positively impacting completion behavior.
Goals
Psychological Principles
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Friction reduction
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Momentum preservation
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Perceived effort minimization
Primary Goal
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Increase Checkout Completion Rate (Cart-to-Buy)
Secondary Goals
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Increase overall Conversion Rate
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Reduce checkout abandonment rate
02
THE VARIANTS
The 'Original Case'
The 'Variant Case' with the single page
03
The Results
The hypothesis was validated, with the one-page checkout variant outperforming the two-page control across all key metrics.
Observed results:
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+6.24% Increase in Checkout Completion Rate (Cart-to-Buy) (Primary Goal)
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+4.18% Increase in overall Conversion Rate
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−7.02% Reduction in checkout abandonment rate
Statistical significance was reached at the 95% confidence level, confirming the reliability of the observed uplift.
The results confirm that step consolidation in high-intent flows can significantly improve performance, even when no individual step is inherently broken. The one-page checkout reduced cognitive and mechanical friction, preserved user momentum, and increased the perceived speed of completion.
This experiment highlights that in late-funnel experiences, structural simplicity often outperforms progressive disclosure, especially when users are already committed to purchase.
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