5 Shopify Checkout Friction Points Killing Your Conversion Rate

They wanted to buy. Your checkout stopped them.

They Wanted to Buy. Your Checkout Stopped Them.

A customer lands on your Shopify store. They browse. They find a product they like. They add it to cart. They click "Checkout."

And then they leave.

This is not hypothetical. Across ecommerce, 70% of shoppers who start checkout never finish it. And the reasons are not mysterious — they are predictable, specific, and fixable.

We have written about the broader reasons shoppers abandon ecommerce stores. That covers the full funnel — from landing page to purchase. This article goes deeper on the final stage: the Shopify checkout itself. These are five friction points specific to Shopify stores, with fixes that use Shopify's native tools, Checkout Extensibility, and Shop Pay.

Every one of these costs you real money every day your store is live. Here is how to fix them.

1. Surprise Costs at Checkout

The problem: A customer sees a product at RM99. They add it to cart. At checkout, the total jumps to RM119 — shipping, taxes, or handling fees appeared out of nowhere. That RM20 surprise triggers an immediate emotional response: betrayal. Even if the total is still reasonable, the gap between expectation and reality kills the sale.

This is the single biggest cause of checkout abandonment, not just on Shopify — across all ecommerce. The Baymard Institute has tracked this consistently: unexpected costs at checkout are the #1 reason shoppers abandon their cart.

Why it happens on Shopify: By default, Shopify calculates shipping at checkout, not on the product page or cart page. Unless you configure it otherwise, your customer sees the product price, adds to cart, and then gets surprised by shipping costs at the final step.

The fix:

• Show shipping costs early. Display shipping information on the product page itself. Even a simple line — "Free shipping over RM150 | Standard shipping RM8" — eliminates the surprise entirely.
• Use Shopify's free shipping threshold. Set a free shipping minimum that is 20–30% above your current average order value. If your AOV is RM80, set free shipping at RM100. Customers will add items to qualify, and you eliminate cost shock for your best customers.
• Display tax-inclusive pricing. In Malaysia and Singapore, display prices inclusive of SST/GST. Configure this in Shopify Settings > Taxes and duties. Showing tax-inclusive prices on the product page means the checkout total matches expectations.
• Eliminate handling fees. If you are adding a handling fee, stop. Roll it into the product price. A RM3 handling fee on a RM99 product is not revenue — it is conversion friction.

2. Forced Account Creation

The problem: A customer reaches checkout and is forced to create an account before they can buy. They need to choose a password, verify an email, maybe answer security questions — all before they can give you their money.

Every field, every step, every extra screen is a reason to close the tab. Requiring account creation before purchase is one of the highest-impact conversion killers in ecommerce.

Why it happens on Shopify: Shopify offers three checkout account options in Settings > Checkout: "Accounts are required," "Accounts are optional," and "Accounts are disabled." Some store owners choose "required" thinking it builds their customer database. It does the opposite — it shrinks the database by reducing the number of people who complete a purchase.

The fix:

• Enable guest checkout immediately. Go to Settings > Checkout > Customer accounts and select "Accounts are optional." This allows customers to check out without creating an account while still offering the option.
• Use Shop Pay for frictionless identity. Shop Pay remembers customer details across all Shopify stores. A returning Shop Pay user checks out in one tap — no forms, no passwords, no friction. Shop Pay has a 91% mobile checkout completion rate compared to 47% for regular mobile checkout. That is not a small difference.
• Capture the account after purchase. On the order confirmation page or in the post-purchase email, invite customers to create an account with one click. They already trust you — they just bought from you. Conversion on post-purchase account creation is significantly higher than at checkout.

3. Too Many Form Fields

The problem: Your checkout asks for information you do not need. Company name, apartment number (for a digital product), phone number (when you are not going to call), "How did you hear about us?" — every unnecessary field is friction.

Shopify's default checkout includes some fields that make sense for some stores and not for others. The problem is that most store owners never review what fields they are presenting and why.

Why it matters: Research from the Baymard Institute shows that the average checkout flow has 14.88 form elements. The optimal checkout has 7–8. Cutting form fields by 20–60% consistently lifts completion rates by 15–30%. That is a direct conversion improvement with zero ad spend.

The fix:

• Audit every field. Go through your Shopify checkout field by field. For each one, ask: "Do I need this to fulfil the order?" If the answer is no, remove it.
• Make optional fields truly optional — or remove them. Shopify lets you set fields as required or optional. But optional fields still add visual clutter. If fewer than 5% of customers fill in a field, remove it entirely.
• Use Shopify Checkout Extensibility to customise. On Shopify Plus, Checkout Extensibility lets you add, remove, and rearrange checkout fields. On standard Shopify plans, you can control field visibility in Settings > Checkout > Form options. Remove the company name field, make the phone number field optional, and consider removing the second address line.
• Enable address autocomplete. Shopify integrates with Google Address Autocomplete. One tap fills the full address instead of manually typing street, city, postcode, state, and country. This alone eliminates 4–5 keystrokes and significantly reduces errors.

4. Limited Payment Options

The problem: Your customer gets to checkout and their preferred payment method is not available. In Southeast Asia, this is particularly damaging because payment preferences are highly localised. A Malaysian customer who wants to pay via FPX (online banking) will abandon if the only options are credit card and PayPal.

Why it happens on Shopify: Shopify Payments (powered by Stripe) covers credit and debit cards. But local payment methods — FPX, Touch 'n Go eWallet, GrabPay, Boost, Atome — require additional payment gateway integrations. Many store owners set up Shopify Payments and assume they are covered. They are not.

The cost: Every missing payment method is a percentage of your potential customers who cannot complete their purchase. In Malaysia, offering only credit card payments means you are invisible to shoppers who prefer bank transfers (which is a large segment of the market).

The fix:

• Cover all three payment categories: credit/debit cards, online banking (FPX), and e-wallets. At minimum.
• Add a local payment gateway. iPay88 or Razer Merchant Services (RMS) covers FPX and most Malaysian e-wallets through a single integration.
• Enable Shop Pay. It is free for Shopify stores and dramatically improves checkout speed for returning customers across any Shopify store they have ever used.
• Add BNPL. Buy Now, Pay Later options like Atome, ShopBack PayLater, or Grab PayLater lift average order values by 20–30%. Install via Shopify app — most integrate directly into the checkout flow.
• Display payment method logos early. Show accepted payment methods on the product page, cart page, and footer — not just at checkout. Customers decide whether to proceed partly based on whether they see a familiar payment logo.

5. Broken Visual Continuity

The problem: A customer navigates your beautifully designed store — consistent fonts, cohesive colors, professional imagery. Then they hit checkout and the experience changes. Different fonts. A different color scheme. Generic styling that looks nothing like the rest of the store.

This break in visual continuity triggers subconscious distrust. The customer feels like they have been handed off to a different entity. "Is this still the same store? Is my payment safe?" These are not rational questions — but they are real questions that cause real abandonment.

Why it happens on Shopify: On standard Shopify plans, the checkout page uses Shopify's default checkout styling. Before Checkout Extensibility (available on Shopify Plus), merchants had very limited control over checkout appearance. Even now, many stores use Shopify Plus but never customise their checkout design to match their brand.

The fix:

• Customise checkout branding (available on all plans). In Settings > Checkout > Checkout style, upload your logo, set your brand colors for buttons and accents, and choose a font that matches your store. This takes 10 minutes and makes a measurable difference.
• Match your checkout color to your brand. The checkout header, buttons, and accent colors should match your store's primary brand color. A green-branded store with blue checkout buttons creates a subtle but real disconnect.
• Use your logo prominently. The checkout header should display your store logo — not the default Shopify logo. This reinforces that the customer is still in your store.
• Consistent messaging. If your store uses a specific tone (friendly, premium, minimalist), carry it into checkout. Custom order notes, confirmation messages, and email templates should all feel like they come from the same brand.
• Checkout Extensibility (Shopify Plus). If you are on Shopify Plus, use Checkout Extensibility for full control — custom sections, trust badges, personalised messaging, loyalty program integration, and branded thank-you pages. The investment pays for itself in recovered conversions.

These Five Fixes Stack

Here is what most store owners miss: these friction points compound. Each one does not just reduce conversions by a small amount — it multiplies the reduction of every other friction point.

A customer who is mildly annoyed by surprise shipping costs, slightly frustrated by a required account field, a little confused by unfamiliar checkout styling, and cannot find their preferred payment method does not experience four small annoyances. They experience one overwhelming signal: "This is not worth the effort."

Fix all five and you do not get five small improvements. You get one dramatic improvement in checkout completion rate.

The math works the same way it works across the entire conversion funnel — small improvements at each stage multiply into large overall gains.

Where to Start

You do not need to fix all five at once. Start with the one that is costing you the most:

High cart abandonment rate? Start with surprise costs. Show shipping early and set a free shipping threshold.

Low checkout completion on mobile? Enable Shop Pay and reduce form fields. Mobile shoppers have zero tolerance for friction.

Selling in Southeast Asia? Add local payment methods immediately. FPX and e-wallets are not optional in this market.

Premium brand with generic checkout? Customise your checkout styling. Brand continuity through to the confirmation page builds the trust that closes the sale.

The fastest path to more revenue is not more traffic — it is fixing the conversion leaks in the checkout you already have.

Want to know exactly where your Shopify store is losing customers? Take the WebMedic Scorecard — it evaluates your entire conversion funnel and tells you where the biggest leaks are hiding.