Sample 02 / Illustrative Shopify teardown
Ready to buy. Still unsure of the total.
Fictional scenario. Not client work. No store was audited, no change was implemented and no outcome was measured. The diagrams below are illustrative flows, not before-and-after results.
An illustrative Shopify homewares store. The scenario assumes a shopper adds one item on a phone, then opens a cart drawer filled with add-ons before seeing delivery guidance.
The assumed problem.
The cart shows a subtotal, a promotion and several recommended products. Shipping is only explained later. The checkout action sits below the recommendations, so shoppers must work out both the cost and the next step.
The hypothesis.
A clearer cost summary and a prominent checkout action may reduce uncertainty. Removing distractions could also reduce add-on purchases, so any change needs to be evaluated against the whole order.
Assumed starting point
- Item added
- Promotion
- Several recommended products
- Subtotal • shipping explained later
- Checkout below the recommendations
Proposed direction
- Item, variant, quantity and edit controls
- Subtotal and accurate delivery guidance
- Clear checkout action
- Optional, relevant add-on below the action
- Easy return to shopping
What gets checked first.
Reproduce the cart states
Try adding, removing and changing quantities, including unavailable items. Check a small viewport, keyboard focus and whether the drawer can be closed without losing the cart.
Separate cart and checkout issues
If available, compare cart opens, checkout starts and completed orders. Verify that events are not duplicated. Review delivery-related support questions and checkout errors before assuming the drawer is the cause.
Verify the commercial rules
Confirm delivery zones, thresholds, discounts and exclusions with the merchant. Avoid a progress bar or total that makes a promise the actual shipping rules cannot honour.
What could change.
First: make the next step obvious
Keep the item summary and checkout action together, ahead of recommendations. Show quantity feedback and errors where the shopper made the change.
Next: explain what is known
Show accurate shipping guidance near the subtotal. If the final charge requires an address, say so clearly. Only show a free-delivery threshold when it applies to that cart and destination.
Later: test one relevant add-on
Keep an optional recommendation below the primary action. Test it only after the basic cart journey works; do not add a new app before checking what the current theme supports.
How to judge it.
After a separately approved implementation, measure checkout starts per eligible cart session, then completed orders per cart session. Monitor revenue per cart session, average order value, discount use and cart errors. Segment by device and destination where available, with a pre-agreed baseline and adequate sample.
More checkout starts would not prove more sales. If shipping prices, promotions or traffic change during the comparison, record them as confounders. If the real issue is in checkout or fulfilment, the recommendation may be to leave the drawer alone.
What a client would receive.
An annotated cart review, one proposed drawer wireframe and a prioritised implementation brief. This is a fictional scenario, not a client engagement or a claim of recovered revenue.
Next sample: A product page with too many unanswered questions. ↗