Shopify's checkout is one of the highest-converting on the internet, and one of the least customisable. That combination frustrates people who want to "optimise" it with a redesign. The truth is that most checkout gains on Shopify come from removing friction around the checkout — payment options, shipping clarity, trust, and speed — plus a handful of settings most stores have never touched. Here is the list we work through, split by what any plan can do and what needs Plus.
First: measure where people actually leave
Shopify's Checkout Behaviour report (Analytics → Reports) shows the funnel: reached checkout → contact info → shipping → payment → completed. Compare against benchmarks: roughly 45–55% of sessions that reach checkout complete on a healthy UK store; below 35% means something specific is wrong. GA4 with enhanced e-commerce events adds device and channel splits — see our GA4 implementation guide. Fix the biggest step drop first.
Changes available on every Shopify plan
- Turn on Shop Pay and make it prominent. Shop Pay checkouts complete faster and convert materially better than guest checkout because millions of UK shoppers already have saved details. It is free; there is no reason not to.
- Add Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal as express options. Express buttons on the cart and product page let mobile shoppers skip the form entirely. On mobile-heavy stores this is the single biggest win.
- Offer Klarna or Clearpay for AOVs over £60. BNPL lifts conversion and AOV in fashion, home and beauty. Show the instalment messaging on the product page, not just at checkout.
- Enable address autocomplete. Settings → Checkout. Reduces typing and typo-driven failed deliveries.
- Reduce required fields. Make company and address line 2 optional, phone optional unless carriers need it, and hide the "Ship to a different address" toggle by default.
- Show delivery cost before checkout. A shipping estimator or clear "Free UK delivery over £40" banner on cart. Unexpected shipping cost is the top stated abandonment reason in every survey ever run.
- Set realistic delivery dates. "Arrives Thu 12 – Fri 13 June" outperforms "3–5 working days". Shopify's delivery date settings or a small app can do this.
- Remove discount-code hunting. A visible code field sends people to Google for vouchers and 20% never return. Either auto-apply promotions or collapse the field behind a small link.
- Trust signals in the checkout branding. Your logo, brand colours, a consistent font. Unbranded checkouts feel like a redirect to a third party.
- Enable customer accounts with passwordless login. Shopify's new customer accounts (one-time code) remove the "create a password" wall and pre-fill returning customers.
- Recover abandoned checkouts in Klaviyo, not just Shopify's built-in email. A three-email flow with the cart contents, social proof and a time-limited free shipping nudge. Our Klaviyo flows guide has the sequence.
- Localise currency and payment methods for international visitors. A German shopper seeing GBP and no invoice option will leave. See Shopify Markets.
Changes that need Shopify Plus (checkout extensibility)
Plus merchants can add UI extensions to checkout without hacking checkout.liquid (which is now retired). Worth doing:
- Delivery-date picker or collection-slot selector for perishables and furniture.
- Trust and reassurance blocks — reviews rating, guarantees, "why we're different" — placed beside the order summary.
- In-checkout upsell — a single relevant add-on (batteries, refill, gift wrap) with one tap. Keep it to one item; carousels here reduce completion.
- Custom validation — block PO boxes for couriers, enforce postcode formats, warn on Highlands & Islands surcharges before payment.
- B2B checkout logic — PO numbers, net terms, and gated payment methods per company.
Post-purchase: the free conversion
- Post-purchase upsell page. Available on all plans via apps (or Shopify's own for some). A one-click add-on after payment, charged to the same card, no re-entry. Typical acceptance is 5–15% on a well-chosen product, and it is pure incremental AOV. Combine with the ideas in our AOV guide.
Mobile specifics
Over 75% of UK e-commerce sessions are mobile, but checkout completion on mobile trails desktop by 10–20 points on most stores. Beyond express payments, check: the keyboard type for phone and card fields (numeric), tap target sizes on the payment method selector, and whether your cookie banner or chat widget overlaps the "Pay now" button. Test on a real mid-range Android, not a MacBook simulator.
Things that don't work
- Countdown timers in checkout. Shoppers have already decided; urgency here reads as pressure and increases refunds.
- Long "why buy from us" copy. One line of reassurance, not a paragraph.
- Forcing account creation. Still the fastest way to lose a first-time buyer.
- Redesigning the checkout for brand reasons. Shopify's layout is tested on billions of orders. Change the branding, not the structure.
What good looks like
| Metric | Needs work | Healthy UK store | Excellent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Checkout completion (reached checkout → order) | < 35% | 45–55% | > 60% |
| Shop Pay share of orders | < 15% | 25–40% | > 45% |
| Abandoned checkout recovery (via email/SMS) | < 3% | 5–10% | > 12% |
Checkout optimisation on Shopify is mostly subtraction. Fewer fields, fewer surprises, fewer reasons to leave the page to look something up.
Frequently asked questions
Can you customise the Shopify checkout without Plus?
You can change branding (logo, colours, fonts), enable express payments, address autocomplete, field requirements, delivery settings and post-purchase upsell apps on any plan. Adding custom UI blocks, validation rules or B2B logic inside the checkout requires Shopify Plus checkout extensibility.
What is a good checkout conversion rate for Shopify?
Of sessions that reach checkout, 45–55% completing is healthy for a UK store; over 60% is excellent. Overall site conversion of 2–4% is typical, higher for repeat-heavy consumables.
Does Shop Pay increase conversion?
Yes — Shopify reports meaningfully higher completion rates for Shop Pay versus guest checkout because returning shoppers have saved details and pay in a few taps. It is free to enable through Shopify Payments.
Should I remove the discount code field?
Collapsing it behind a small link (rather than removing it) reduces "voucher hunting" abandonment without blocking customers who genuinely have a code. Auto-applying promotions via links or scripts is better still.
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