What is the most common reason for checkout abandonment?

Unexpected costs at the final step, usually shipping, tax, or fees that were not visible earlier. The shopper accepted the product price, then the total jumped. Showing shipping and any fees before the last click prevents most of it.

Should I force shoppers to create an account at checkout?

No. Make guest checkout the default and invite account creation after the purchase, in one click from the confirmation page. Forcing a sign-up right before payment adds friction at the worst possible moment.

How many form fields is too many?

Ask only for what you need to charge, fulfil, and contact the buyer. Use autocomplete, pre-fill what you know, and never request the same detail twice. The goal is the shortest honest path to a completed order.

How do I know which checkout step is actually losing me money?

Look at the page, not only the funnel number. A conversion audit checks the real checkout the way a visitor sees it, on mobile, and points to the specific element causing the drop, rather than just telling you which step has the biggest fall-off.

Checkout Drop-Off: Why Visitors Leave Before Paying

Published 2026-10-22 · The DecisionLeak Blog

The most expensive drop-off happens after a shopper already decided to buy: they reach checkout and leave before paying. The usual causes are surprise shipping and fees at the last step, forced account creation, too many form fields and steps, missing payment options or a drop in perceived safety, and slow or error-prone final steps. A funnel chart shows the step where people fall off but not the reason; finding the cause means looking at the actual checkout page the way a visitor on a phone sees it.

Checkout Drop-Off: Why Visitors Leave Before Paying — read the full article on DecisionLeak, the AI website conversion audit that scores six decision dimensions, ties every leak to the exact element on the page, and hands you a prioritized fix list. Run a free scan.