Product Page Best Practices That Increase Sales
Photos, descriptions, delivery details, reviews and SEO that turn browsers into buyers.
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Key takeaways
- Most abandoned carts are caused by surprise costs, forced accounts and slow checkouts.
- Show delivery costs and dates early, ideally on the product page.
- Offer guest checkout and familiar payment options.
- Well-timed reminder emails recover some of the rest.
Why shoppers abandon their carts
Abandoned carts are normal: the Baymard Institute's long-running research puts the average documented online cart abandonment rate at around 70%. Some of those shoppers were only browsing, but many leave because of problems you can fix.
The most common reasons are extra costs revealed at checkout, being forced to create an account, a long or confusing checkout, slow delivery, and not trusting the site with card details. The twelve ways below tackle each one, so you can reduce cart abandonment and recover more sales.
Be upfront about costs (1–3)
- Show delivery costs early, on the product page and in the basket, not only at the final step.
- Display delivery dates, so shoppers know when their order will arrive.
- Offer a free delivery threshold if your margins allow, and show how close the shopper is to reaching it.
Test your own checkout on a phone. Buy something from your store on mobile data, start to finish. You'll quickly feel where the friction is.
Simplify the checkout (4–7)
- Allow guest checkout, and offer account creation after the order instead.
- Ask only for what you need: remove optional fields and combine name fields where possible.
- Use address lookup and autofill to save typing on mobile.
- Show progress clearly, so shoppers know how many steps are left.
Build payment confidence (8–10)
- Offer familiar payment methods: cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal and, where suitable, buy now, pay later.
- Show trust signals near the payment step: secure checkout, returns policy and real contact details.
- Keep the basket visible with product images, prices and an easy way to edit quantities.
Be careful with buy now, pay later. If you offer it, explain the terms clearly. These products are being brought under FCA regulation in the UK, so follow your provider's guidance on how to promote them.
Make it fast and reliable (11)
- Speed up the basket and checkout pages, and fix errors such as payment failures or discount codes that don't work. A slow or glitchy checkout feels risky. For WordPress and WooCommerce stores, see our guide to speeding up WordPress.
Recover the ones who leave (12)
- Send abandoned cart reminders to shoppers who've given their email address: a first reminder within a few hours, then one or two more over the following days. Show the products, make it easy to return, and only offer a discount if your margins allow and you don't want to train people to wait for one.
Our email automation setup, including welcome, abandoned cart and win-back flows, starts from £800 as a one-off project.
Find your checkout leaksOur CRO audit uses heatmaps and analytics to find where shoppers drop off.
Get a free proposal Measure and test
- Track each checkout step as a GA4 ecommerce event to see where people leave.
- Watch session recordings and heatmaps of the basket and checkout.
- Change one thing at a time and compare results. Our A/B testing guide explains how.
Common mistakes
- Surprise delivery charges at the final step.
- Forcing account creation before payment.
- Sending discount codes in every reminder email.
- Pop-ups that interrupt the checkout.
- Never testing the checkout on mobile.
Cart abandonment FAQs
What is a normal cart abandonment rate?
Research from the Baymard Institute puts the average at around 70%. Rates vary by product and device, so focus on improving your own figure over time.
Can I send abandoned cart emails under UK GDPR?
Generally yes, if you've collected the email address fairly, explained this in your privacy notice and respect marketing preferences. Take advice for your specific setup.
Should I offer a discount to bring shoppers back?
Sometimes, but not by default. Start with a simple reminder; save discounts for later emails or higher-value carts to protect your margin.
Does guest checkout really help?
Yes. Being forced to create an account is one of the most common reasons shoppers give for abandoning a purchase.
The bottom line
To reduce cart abandonment, remove surprises and friction: show costs and delivery early, offer guest checkout and familiar payments, build trust, keep checkout fast, and follow up with well-timed reminders. Then measure each step and keep improving.