Abandoned carts in OpenCart: simplify checkout

What gets in the way in the default checkout

• six steps with a “Continue” button after each; on a phone that’s six rounds of scrolling and tapping;
• the “register or guest” choice on the first step: the customer hasn’t ordered yet and is already asked about an account;
• extra fields: fax, company, second address line, region; for most deliveries you don’t need them;
• the delivery address is typed by hand with nothing to help;
• errors appear after submitting instead of right next to the field.

What checkout should look like

• one page: contacts, shipping, payment and the summary visible at once;
• a minimum of fields: name, phone, address; e-mail if you need it;
• a phone mask with the country code so the number can’t be mistyped;
• city and pickup point chosen by search with suggestions, not a dropdown of thousands of rows;
• guest checkout by default, an account as a checkbox;
• shipping cost and total update instantly when an option changes.

That’s how my one-page checkout module for OpenCart 3 works.

Find out where customers drop off

In Google Analytics 4, set up the add_to_cart, begin_checkout and purchase events. If people reach begin_checkout but not purchase, the problem is the checkout itself. If most drop off in the cart, look at shipping costs and the terms shown there.

Also test checkout on a phone with a slow connection. That’s often where you notice the “Confirm” button hiding under the keyboard.

Win back those who didn’t finish

Even a perfect checkout won’t remove every drop-off. The customer may have closed the payment page or the bank may have declined the card. These people are worth a reminder by e-mail or message with a “Pay now” button while the purchase is still on their mind. That’s what the abandoned and unpaid order module does.

If orders with online payment disappear from the admin, that’s a different problem, covered in a separate article.