Cutting Cart Abandonment in Mobile Checkout
A grocery delivery app I order from weekly loses me at the same step almost every time. This is an independent teardown, not a request from or affiliation with the company.
The problem
Every week I fill a cart, then abandon it right before paying. The friction isn't the product selection, it's what happens after: a substitution-preferences screen, a tip screen, and a delivery-window screen, each a separate tap, each resetting my scroll position back to the top.
Three screens for one decision (when and how do I want this delivered) is a lot of surface area to lose someone who was already ready to pay.
Where the funnel likely leaks
Estimated funnel based on my own repeated use, not the company's actual analytics.
Proposed fix
Substitutions, tip, and delivery window are all low-effort defaults most people accept. Put them on one scrollable review screen with smart defaults pre-selected, instead of three separate confirmations.
Most people pick the same delivery window and tip every time. Default to last order's choices and let editing be the exception, not the rule.
The running total disappears between screens. A persistent price bar reduces the "wait, what am I paying again" hesitation right before checkout.
Hypothetical impact
All figures are estimates for illustration, not measured results.
How I'd validate this
- A/B test the collapsed checkout against the current three-screen flow, tracking cart-to-order completion.
- Watch a handful of unmoderated usability sessions to see if "remembered defaults" feel helpful or presumptuous.
- Check whether tip amounts drop when it's pre-filled instead of chosen fresh each time.