Launching an online store with an AI-assisted website builder is faster than ever. However, getting visitors to complete a purchase is a different challenge. Many merchants discover that while traffic is growing, completed orders are not.
This article explains why customers abandon checkout on AI-built stores and how merchants can recover lost sales by improving the checkout experience. It covers common sources of friction, the role of payment methods in conversion, and practical steps you can take to simplify checkout and increase completed purchases.
A significant proportion of lost sales happen during checkout. Customers add products to their basket, begin the payment process, and then leave without completing their purchase. Fortunately, many of these abandoned checkouts can be recovered by improving the checkout experience rather than increasing advertising spend.
The best way to recover abandoned checkouts is to remove friction from the payment process. Simplifying checkout, reducing unnecessary form fields, offering trusted payment methods, and providing alternatives such as Pay by Bank can increase checkout completion and reduce the number of customers who abandon their purchase.
Why AI-Built Stores Lose Sales
AI tools make building an online store easier, but they cannot automatically optimise the checkout experience.
Many stores launch with checkout pages that contain unnecessary friction, including:
- Too many form fields
- Slow checkout pages
- Limited payment options
- Unexpected fees
- Mobile usability issues
- Lack of customer trust signals
These issues may seem minor individually, but together they create enough hesitation for customers to leave before completing payment.
Common Checkout Friction
Understanding why customers abandon checkout helps prioritise improvements.
Many of these improvements require only small changes but can have a measurable effect on conversion.
How Payment Methods Affect Checkout Conversion
Payment methods influence how comfortable customers feel when completing a purchase.
Some shoppers prefer paying by card, while others trust digital wallets or bank payments. Offering suitable payment options reduces the chance that customers leave because their preferred payment method is unavailable.
Rather than replacing existing payment methods, adding another trusted option can improve overall checkout completion by giving customers more choice.
Simplified Checkout Flows Convert Better
The most effective checkout experiences minimise decision-making.
Consider these best practices:
- Allow guest checkout.
- Keep checkout to as few steps as possible.
- Display delivery costs early.
- Show security and payment trust indicators.
- Optimise the experience for mobile devices.
- Save customer information where appropriate.
- Reduce distractions on the payment page.
Every additional click or decision creates another opportunity for customers to leave.
Can Pay by Bank Improve Checkout Completion?
Pay by Bank allows customers to authorise payments directly from their bank account using secure Open Banking technology.
For some merchants, adding Pay by Bank alongside existing payment methods can reduce checkout friction by:
- Offering an alternative to card payments
- Avoiding card entry for eligible customers
- Reducing payment processing costs
- Lowering chargeback exposure
- Providing another trusted way to pay
For merchants operating in the UK and Europe, Pay by Bank may be particularly attractive where customers are already familiar with Open Banking payments.
Solutions such as Wallid provide merchants with an API-friendly way to offer Pay by Bank as part of a broader payment strategy rather than replacing traditional card payments.
How to Improve Checkout Conversion
Improving checkout conversion is an ongoing process rather than a one-time task.
Follow these steps.
1. Measure Where Customers Drop Off
Use your analytics platform to identify exactly where customers abandon checkout.
Look for patterns across:
- Mobile devices
- Desktop devices
- Payment methods
- Countries
- Browsers
Knowing where customers leave makes optimisation much more effective.
2. Remove Unnecessary Form Fields
Ask only for information that is genuinely required to complete the purchase.
Every additional field increases completion time and introduces more opportunities for abandonment.
3. Offer Trusted Payment Methods
Customers should recognise at least one payment method they already trust.
Depending on your audience, this may include:
- Card payments
- Digital wallets
- Pay by Bank
Offering multiple payment options helps accommodate different customer preferences.
4. Optimise for Mobile
Many purchases now begin and finish on smartphones.
Ensure that:
- Buttons are easy to tap.
- Forms are simple to complete.
- Payment pages load quickly.
- Text remains readable without zooming.
5. Reduce Surprises
Unexpected delivery costs, taxes, or additional fees are among the most common reasons for checkout abandonment.
Display total costs as early as possible.
6. Test Your Checkout Regularly
Walk through your checkout as if you were a customer.
Ask yourself:
- Is every step necessary?
- Can anything be removed?
- Does payment feel trustworthy?
- Is the experience fast?
Small improvements made consistently often produce better long-term results than large redesigns.
Example
Imagine an online retailer that launches an AI-built store and notices that many customers reach the payment page but do not complete their purchase.
After reviewing analytics, the merchant:
- removes mandatory account creation,
- simplifies the checkout form,
- optimises the experience for mobile devices,
- introduces an additional Pay by Bank payment option alongside existing card payments.
Although traffic remains unchanged, more customers successfully complete checkout because the purchasing experience becomes simpler and offers greater payment flexibility.
Checkout Optimisation Checklist
Use this checklist to review your checkout.
