Step 05 of 07

The cart

Where the order takes shape.

The basket is where browsing turns into a commitment, and where the total first becomes real. These 37 principles cover thresholds and progress, how costs are presented, add-ons, and what stops people leaving with a full basket.

Motivation and commitment Goal-gradient effect Effort increases as people get closer to a goal. Mainly Cart, also Checkout, Post-purchaseMainly here Tested on real shoppers Moderate Loss and scarcity Loss aversion Losing something hurts more than gaining the same thing pleases. Mainly Cart, also Product, CheckoutMainly here Tested on real shoppers Strong Pricing and value perception Mental accounting People sort money into mental budgets and judge spending within them. Mainly Cart, also Product, CheckoutMainly here Tested on real shoppers Strong Pricing and value perception Partitioned pricing Splitting a price into a base price plus surcharges changes how the total is perceived, usually making it seem lower because the surcharges get less attention. Mainly Cart, also Category, Product, CheckoutMainly here Tested on real shoppers Strong Social influence Reciprocity People feel obliged to return a favour. Mainly Cart, also Homepage, Product, Post-purchaseMainly here Tested on real shoppers Moderate Choice architecture Shopping momentum A first purchase shifts people into a buying mindset that makes further, even unrelated, purchases more likely. Mainly Cart, also ProductMainly here Tested on real shoppers Moderate Choice architecture Status quo bias People prefer things to stay as they are. Mainly Cart, also Product, Checkout, Post-purchaseMainly here Tested on real shoppers Strong Motivation and commitment Zeigarnik / Ovsiankina effect Unfinished tasks create a pull to return and complete them. Mainly Cart, also Homepage, CheckoutMainly here Not tested in shopping Contested Pricing and value perception Zero-price effect 'Free' is disproportionately more attractive than a very low price. Mainly Cart, also Homepage, Product, CheckoutMainly here Tested on real shoppers Moderate Trust and risk reduction Ambiguity aversion People tend to avoid options where the chances of a good or bad outcome are unknown, preferring ones where they know what to expect. Mainly Checkout, also Product, Cart Tested in shopping-like settings Moderate Pricing and value perception Anchoring The first number people see biases their judgement of later numbers. Mainly Product, also Homepage, Category, Cart Tested on real shoppers Strong Loss and scarcity Anticipated regret People choose in ways that avoid regret they expect to feel later. Mainly Product, also Cart, Checkout, Post-purchase Tested on real shoppers Moderate Choice architecture Default effect People tend to stick with whatever is pre-selected. Mainly Checkout, also Product, Cart Tested on real shoppers Strong Pricing and value perception Discount framing (% vs £) The same discount feels bigger as a percentage on cheap items and as a cash amount on expensive ones. Mainly Product, also Homepage, Category, Cart Tested on real shoppers Moderate Motivation and commitment Endowed progress effect A head start towards a goal makes people more likely to finish. Mainly Checkout, also Cart, Post-purchase Tested on real shoppers Moderate Loss and scarcity Endowment effect People value things more once they feel they own them. Mainly Product, also Cart, Post-purchase Tested in shopping-like settings Moderate Emotion and memory Expectation-disconfirmation Satisfaction depends on performance relative to what was promised, so beating a modest promise satisfies more than missing an ambitious one. Mainly Post-purchase, also Sitewide, Product, Cart, Checkout Tested on real shoppers Strong Cognitive load and fluency Fitts's law The time to hit a target depends on its size and distance. Mainly Sitewide, also Product, Cart, Checkout Not tested in shopping Strong Motivation and commitment Fogg behaviour model A behaviour happens when motivation, ability and a prompt come together at the same moment. Mainly Sitewide, also Homepage, Category, Product, Cart, Checkout Not tested in shopping Framework Choice architecture Framing effect The same information leads to different choices depending on how it is presented. Mainly Product, also Homepage, Category, Cart Tested in shopping-like settings Strong Motivation and commitment Habit formation Behaviour repeated in a stable context becomes cued by that context and continues with little deliberation. Mainly Post-purchase, also Sitewide, Homepage, Cart Tested on real shoppers Framework Motivation and commitment IKEA effect People value things more when they helped create them. Mainly Product, also Cart Tested in shopping-like settings Strong Pricing and value perception Pain of paying Paying registers as a loss, and the more visible the payment, the more it hurts. Mainly Checkout, also Cart Tested on real shoppers Moderate Trust and risk reduction Perceived risk Buying is held back by perceived financial, performance and social risk. Mainly Product, also Cart, Checkout Tested on real shoppers Strong Motivation and commitment Points pressure and medium maximisation People increase effort to reach a reward threshold and chase the points themselves, even when the points do not improve the outcome. Mainly Post-purchase, also Sitewide, Cart, Checkout Tested on real shoppers Moderate Trust and risk reduction Post-purchase dissonance After a hard-to-reverse choice people feel doubt, and reduce it by seeking reassurance and rating their choice more highly. Mainly Post-purchase, also Product, Cart, Checkout Not tested in shopping Moderate Motivation and commitment Present bias People overvalue immediate rewards relative to later ones. Mainly Product, also Cart, Checkout Tested on real shoppers Moderate Cognitive load and fluency Recognition over recall Recognising something is easier than recalling it from memory. Mainly Search, also Sitewide, Category, Cart, Checkout Tested in shopping-like settings Strong Cognitive load and fluency Response-time thresholds (Doherty) Delays beyond roughly 0.1s, 1s and 10s break the feeling of directness, flow and attention in turn. Mainly Sitewide, also Homepage, Category, Search, Product, Cart, Checkout Tested on real shoppers Moderate Trust and risk reduction Return-fee fairness Who pays for a return strongly shapes later spending, because customers treat a return fee as unfair. Mainly Post-purchase, also Product, Cart, Checkout Tested on real shoppers Moderate Loss and scarcity Scarcity Limited availability raises perceived value and desire. Mainly Product, also Category, Cart Tested on real shoppers Strong Choice architecture Single-option aversion People hesitate to buy when shown only one option, even one they like, and go off to search. Mainly Product, also Cart Tested in shopping-like settings Moderate Social influence Social proof When unsure, people look to what others have done and follow it. Mainly Product, also Homepage, Category, Cart, Checkout Tested on real shoppers Strong Loss and scarcity Sunk cost effect Having already put money, and less reliably time or effort, into something, people are more likely to carry on with it. Mainly Checkout, also Product, Cart, Post-purchase Tested in shopping-like settings Moderate Pricing and value perception Temporal reframing (pennies-a-day) A cost feels smaller when broken into a small daily or per-use amount. Mainly Product, also Cart Tested on real shoppers Moderate Loss and scarcity Urgency (time limits) Deadlines can speed up decisions, and restrictions can signal that a deal is good. Mainly Product, also Homepage, Cart, Checkout Tested on real shoppers Contested Attention and perception Von Restorff (isolation) effect The item that differs from its surroundings is the one noticed and remembered. Mainly Product, also Sitewide, Category, Cart Tested in shopping-like settings Strong
Along the route

Before and after the cart.

See all seven pages

Some principles apply on every page. See the 38 sitewide principles