Step 06 of 07

Checkout

Where the purchase is completed.

By checkout the shopper has already decided, so the job is no longer to persuade but to remove effort and doubt. These 39 principles cover form design, defaults, payment, delivery clarity and the trust signals that matter at the point of paying.

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, CartMainly here Tested in shopping-like settings Moderate Cognitive load and fluency Chunking (Miller's law) People hold only a few chunks of information in mind at once. Mainly Checkout, also Sitewide, ProductMainly here Tested in shopping-like settings Strong Cognitive load and fluency Cognitive load Working memory is limited, so unnecessary demands on it make tasks slower and more error-prone. Mainly Checkout, also Sitewide, Category, ProductMainly here Tested in shopping-like settings Moderate Motivation and commitment Commitment and consistency After agreeing to a small request, people are somewhat more likely to agree to a larger related one. Mainly Checkout, also Homepage, ProductMainly here Not tested in shopping Contested Choice architecture Default effect People tend to stick with whatever is pre-selected. Mainly Checkout, also Product, CartMainly here Tested on real shoppers Strong Motivation and commitment Endowed progress effect A head start towards a goal makes people more likely to finish. Mainly Checkout, also Cart, Post-purchaseMainly here Tested on real shoppers Moderate Trust and risk reduction Online trust formation Willingness to buy online depends on beliefs about the seller's competence and integrity, plus structural assurances. Mainly Checkout, also Homepage, Sitewide, ProductMainly here Tested on real shoppers 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 CartMainly here Tested on real shoppers Moderate 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-purchaseMainly here Tested in shopping-like settings Moderate 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 Emotion and memory Anticipation and savouring People get pleasure from looking forward to something good, so a wait can add value if it is framed as anticipation. Mainly Post-purchase, also Product, Checkout Tested in shopping-like settings Moderate Social influence Authority People defer to credible experts and institutions. Mainly Product, also Homepage, Sitewide, Checkout Tested on real shoppers Moderate Emotion and memory Customer delight (surprise) An unexpectedly positive experience produces delight, which is distinct from satisfaction. Mainly Post-purchase, also Sitewide, Checkout 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 Attention and perception Gestalt grouping Elements that are close, similar or enclosed together are seen as belonging together. Mainly Sitewide, also Category, Product, Checkout Not tested in shopping Strong Motivation and commitment Goal-gradient effect Effort increases as people get closer to a goal. Mainly Cart, also Checkout, Post-purchase Tested on real shoppers Moderate Choice architecture Hick's law The time taken to choose rises with the number of options, but only with its logarithm, so each extra option adds less time than the last. Mainly Sitewide, also Homepage, Category, Checkout Not tested in shopping Strong Loss and scarcity Loss aversion Losing something hurts more than gaining the same thing pleases. Mainly Cart, also Product, Checkout 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, Checkout 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, Checkout Tested on real shoppers Strong Emotion and memory Peak-end rule Experiences are judged by their most intense moment and their ending. Mainly Post-purchase, also Checkout Tested in shopping-like settings Strong 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 Prototypicality (Jakob's law) People prefer sites that look and work like the ones they already know. Mainly Sitewide, also Homepage, Category, Checkout Tested in shopping-like settings Moderate Motivation and commitment Psychological reactance People push back when they feel their freedom to choose is being taken away. Mainly Sitewide, also Homepage, Checkout Tested in shopping-like settings Moderate Attention and perception Psychology of waiting Waits that are uncertain, unexplained or empty feel longer and anger people more than known, explained or filled waits. Mainly Post-purchase, also Sitewide, Checkout Tested in shopping-like settings 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 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 Choice architecture Status quo bias People prefer things to stay as they are. Mainly Cart, also Product, Checkout, Post-purchase Tested on real shoppers Strong Trust and risk reduction Tracking transparency Customers judge fulfilment by the activity they can see, and visible progress late in the wait counts for more than early progress. Mainly Post-purchase, also Product, Checkout 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 Motivation and commitment Zeigarnik / Ovsiankina effect Unfinished tasks create a pull to return and complete them. Mainly Cart, also Homepage, Checkout 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, Checkout Tested on real shoppers Moderate
Along the route

Before and after checkout.

See all seven pages

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