Understanding Customer Behavior At Checkout

When building a checkout flow, don’t just think about your offers, your USPs, or how much you’re trying to increase your AOV. Think about what your customer might be feeling at that moment. Then, try to build your experience around that. Here are the 4 common emotions to consider when trying to get a customer across the finish line: - Confusion - Trust - Anxiety - FOMO Confusion is an easy one. If your UX and checkout flow isn’t clear, some folks are going to abandon. Make sure things like costs, shipping times, and discount codes are direct, obvious, and easy to use. If you have in-cart offers, free shipping thresholds, and upsells, test them to be sure they aren’t clogging up your checkout and driving people away. Trust is big, especially for first-time purchasers. If they haven’t bought from you before and don’t know the brand, you’ll need to assure them you’re legit. You can battle this with trust badges and social proof. Trust badges can range from payment/security or payment badges, to “guaranteed money back” promises. Social proof can include “as seen in…” logos that list coverage of your brand by influencers or mainstream media. Or you can also add 5-star reviews that talk about how much they love the product or brand. Price anxiety is one of the most common listed reasons for abcarts. But it can go a bit deeper than that. No one wants to regret a purchase they’ve made once it arrives. That’s called cognitive dissonance, and you want to combat the anxiety around this for your potential buyers. This is a challenge in DTC because the person can’t physically interact with your product. So there’s that extra, subconscious layer of “Is this really for me?” Counter price anxiety with offers like free shipping thresholds and discounts. But you can also add things like a Free Gift With Purchase to increase the perception of value for money. Segmenting your audience and personalizing your messaging is a huge unlock here as well, which we are able to pull off with AfterSell by Rokt. If it feels like your product was made FOR THEM, you can get past the “not sure it’s for me” feeling. Last is fear of missing out (FOMO). If you’ve done your job, then hopefully the user is excited about buying. But even then they can sometimes use a little push. Scarcity or urgency messaging works here. Add a countdown timer for any bonus offers they may have opted into. Or talk about how quickly their SKU sells out. You can also encourage them to start their new journey TODAY so they can get to where they want to be faster. To sum it up: Confusion - clear, low-friction UX Trust - badges, social proof Anxiety - offers, discounts, personalization FOMO - scarcity & urgency If you aren’t testing ways to leverage these emotions in your checkout flow, you’re leaving money on the table.

Your customers are lying to you. Not intentionally. They just don't know what they actually want. Last week, a SaaS founder showed me their on-site survey data. 87% of respondents wanted "more features." Their session recordings told a different story: visitors couldn't find the features that already existed. This happens everywhere... what people *say* and what they *do* are different universes. For example, during a recent project with Adobe, we discovered something shocking: survey respondents begged for advanced filters. But heatmaps showed they never clicked the basic filters already there 🤦🏻♂️ We ignored the surveys. We followed the behavior. Revenue jumped. In my latest book "Behind The Click," I detail the psychological forces where users aren't conscious of their real motivations: ↳ They tell you they want lower prices. Their behavior shows they'll pay more for convenience. ↳ They say they want more options. Their behavior shows paralysis with current choices. That's why The Good | Digital Experience Optimization's methodology ignores opinions. We observe actions. We measure what users *do*. Not what they *claim*. Otherwise, despite endless survey data, conversion rates will stay flat. Your survey says users want faster checkout. Your data shows they abandon at shipping options. Different problems. Different solutions. Don't optimize for fictional preferences. Watch what users do for one hour. Learn more than 1,000 survey responses can teach you. Behavior beats intention every single time. Trust their clicks, not their words.

🛒 You can’t track purchase intent by tracking ATCs. 𝟭. “𝗔𝗧𝗖” 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 “𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿”. It’s a placeholder, not a promise. 𝟮. 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗣𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁. It’s a tool for collecting, not committing. 𝟯. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝘀 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗲, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗲. It helps them compare…not decide. 𝟰. 𝗡𝗼 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 = 𝗻𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁. Clicking isn’t buying. It costs nothing to put something in an online cart. 𝟱. 𝗔𝗧𝗖𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆. Interest? Yes. Intent? Not even close. If you really want to track intent, do this instead: ✅ 1. Track high-friction actions Not all clicks are equal. Look for: • Initiate Checkout • Payment Info Entered • Return Visitor → PDP → Checkout • Product added after reading reviews These behaviors show someone is moving past curiosity into commitment. ✅ 2. Analyze sequence, not single actions One ATC means nothing. But: 𝘈𝘛𝘊 → 𝘝𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘺 → 𝘈𝘥𝘥 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴? Now we’re talkin’ intent. Watch the flow, not the isolated click. ✅ 3. Measure time spent on key friction points If someone lingers on: • Product comparisons • Return policy pages • Size charts or FAQs They’re mentally preparing to convert. They’re not just browsing at that point, they’re weighing the trade-offs. ✅ 4. Look for repeat product interactions If someone revisits the same PDP 2–3 times in a week, that’s real consideration. Bonus points if they come back from an email or ad reminder. ✅ 5. Use survey overlays or post-exit polls Ask simple, direct questions like: “Are you planning to buy today?” “What’s stopping you from checking out?” Self-reported “logic” + behavioral data = gold. 𝘛𝘓𝘋𝘙: 𝘈𝘛𝘊 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵-𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘺. 𝘛𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘮.

A lot of brands' checkout flow kind of comes off like a used car salesman. "Buy more!" "Don't leave!" "Last chance!" I get it. You've worked hard (and spent a lot) to get that customer there. But here's what we learned at Obvi this year - your checkout flow should act more like a trusted advisor than a pushy sales rep. Think about it: The customer is already interested. They've added something to cart. Now they're looking for validation, education, and maybe a little reward for taking the plunge. At this moment, you have 2 paths: - You can hammer them with aggressive upsells and urgency... - Or you can guide them toward the best possible experience with your brand. We figured out how to build path 2, and it changed everything. Here's how we think about it →  First, we educate. Our checkout shows relevant reviews that speak to specific results and experiences. Not just "great product!" but real stories from our 250,000+ customers about their journey. Next, we validate.  Every product in-cart gets paired with our guarantee, FDA certification, and "Made in USA" badges. But we also explain WHY these matter for supplements. Trust isn't just about logos - it's about context. Then we reward smart choices.  Instead of just offering random bundles, we show volume discounts that actually make sense. "Get 3 months supply, save 20%" hits different when you've just read reviews from people talking about their 90-day transformations. The results have been eye-opening 👀 - Higher AOV (because people are choosing bundles that fit their goals) - Better retention (because they're starting with the right products) - Fewer support tickets (because we're answering key questions up front) But the biggest win? People are actually excited about spending more with us. The checkout isn't friction - it's part of their journey to better health. You CAN use scarcity and urgency and all that kind of stuff to up purchase intent. But you have to do it right. AfterSell by Rokt has been crucial for testing and optimizing all of this for us. Remember: Your checkout flow isn't just about moving product. It's about helping the customer buy the right stuff for them and building the foundation for a long-term relationship. Educate. Validate. Reward. Make it helpful, not pushy.  Guide, don't grind.