Reducing Cart Abandonment through improving cart & product pages & enhancing trust signals
Reducing Cart Abandonment through improving cart & product pages & enhancing trust signals
Reducing Cart Abandonment through improving cart & product pages & enhancing trust signals
Etsy is a global online marketplace for unique, handmade, vintage, and custom goods sold by independent creators. It connects buyers with small businesses.
Etsy is a global online marketplace for unique, handmade, vintage, and custom goods sold by independent creators.
It connects buyers with small businesses.
My Role
UX / UI Designer
Tools
Figma, FigJam
Timeline
4 weeks
Problem Statement
Etsy faces a significant challenge with users abandoning their carts during the checkout process. Common issues include unexpected fees, complex payment flows, and a lack of clarity about shipping options. This problem results in lost revenue and reduced seller satisfaction due to incomplete transactions.
Our Assumptions
Before starting our research, we wrote down what we thought might cause people to abandon their carts on Etsy. These guesses helped us decide what to focus on in the next steps.
To understand user problems on Etsy platform, we analysed customer reviews and relevant articles, and identified these problems: complex checkout process, technical issues, lack of trust, and clear shipping timeframe .
Desk Research Insights
Desk research revealed that Etsy’s checkout process feels confusing due to unclear fee details late in the flow and a lack of visible trust signals.
What Users Say...
User Interview Insights
The interview with 4 Etsy users highlighted significant frustrations around unclear delivery cost, user interface issues and lack of trust.
User Archetypes
Refined our key insights into 2 user personas.
Competitor Analysis
Understood that easy checkout, clear shipping info, and buyer protection on sites like Amazon Handmade, eBay and Poshmark help reduce cart abandonment.
Checkout Simplicity:
Platforms like Amazon Handmade and Poshmark offer streamlined checkout processes, reducing friction and potentially lowering cart abandonment rates.
Shipping Transparency:
Clear and upfront shipping information, as seen on Amazon Handmade and Poshmark, helps set accurate cost expectations, minimizing surprises that can lead to abandonment.
Trust & Credibility:
Strong buyer protection policies and consistent seller vetting, exemplified by Amazon Handmade, enhance consumer confidence.
User Journey Map
Users got frustrated by surprise fees, unclear checkout flow and limited trust signals causing hesitation or cart abandonment
Impact Effort Matrix
Identified which ideas are high‑impact and easy to do, which demand more work but pay off big, and which to drop or delay.
Design approach
Through idea exploration and user research, we identified six core solutions designed to make Etsy’s shopping experience clearer, more trustworthy, and user-friendly.
Redesigning rating and review section.
Highlight ‘’Top rated seller’’ badge on product page.
Highlight shipping costs & timeframe on product page.
Give users the comparison option between multiple items.
Add an artist story video and the creation process on product page showing thoughts behind making product.
Add a ‘’Solo artist badge’’ to support an emerging artist.
UI Design
Bringing early concepts to life through our first design iteration.
Highlight ‘’Top rated seller’’ badge and ‘’shipping costs & timeframe’’ on product page
Redesigning rating and review section
Add an artist story video and the creation process on product page showing thoughts behind making product
Give users the comparison option between multiple items
Key Takeaways
Highlighting upfront costs, seller information, and product comparisons gave users greater clarity and trust, reducing cart abandonment.
Redesigning the Etsy experience focused on increasing transparency, trust, and clarity by making important details like shipping costs, seller information, and product comparisons easily accessible at key decision points. We learned that small UX improvements, such as showing total costs upfront and enabling easy product comparisons, can significantly impact user trust and decision‑making, while personal touches and storytelling deepen connections with independent sellers.
Preference test
Iteration
Learning from users: Testing & refining our design
We tested our design using a preference test on two version of comparison feature designs and used first-click, 5-second tests to evaluate our design elements such as shipping information, seller profile, reviews, and top-rated badge.
User feedback
During testing, we observed that users hesitated to compare products from the listing page, feeling they lacked enough info to decide. Some added items without clear intent, causing confusion. To fix this, I moved the comparison feature to the product detail page, where users are better informed, reducing premature selections and improving clarity.
Version 1
Next Project
Problem Statement
Etsy faces a significant challenge with users abandoning their carts during the checkout process. Common issues include unexpected fees, complex payment flows, and a lack of clarity about shipping options. This problem results in lost revenue and reduced seller satisfaction due to incomplete transactions.
To understand user problems on Etsy platform, we analysed customer reviews and relevant articles, and identified these problems: complex checkout process, technical issues, lack of trust, and clear shipping timeframe .
Desk Research Insights
Desk research revealed that Etsy’s checkout process feels confusing due to unclear fee details late in the flow and a lack of visible trust signals.
User Interview Insights
The interview with 4 Etsy users highlighted significant frustrations around unclear delivery cost, user interface issues and lack of trust.
User Archetypes
Refined our key insights into 2 user personas.
Competitor Analysis
Understood that easy checkout, clear shipping info, and buyer protection on sites like Amazon Handmade, eBay and Poshmark help reduce cart abandonment.
User Journey Map
Users got frustrated by surprise fees, unclear checkout flow and limited trust signals causing hesitation or cart abandonment
Impact Effort Matrix
Identified which ideas are high‑impact and easy to do, which demand more work but pay off big, and which to drop or delay.
Our Assumptions
Before starting our research, we wrote down what we thought might cause people to abandon their carts on Etsy. These guesses helped us decide what to focus on in the next steps.
What Users Say...
What Users Say...
Checkout Simplicity:
Platforms like Amazon Handmade and Poshmark offer streamlined checkout processes, reducing friction and potentially lowering cart abandonment rates.
Shipping Transparency:
Clear and upfront shipping information, as seen on Amazon Handmade and Poshmark, helps set accurate cost expectations, minimizing surprises that can lead to abandonment.
Trust & Credibility:
Strong buyer protection policies and consistent seller vetting, exemplified by Amazon Handmade, enhance consumer confidence.
Checkout Simplicity:
Platforms like Amazon Handmade and Poshmark offer streamlined checkout processes, reducing friction and potentially lowering cart abandonment rates.
Shipping Transparency:
Clear and upfront shipping information, as seen on Amazon Handmade and Poshmark, helps set accurate cost expectations, minimizing surprises that can lead to abandonment.
Trust & Credibility:
Strong buyer protection policies and consistent seller vetting, exemplified by Amazon Handmade, enhance consumer confidence.
Design approach
Through idea exploration and user research, we identified six core solutions designed to make Etsy’s shopping experience clearer, more trustworthy, and user-friendly.
Redesigning rating and review section.
Redesigning rating and review section.
Highlight ‘’Top rated seller’’ badge on product page.
Highlight ‘’Top rated seller’’ badge on product page.
Highlight shipping costs & timeframe on product page.
Highlight shipping costs & timeframe on product page.
Give users the comparison option between multiple items.
Give users the comparison option between multiple items.
Add an artist story video and the creation process on product page showing thoughts behind making product.
Add an artist story video and the creation process on product page showing thoughts behind making product.
Add a ‘’Solo artist badge’’ to support an emerging artist.
Add a ‘’Solo artist badge’’ to support an emerging artist.
UI Design
Bringing early concepts to life through our first design iteration.
Highlight ‘’Top rated seller’’ badge and ‘’shipping costs & timeframe’’ on product page
Redesigning rating and review section
Key Takeaways
Highlighting upfront costs, seller information, and product comparisons gave users greater clarity and trust, reducing cart abandonment.
Redesigning the Etsy experience focused on increasing transparency, trust, and clarity by making important details like shipping costs, seller information, and product comparisons easily accessible at key decision points. We learned that small UX improvements, such as showing total costs upfront and enabling easy product comparisons, can significantly impact user trust and decision‑making, while personal touches and storytelling deepen connections with independent sellers.
During testing, we observed that users hesitated to compare products from the listing page, feeling they lacked enough info to decide. Some added items without clear intent, causing confusion. To fix this, I moved the comparison feature to the product detail page, where users are better informed, reducing premature selections and improving clarity.
Preference test
Preference test
Preference test
Give users the comparison option between multiple items
Add an artist story video and the creation process on product page showing thoughts behind making product
Add a ‘’Solo artist badge’’ to support an emerging artist
Preference test
Preference test
Iteration
Learning from users: Testing & refining our design
We tested our design using a preference test on two version of comparison feature designs and used first-click, 5-second tests to evaluate our design elements such as shipping information, seller profile, reviews, and top-rated badge.
We tested our design using a preference test on two version of comparison feature designs and used first-click, 5-second tests to evaluate our design elements such as shipping information, seller profile, reviews, and top-rated badge.
User feedback
User feedback
Version 1
Version 1
During testing, we observed that users hesitated to compare products from the listing page, feeling they lacked enough info to decide. Some added items without clear intent, causing confusion. To fix this, I moved the comparison feature to the product detail page, where users are better informed, reducing premature selections and improving clarity.
Next Project
Give users the comparison option between multiple items
Add an artist story video and the creation process on product page showing thoughts behind making product
Add a ‘’Solo artist badge’’ to support an emerging artist
Preference test
User feedback
