In September 2024, it happened to the industry giant of all companies: during its big Labor Day Sale, Amazon experienced a massive checkout glitch. Customers were unable to complete their purchases because payments got stuck in the final step.
The result: thousands of abandoned orders – and a noticeable drop in sales on one of the most important shopping days of the year.
This example clearly shows that e-commerce checkout errors can affect even the strongest brands. And they are one of the most dangerous obstacles to sales in online retail – especially when they go unnoticed.
Even minor disruptions in the purchasing process can lead to shopping carts being abandoned and sales being lost.
Various studies show how big the problem actually is:
- According to the Baymard Institute, the average shopping cart abandonment rate worldwide is over 70 percent – many abandonments occur directly at checkout.
- According to Stripe, 95 percent of leading shops contain at least five basic errors in the checkout process that frustrate customers.
- 85 percent of shoppers abandon their purchase if their preferred payment method is not available – a clear indication of how serious payment method issues are for conversion.
What is particularly critical is that these problems often remain undetected until the conversion rate drops noticeably.
The top 3 sources of error in e-commerce checkout
Three causes in particular occur repeatedly in practice:
- Problems with payment methods: Missing or confusing payment options cause users to abandon the checkout process. If common options such as PayPal, Klarna or credit card are not available – or if technical failures occur – many shoppers immediately abandon their purchase.
- Browser and loading problems: Long loading times or incompatibilities with certain browsers are a common reason for abandonment. Today's users expect the checkout process to be smooth and fast. Even a few seconds of delay can make a decisive difference.
- Complicated forms and redirects: If too many fields have to be filled in or external pages have to be navigated, the bounce rate increases significantly. Every unnecessary click increases the likelihood that the purchase process will be abandoned.
Why shop systems often fail to report checkout errors
Most shop systems provide standard reports on conversion rates – but technical anomalies in the checkout process often remain invisible.
Whether a payment provider fails, redirects lead nowhere or individual browsers cause problems: without monitoring, you usually only notice when sales have already plummeted.
Not to mention customer satisfaction: anyone who has a frustrating checkout experience is unlikely to return.
Anomaly detection at checkout with monitoring tools
This is where intelligent solutions come into play. Tools such as INTELLIFANT continuously monitor order data and detect checkout errors in e-commerce in real time.
Instead of relying on manual analyses or delayed reports, you receive an early warning by email as soon as data changes – for example, if a payment method suddenly stops working or an unusually high number of orders are cancelled.
The advantage: you can act immediately before the error results in lost sales. At the same time, the user experience improves because problems are solved more quickly and the likelihood of buyers abandoning their purchase is reduced.
Quick fix: What to look out for in monitoring
To ensure that your monitoring in your online shop is effective, you should keep the following points in mind:
- Map all checkout steps: From the selection of the payment method to the order confirmation, all stages should be monitored.
- Perform regular tests: Simulate orders on different devices and browsers to identify potential sources of error at an early stage.
- Set up alerts: Tools should notify you promptly when unusual patterns occur.
Conclusion: Secure sales with checkout monitoring
E-commerce checkout errors are one of the biggest causes of conversion abandonment in online retail.
Whether problems with payment methods, loading times or redirects – every error costs money. Classic shop systems often recognise these causes too late.
With automatic monitoring and intelligent anomaly detection at checkout using tools such as INTELLIFANT, you can ensure that problems do not only become visible once your sales have already plummeted.
This protects your conversion rate, boosts customer satisfaction and secures the long-term profitability of your online shop.
#ecommerce #earlywarning system #technology #softwareengineering #fintech
