From Abandoned Carts to Completed Orders: Trust and Transparency in Etsy’s Redesign
Etsy
No More Drop-Offs: Smoothing Etsy’s Checkout Path
Role
UX Researcher
UI Designer
Duration
2 Weeks
Team
2 UX / UI Designers
Mentor
What is the problem?
Etsy shoppers often face confusion and frustration during the checkout process, especially when trying to understand the final cost of their purchase.
Etsy is an online marketplace for handmade, vintage, and custom goods from independent sellers. While it offers a unique shopping experience, the checkout process often leads to confusion, unexpected fees, unclear shipping details, and unrelated recommendations contribute to cart abandonment.
Assumptions
Our Early Guess Behind Cart Abandonment and the 4 Assumptions That Guided Our First Steps!
Before diving into user interviews and desk research, we mapped out our initial assumptions about why shoppers abandon their carts suspecting issues like hidden costs, complex checkout steps, and other friction points. These hypotheses shaped our research focus and informed the questions we asked.
Uncovering Shoppers’ Core Frustrations
How Hidden Costs and Confusing Checkout Push Shoppers Away
We started by analyzing user feedback from Google Play, the App Store, Reddit, and other forums to validate our initial assumptions. After reviewing hundreds of comments, two clear themes emerged.
Interview
Inside the Etsy Experience: What Delights Shoppers and What Drives Them Away
To truly step into the shoes of Etsy shoppers, we spoke with six active users about their recent experiences. They opened up about the features that make shopping enjoyable and the hurdles that disrupt their journey. These conversations revealed both the friction that leads to cart abandonment and the qualities that keep buyers engaged with the platform.
What’s on an Etsy Buyer’s Mind:
Core Insights Identified in the Interviews:
And Now… Meet Our Personas:
Based on interview findings and user feedback, we identified three distinct shopper types that represent Etsy’s core audience.
Competitive Analysis
Every e-commerce platform aims to create a seamless shopping experience but how well do they succeed?
We analyzed leading online marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay, and Ali Express to see how they handle pricing transparency, shipping clarity, and overall checkout usability compared to Etsy.
Where to Focus for Maximum Impact
To focus on the most valuable changes, we applied an Impact–Effort Matrix to evaluate our proposed improvements. This approach allowed us to categorize ideas by their potential user impact and the effort required, helping us act on quick wins immediately while planning for high-impact, resource-intensive solutions over time.
Old Design 😕 : Unclear, Overloaded, and Distrustful
In the current Etsy product page, shipping fees are hard to locate, policies are buried in long blocks of text, and seller details are minimal. The excessive written information makes the page confusing and overwhelming, leaving buyers uncertain about total costs, delivery timelines, and seller reliability factors that often stall purchases or lead to cart abandonment.
Prices change or lack clarity during the purchase process, causing confusion and reducing buyer trust.
New Design: Clarity at a Glance: Organized, Transparent Product Details
The redesigned product page offers consistent pricing, upfront delivery and policy details, color swatches for quick selection. Clearly labeled tabs organize details into manageable sections reducing clutter and making it easy for shoppers to find the information they need with confidence.
Old Design 😕 : Hidden Costs and Irrelevant Suggestions
The current cart page hides taxes and shipping costs until late in checkout and shows irrelevant suggestions, making it hard for shoppers to gauge total spending or compare similar items.
New Design: From Confusion to Clarity
The redesigned cart page gives shoppers more control with flexible shipping options and a transparent price breakdown showing item costs, shipping per item, tax, and applied discounts. Relevant product suggestions now align with the selected item, making comparisons easier and supporting confident purchase decisions.
Confidence Starts with Conversation: Your Personal Pre-Purchase Chat
A new booking widget lets shoppers reserve a 15-minute live chat session with the seller to ask questions, clarify details, and address concerns in real time. This personal connection builds trust, reduces uncertainty, and helps buyers feel confident about completing their purchase.
Track Every Step of Your Order
The new “My Orders” page gives shoppers a clear overview of all purchases with real-time delivery tracking. Order details, shipping status, and estimated arrival dates are displayed in one place, making it easy for buyers to stay informed and plan with confidence.
User Testing
Feedbacks From Etsy Shoppers
