You are a Product Manager at Amazon, and the checkout conversion rate has declined. What steps would you take to address and improve this?

Checkout conversion has declined at Amazon

Is it geography specific? India

Is it gradual or sudden? Since when? Last 1 week

Is it specific to android or iOS? Overall

Metrics to track -

Order completion rate

Checkout conversion rate

Funnel metrics -

Checkout -> Order placed

Check out -> Shipping details page

Shipping details -> Payment page

Payment page -> Order placed

Check out -> Shipping details page

• The checkout button is not working
• The prices have increased
• The inventory got out of stock
• Delivery charges got added

Shipping details -> Payment page

• Too much time to load
• Users are not able to see the saved addresses

Payment page -> Order placed

• Payment method down
• Payment method not available
• EMI option not avaialble
• COD option not available
• Payment failure
• No discount coupons

Clarifying Questions:

1) Is there any paticular product category accross which we observed this? (say grocery, electronics)

2) Are we observing this for any particular segment of users/geography?

3) Are we observing this for web app/ mobile app? Any particular OS like Androne/IOS?

4) How long has this declined? was the decline gradual/fast?

5) Has there been any change in the way we are calculating the metrics?

Answers/Assumptions 

1) Accross all segments

2) No

3) No

4) 2 months, gradual

5) No

Next I would segment my analysis into :

1) System Related Issues - Any change in feature that might have introduced a bug, any database issue

2) Internal Factors - Analyse the funnel with metrics  

3) External Factors - Any new competitor, Discounts & offers by competitors, faster delivery services by competitors

Funnel Analysis 

Added to Cart 

-> Checkout (Click Through Rate on the CheckOut Option)

 -> Add Address ( % of new addresses added)

-> Check Delivery Dates ( CTR on the Next Button after checking the delivery dates)

-> Select Payment Method ( % of new payment methods added, CTR on Submit & Pay Option after checking the final price, CTR on the offers button, % of orders where offers have been applied)

-> Submit & Pay ( No. of payment failures)

CTR on Submit & Pay option has decreased.

This is due to less number of card offers over the past few months.

Improvement

Short Term

1) Give discount coupons on high order values like points on Amazon Voucher

Long Term

1) Partner with more payment companies to give attractive offers to customers.

I begin by asking some clarifying questions:

1. Is the drop consistent across all geographies(Can vs US), device types (App/Web/Tablet) and user types (new/returning)  
2. Is this a sudden drop or have we seen a downward trend? if so, how long have we been experiencing a decline? 
3. Is the conversion decline across all product groups, or is it isolated to specific product categories (electronics, grocery, prime, etc) 
4. Are there any external factors such as market or seasonal trends impacting purchase behavior (Interest rates, etc) 
5. Are there any current/ongoing experiments or recent releases that might be linked to the drop in conversion at checkout? (UI changes to checkout flow, additional steps added, etc) 

Next, I would look into reporting related to checkout: 

1. Are there any issues with payments or payment methods not working? 
2. Are costs such as shipping, taxes, delivery dates, and/or out-of-stock items causing checkout abandonment 
3. Have any technical issues been reported? (Page load speed, broken elements, bugs reported) 
4. Is there any known or recent customer feedback around confusion at checkout? 
5. Review any user behavior using, heatmaps, and session recording and highlight any drop-off points that can be linked to the dip
    

• The decline reason is actionable and not due to seasonality or normal customer patterns 
•  
• Technical or UX issues could be contributing factors.
• A complex checkout experience or hidden fees could be causing friction.
• External factors such as competitor pricing or macroeconomic conditions could play a role.
• Understanding where customers drop off and why will guide the solution approach.
• This is across all geographies, device types and, user types
   

Define the problem statement:

Amazon has seen a drop in checkout conversions, impacting both revenue and the customer experience. Several factors may be driving this decline, such as updates to the checkout flow, payment failures, unexpected costs, or delivery timelines. To address this, it’s crucial to pinpoint friction points within the funnel, identify any technical issues or recent changes are a causes of abandonment.
 

Objective/Key Metrics: 

The primary objective is to increase the checkout conversion rate by identifying and eliminating friction points and/or technical issues throughout the checkout flow. 

- Cart Abandonment 

- Checkout Conversion Rate 

- Time to checkout 

How I think about this problem! 

When I think about tackling a problem related to a decline in conversion, I approach the problem sysyematically, and I focus on identifying root causes (if any) and prioritizing the solutions based on the impact, feasibility and effort. 

Broadly, I would approach the problem in 3 categories: 

Technical Issues: System errors, performance issues, or bugs introduced.
User Experience and Usability: Complex flow, confusing elements, or extra friction steps. 
External Factors: Competitor actions, economic shifts, or changes in user behavior. although I mention this as an assumption it is still something I would approach to eliminate. 

Then I would complete the following actions: 

Analyze the data & Funnel Drop-offs 

1. Use analytics tools to identify where users are dropping off. 
2. Examine the checkout funnel step-by-step (cart --> address --> payment --> confirmation) 
3. Identify if there are any technical issues such as load speed, performance issues, payment bugs, or payment errors being reported

1.  Identify ig recent changes to the checkout flow can be correlated to the decline (UI updates, experiments, add/removing of payment methods) 

1. Gather and collect customer feedback through complaints, surveys, interviews or social media
2. Setup exit-intent surveys to collect insights from users abandoning checkout 
3. Use Hotjar or other software to watch real-user sessions to see how customers interact with checkout 

Based on the learning and findings I would build hypothesis on how to address the problem and then focus on the ones with the highest potential impact on conversion (eg. removing unecessary steps, or fixing the broken payment method).
 

Implement & Experiment 

I would address any known bugs or obvious UI issues immediately (slow pages, or redundant form fields), ensure payment methods across all devices are working correctly. 

Finally, I would test specific improvements to see their impacts on conversions and test out different devices to ensure consistency and usability across all platforms.

In sum, I would always start with asking clarifying questions and removing assumptions or biases first. Next, I identify the problem statement and goals linked to it. Thirdly, I take a systematical approach to solving the problem by breaking it down and completing a root cause analysis. Finally, I work with our engineers, designers and stakeholders to to identify the key steps to be taken in order to improve the conversion at checkout. 

If I had known more of the clarifying questions, my approach may be different with more known details. I guess that is the beauty of product management!