At&nbsp;Sierra Living Concepts&nbsp;(SLC), we identified that our cart and checkout process were not performing as expected. Customers were having trouble completing their purchases due to the complexity of the process, with long forms, unclear error messages, and no clear indication of the total cost until the very end. These issues led to increased abandonment rates and frustrated users.

The redesign focused on simplifying the checkout process, removing unnecessary steps, and making pricing more transparent. By optimizing the experience, the goal was to increase user engagement, reduce abandonment, and ultimately drive higher sales.

I served as the&nbsp;Lead UI/UX Designer&nbsp;for this project, collaborating closely with my Growth Product Manager (<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sss99/">Saswata S. SenGupta</a>) and the key stakeholders across the company throughout the entire process.

Problem 1:&nbsp;Distractions and Overload on Cart Page

Too many distractions on the cart page, such as excessive product recommendations and non-relevant information, cause users to abandon their carts.

The cart page is overloaded with other product recommendations for cross-selling purpose, leading users to navigate away from the page to explore other items.

By introducing unnecessary distractions, users are diverted from their primary intent to complete a purchase, thereby reducing the likelihood of conversion.

Problem 2:&nbsp;High Checkout Abandonment Rate

Users face challenges in completing the checkout process, leading to a consistently high abandonment rate.

The overall checkout abandonment rate has consistently remained high, with data showing a&nbsp;74.09%&nbsp;abandonment rate in Q2+Q3 and a&nbsp;70.77%&nbsp;abandonment rate in October-November. This points to users leaving the checkout process without completing their purchases.

A high abandonment rate indicates that a significant portion of potential revenue is being lost daily. This results in missed opportunities for conversions and a direct impact on overall sales and revenue.

Problem 3:&nbsp;Mobile and Desktop Multi-Checkout Flow Navigation and Form Field Issues

Users face difficulties with the checkout flow and form fields, both on desktop and mobile, due to a lack of inline validation and complex multi-page navigation.

Both&nbsp;mobile and desktop users encountered difficulties with navigation, particularly in viewing detailed pricing information and filling out address and payment fields. On mobile, users experienced pinch-zooming issues, making it challenging to view important details. Additionally, the unclear distinction between the billing and shipping address fields confused checkout.

These navigation and form field issues led to user frustration and confusion, resulting in increased abandonment rates across both mobile and desktop platforms. The lack of clarity and ease in completing the checkout process caused users to abandon their carts before completing their purchase, especially for mobile users who expect a seamless experience.

Problem 4:&nbsp;Complex Delivery Options and Confusion

The delivery options page includes too many choices and services, which confuses users and causes hesitation.

The delivery options page&nbsp;(Page 3)&nbsp;led to confusion due to too many details, including White Glove Service and Curbside Delivery options, causing a high abandonment rate.

When users are presented with too many choices or unclear pricing, they are more likely to abandon the checkout process. Simplifying delivery options and explanations can reduce friction.

Reduce cart and checkout abandonment rates

Redesigning the checkout process to be smoother and more intuitive will decrease abandonment rates, enhancing the user experience and increasing overall sales.

Improve conversion rates and revenue.

A streamlined, user-friendly checkout flow minimizes friction in the purchase process, directly improving conversion rates and leading to higher revenue.

Enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty

Addressing key pain points like surprise fees, confusing navigation, and poor mobile usability will create a seamless shopping experience that improves customer satisfaction and encourages repeat business.

Simplify the cart and checkout process.

Make the cart and checkout process easy to navigate and user-friendly, allowing customers to complete their purchases quickly without frustration or confusion.

Provide a transparent and personalized experience

Build purchase confidence by offering a transparent view of all costs and shipping options, along with personalization features to match user preferences.

Fully optimize the checkout for mobile shoppers with a responsive design featuring fast load times, intuitive navigation, and larger touch targets.

&nbsp;🚀 New Proposed User Flow For Cart &amp; Checkout Process

The&nbsp;new&nbsp;redesigned cart page strips away product recommendations and other detours, then layers a lightweight entry point for every type of shopper— quick sign-in, instant account creation, or one-step guest checkout—all inside modal overlays that keep the cart visible in the background.

Clear primary CTA — “Proceed to Checkout” — is the only dominant button, guiding attention straight to the next step.

Users stay in “checkout mode” — With recommendations and promotional widgets gone, there’s nothing tempting shoppers to wander off the page.

Stay in context — Sign-in, create-account, forgot-password, and guest-checkout panels open as modals; users never leave the cart or lose their place.

Mobile-friendly — Spacing and larger touch targets keep quantity edits or removals effortless, cutting friction for on-the-go shoppers

A single, Sticky Order Summary surfaces all costs (subtotal, discounts, total) in a glance, eliminating fee-shock surprises later.

Solution 2: Streamlined Address Entry &amp; Inline Validation

The legacy five-step funnel was collapsed into a lightning-fast, three-page flow—Cart → Address → Delivery &amp; Payment—with live totals, inline error handling, and a sticky order summary that travels down the screen on both desktop and mobile.

-26 % abandonment proven: GA4 shows checkout abandonment dropping from 73.10 % to 53.97 % within ten days of launch, far exceeding the –7.66 % lift seen in 2024’s same-period sale.

Live cost transparency: Shipping, tax, and discount calculations update instantly, eliminating the late-stage fee shock that previously drove 32% of exits.

Progress breadcrumb: Clearing the “Cart › Address › Delivery › Payment” header reassures users how close they are to completing the process, reducing abandonment due to uncertainty.

Solution 3: Streamlined Address Entry &amp; Inline Validation

The new Shipping Address page consolidates all contact and address fields into one clean screen, adds real-time error feedback, and keeps a collapsible order summary visible, eliminating pinch-zoom, page reloads, and confusion between billing and shipping details.

All mandatory fields appear in a logical top-to-bottom flow; no hidden sections or extra pages to navigate.

Inline validation highlights mistakes instantly (e.g., invalid ZIP, missing phone), guiding users before they hit Continue.

Desktop uses a two-column grid; mobile stacks full-width fields with generous touch targets—no pinch-zoom required.

Solution 4: Simplified Delivery Method Selector

The new checkout step shows only&nbsp;two clearly-labeled delivery cards—Curb-Side (free) and White-Glove (paid)—with concise bullet summaries and an upfront price, while the sticky order summary stays visible on mobile for instant cost confirmation.

Each card uses plain-language bullet points (“Room Placement,” “Full Assembly”) and a single, bold price, ending uncertainty about what’s included.&nbsp;

One-tap radio selection and an anchored “Continue” button streamline progress, cutting hesitation time.

Mobile layout stacks the same cards with thumb-friendly radio buttons and keeps the help-contact block handy,&nbsp;reducing abandonment on phones where choice overload was greatest.

Inline edit link for the Shipping Address allows quick corrections without back-tracking, preserving momentum.

A major challenge was the&nbsp;‘fee shock’&nbsp;caused by the late disclosure of shipping costs. We addressed this by incorporating a live shipping and tax estimator directly into the cart, providing cost transparency upfront. This addressed the transparency issue, building trust, and reducing cart abandonment.

Even after our major UX wins, there’s still room to squeeze out extra conversions and keep hesitant shoppers engaged. Here’s what I’d explore next:

Surface PayPal &amp; Affirm Express Buttons Early – Add one-tap “Pay with PayPal” and “Pay with Affirm” CTAs on the Cart and Address pages (not just on Payment) to let returning users skip card entry entirely and measure the lift in completion rate and checkout time.

Auto-Apply Best Coupon – Introduce a real-time “Apply Best Discount” toggle that scans active promo codes and applies the highest savings automatically, reducing coupon-hunt exits and nudging up AOV.

Smart Exit-Intent Pop-Up – Detects cursor movement toward the browser chrome or 15 seconds of inactivity and displays a personalized modal that: (1) shows the specific items left in the cart, (2) offers a limited-time incentive (such as free shipping or $50 off), and (3) allows shoppers to save their cart via email with one click—giving them a final, frictionless reason to stay and convert.

Leading the cart &amp; checkout rebuild has been a highlight of my time at SLC. Huge shout-out to the relentless product, dev, QA, and analytics teams who pushed this vision over the finish line. Thanks for following along&nbsp;✌️!

Focused on optimizing checkout flows to boost conversions and decrease abandonment for Sierra Living Concepts,  A brand of luxury furniture shoppers in U.S.




 (SLC), we identified that our cart and checkout process were not performing as expected. Customers were having trouble completing their purchases due to the 

complexity of the process, with long forms, unclear error messages, and no clear indication of the total cost until the very end.

 These issues led to increased abandonment rates and frustrated users.

 for this project, collaborating closely with my Growth Product Manager (

) and the key stakeholders across the company throughout the entire process.

Problem 1: Distractions and Overload on Cart Page

 such as excessive product recommendations and non-relevant information, cause users to abandon their carts.

overloaded with other product recommendations

 for cross-selling purpose, leading users to navigate away from the page to explore other items.

, users are diverted from their primary intent to complete a purchase, thereby reducing the likelihood of conversion.

Problem 2: High Checkout Abandonment Rate

 in completing the checkout process, leading to a consistently high abandonment rate.

The overall checkout abandonment rate has consistently remained high, with data showing a 

 abandonment rate in October-November. This points to users leaving the checkout process without completing their purchases.

A high abandonment rate indicates that a significant portion of 

 This results in missed opportunities for conversions and a direct impact on overall sales and revenue.

Problem 3: Mobile and Desktop Multi-Checkout Flow Navigation and Form Field Issues

 both on desktop and mobile, due to a lack of inline validation and complex multi-page navigation.

 mobile and desktop users encountered difficulties with navigation, particularly in viewing detailed pricing information and filling out address and payment fields. 

 users experienced pinch-zooming issues, making it challenging to view important details. Additionally, the 

These navigation and form field issues led to 

, resulting in increased abandonment rates across both mobile and desktop platforms. The lack of clarity and ease in completing the checkout process caused users to abandon their carts before completing their purchase, especially for mobile users who expect a seamless experience.

Problem 4: Complex Delivery Options and Confusion

 includes too many choices and services, which confuses users and causes hesitation.

 led to confusion due to too many details, including White Glove Service and Curbside Delivery options, causing a high abandonment rate.

, they are more likely to abandon the checkout process. Simplifying delivery options and explanations can reduce friction.

 🚀 New Proposed User Flow For Cart & Checkout Process

"I was responsible for the entire end-to-end design process, from initial research to a final, polished user interface"

 strips away product recommendations and other detours, then layers a lightweight entry point for every type of shopper— 

—all inside modal overlays that keep the cart visible in the background.

Solution 2: Streamlined Address Entry & Inline Validation

The legacy five-step funnel was collapsed into a lightning-fast, three-page flow

—Cart → Address → Delivery & Payment—

with live totals, inline error handling, and a sticky order summary that travels down the screen on both desktop and mobile.

Solution 3: Streamlined Address Entry & Inline Validation

into one clean screen, adds real-time error feedback, and keeps a collapsible order summary visible, eliminating pinch-zoom, page reloads, and confusion between billing and shipping details.

—Curb-Side (free) and White-Glove (paid)—with concise bullet summaries and an upfront price, while the sticky order summary stays visible on mobile for instant cost confirmation.

 caused by the late disclosure of shipping costs. We addressed this by incorporating a 

 directly into the cart, providing cost transparency upfront. This addressed the transparency issue, building trust, and reducing cart abandonment.

Even after our major UX wins, there’s still room to squeeze out extra conversions and keep hesitant shoppers engaged. 

Leading the cart & checkout rebuild has been a highlight of my time at 

. Huge shout-out to the relentless product, dev, QA, and analytics teams who pushed this vision over the finish line. Thanks for following along ✌️!

Redesigning Cart & Checkout, Reducing Abandonment by 26% Across 480k User Sessions.