How much of your Black Friday budget goes towards attracting a customer who gets to the checkout stage and, with the last few clicks, closes the tab? That's the most thankless calculation in e-commerce: paying dearly for traffic and losing the sale exactly where it almost happened. The checkout, the final stage of the purchase, is usually the most neglected point in the operation.
The numbers show the size of the problem. The average shopping cart abandonment rate recorded in online stores is 70,22% , according to the Baymard Institute , a leading research firm in e-commerce usability. Not all abandonment is due to an error, as some people are just browsing. But a large portion gives up because of concrete failures in the checkout process, and these failures are correctable.
With about a month and a half to go until Black Friday, there's still time to calmly review your checkout process and adjust what, on peak day, could become a lost sale. Therefore, we've listed below the seven most common mistakes and what to do about each one before the date.
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Checkout on Black Friday: what determines the sale during payment?
- The average shopping cart abandonment rate is 70,22% (Baymard Institute).Recovering even a portion of that already changes the revenue for that date.
- The number one reason for abandoning an item at checkout is high extra cost. (shipping, taxes and fees that only appear at the end), cited by 40% of consumers. (Baymard).
- Requiring account creation before purchase drives away 18% of buyers. Offering guest checkout unlocks the purchase.
- In Brazil, 75% of consumers shop via mobile phone (Tray/Bling/Octadesk/Vindi survey, 2025). A checkout process that doesn't work well on mobile loses the majority of customers.
- Pix has gained ground: 38% of consumers intended to use it on Black Friday 2025 (ecosystem survey). LWSALacking a payment method means losing a sale.
- Almost none of this requires redoing the store. These are adjustments, and it's possible to make them now, before the peak.
7 checkout mistakes that make customers abandon their checkout process on Black Friday
1. Show the total cost only in the last step.
It's the most expensive mistake of all. When shipping, taxes, and fees only appear at checkout, the value the customer had in mind suddenly changes, and they give up. Among consumers who abandon the checkout process, 40% cite high extra costs as the reason, the highest rate in the Baymard Institute survey.
The solution isn't to hide the cost, but to anticipate it. Show the estimated shipping cost on the product page or in the shopping cart and clearly state the free shipping policy. On Black Friday, when consumers are constantly comparing prices, transparency regarding the final price sustains conversions.
2. Forcing the customer to create an account before buying.
Requiring complete registration before payment hinders impulse buying , which drives a large part of Black Friday. The data confirms this: 18% of consumers abandon the checkout because the store requires creating an account (Baymard).
The solution is to allow checkout as a guest. Let the person buy with minimal information and offer account creation afterward as a convenience, not as a barrier. Registration still happens, it just doesn't interfere with the sale.
3. Asking for too much information and prolonging the process.
Each additional field represents a chance of abandonment. Long checkouts, with repeated steps and lengthy forms, tire the customer: 17% abandon the process because they consider it time-consuming or complicated (Baymard).
Review the form and cut out anything that isn't essential for invoicing and delivery. Use automatic address completion by zip code, fewer steps, and a clear indication of progress . The shorter the path to the pay button, the less loss there is.
4. Treating the cell phone as a minor detail.
In Brazil, 75% of consumers use their cell phones to shop online (Tray/Bling/Octadesk/Vindi survey, 2025) . Even so, many checkouts are designed for desktop computers and only adapted for small screens. Buttons that are difficult to touch, fields that open the wrong keyboard, and tiny text push customers away.
Test the mobile checkout process as a customer would, from ad to payment. On Black Friday, a large portion of traffic comes directly from social media to mobile devices, and that's where the checkout needs to work seamlessly.
5. Offering few payment methods
When customers can't find their preferred payment method, they leave: 9% abandon the checkout due to a lack of payment options (Baymard). In Brazil, this has become critical with the rise of Pix — 38% of consumers intended to use it on Black Friday 2025 (survey by the LWSA ecosystem) — while installment payments remain the preference of most customers.
The checkout process needs to cover the country's main payment methods: Pix, credit cards with installment payments, and digital wallets. Offering Pix with a small discount can even speed up the decision without impacting profit margins like long-term installment plans.
6. Failing to convey confidence when providing card information.
Distrust hinders purchases. Among those who abandon the checkout process, 19% say they didn't trust the website enough to enter their card details (Baymard). On Black Friday, with people shopping at unfamiliar stores, this apprehension increases.
Simple signs help: a visible security seal, padlock and HTTPS, logos of payment methods and card brands, a clear return policy, and readily available contact channels. A checkout that appears secure reduces hesitation at the most sensitive moment of the purchase.
7. Not being able to handle the peak traffic.
It's no use fixing all of the above if the store crashes on that day. Slow speeds, errors, and instability silently bring down sales: 17% of consumers abandon checkout when the site has errors or crashes (Baymard). With traffic far above normal on that date, the risk multiplies.
Therefore, load testing needs to happen beforehand, not during. Evaluate the store's performance under simulated peak load, review payment and shipping integrations, and have a plan to act quickly if something goes wrong during the day. Stability is key here.
It can be corrected in time.
The seven mistakes have something in common: none of them require rebuilding the store. They are adjustments to transparency, forms, payment methods, trust, and infrastructure, all possible within the window of opportunity that still exists until Black Friday. What you can't do is leave it until the week of the event, when any change becomes a risk.
Review your checkout before the date.
Black Friday doesn't just reward those who attract the most traffic, but those who convert that traffic into sales. A well-designed checkout process ensures that your media investment doesn't go down the drain with just a few clicks.
If you want to reach the date with a revised checkout process, the e-Plus team can help in two ways. With CS Flex , you coordinate access to experts in development, UX, data, and platform to adjust the checkout in VTEX or Shopify without building an internal structure from scratch. And, with Media Management , you can recover some of those who abandoned their cart with remarketing campaigns in the final stretch. To continue preparing, explore the other content in the Black Friday series on the e-Plus blog.
Frequently asked questions about checkout on Black Friday
What is the average shopping cart abandonment rate in e-commerce?
The average documented shopping cart abandonment rate is 70,22%, according to the Baymard Institute, which compiles dozens of studies on the subject. Some of this abandonment comes from people who are just browsing, but a significant portion gives up due to checkout friction points that can be corrected.
What is the main reason for people abandoning their checkout process?
The main reason is the high extra cost. According to the Baymard Institute, 40% of consumers who abandon the checkout process cite shipping costs, taxes, and fees that only appear at the end as the reason for abandoning their purchase. Anticipating these costs during the customer journey is the most effective solution.
How to reduce checkout abandonment on Black Friday?
To reduce abandonment, show total costs early, offer guest checkout, reduce form fields, ensure a good mobile experience, include Pix and installment payments, and test store stability before the peak. These are adjustments that can be made in the weeks leading up to the date.
Is it worth offering Pix at checkout?
Yes. Pix has become one of the most sought-after payment methods in Brazil: 38% of consumers intended to use it on Black Friday 2025, according to a survey by the LWSA ecosystem. Not offering Pix means losing sales to those who have already decided to buy but can't find their preferred payment method.
