Daag – One-Step Checkout vs. Multi-Step Checkout (A/B test)

Context

For years the e-commerce industry has argued about how checkouts should be built to “improve UX” or lift conversion. Not long ago every industry “expert” was trumpeting the same line: a one-step checkout will lift your conversion, because it’s shorter, has fewer steps, and so on. Shipping a single-step checkout appeared on every so-called “checklist of tips for quickly lifting store conversion”. It was supposed to be the cure for abandoned carts.

But as so often in the world of trends and best practices, something billed as a “must-have” and a “universal solution” doesn’t necessarily work everywhere (see also: Best practices aren’t always best). Recently even a giant like E-obuwie, which stuck with a one-step checkout for years, moved to a multi-step model.

So does that mean every e-commerce business should do the same? How does it actually work? Surely something has to perform better.

To get past guesswork, we decided to test both approaches on a real example – in the Daag.pl store, running on the Shoper platform. Our goal was to check whether a multi-step checkout really would increase transactions compared with one-step.

A/B test

Before the test

1. We defined the goal and the metrics for the experiment.
2. We ran a pre-analysis using historical traffic and conversion data plus the MDE, to set the sample size and test duration.
3. We designed the multi-step checkout views.
4. We built the new checkout in our A/B testing tool.

Test variants

1. Version A: The original one-step checkout (the version the store used previously).
2. Version B: The new multi-step checkout.

Test results

Sample size:

1. Version A: 3,798 users.
2. Version B: 3,878 users.

Conversion rate (CR):

1. Version A: 64,93%.
2. Version B: 65,03%.

Difference: +0,16%.

Statistical analysis:

1. P-value: 0.46.
2. Result: The difference was not statistically significant.
3. Put differently: there’s no strong evidence that either checkout variant converts better.

Key takeaways

1. No clear winner.
   We found no evidence that either checkout variant converts significantly better. The difference between one-step and multi-step was minimal (+0.16%) and statistically meaningless.
2. Test instead of guessing.
   What works in one store may not work in another. For Daag.pl the results were neutral, but your store could be different.
3. Don’t follow trends blindly.
   Decisions by companies like E-obuwie can be an interesting signal, but they don’t mean you have to do the same. Every store has its own characteristics. What matters is making decisions on data rather than guesswork or passing trends.

What next?

For Daag.pl we recommended staying with the current one-step checkout. For other stores, though, we’d recommend similar tests to understand what works best for their customers.

Summary

The point of this case study isn’t to show that it makes no difference whether you ship a one-step or multi-step checkout. The point is to show that there are no universal solutions in e-commerce. Every store is different.

So don’t listen to opinions. Test, analyze and act on data. That’s the only way you’ll make decisions that deliver real benefit.

Digispot on the Daag owner’s podcast

If you’ve made it this far, this case study probably caught your interest. We’re glad it did. Want to learn more about CRO and A/B testing? As it happens, we recently appeared on the podcast of Daag’s owner, Oskar Lipiński.

Well worth a watch: