E-commerce website: invest in the right areas
For e-commerce, the point that makes or breaks sales is not a beautiful homepage but the product flow and the checkout step.
Prioritize optimizing the product page and payment flow before beautifying the homepage. Remove all unnecessary barriers between customers and the order button: allow purchases without creating an account, disclose all costs early, and ensure the flow works well on mobile. Aesthetics are necessary for trust, but the decision-making flow is what ultimately leads to sales.
- small catalog, high unit price, needs product pages that tell stories and signal trust
- large catalog with many SKUs needing investment in search, filtering, and classification
- first-time customers make up the majority, guest checkout and transparent costs are essential
- Require account creation before allowing purchases
- Conceal shipping fees and additional charges until the final step.
The most frequent question Sinh Vũ hears when consulting on e-commerce websites is: "Our site looks fine, so why are orders still low?" In most cases, the answer does not lie in colors or the homepage banner. It lies in a decision flow that gets stuck in the middle, often on the product page or during checkout, causing customers to leave without stating a reason.
Two points that create orders.
For e-commerce, the customer journey spans multiple pages, but there are only two points that truly determine whether a purchase is made.
Product page is where you make the purchasing decision. Images must provide enough angles so you don’t need to ask for more. Descriptions should address your concerns directly, not just list specifications. Prices and shipping fees must be clearly displayed before you click any button.
The checkout step is where customers finalize their decisions. According to research by the Baymard Institute, the design and flow of the checkout step are the most common direct causes of cart abandonment. Any unnecessary steps, fields, or unresolved barriers will lead to dropped orders.
Barriers are often overlooked
Sinh Vũ often sees the following points causing lost orders that shop owners overlook:
- Forcing account creation before purchase: The Baymard Institute confirms this is one of the most common cart abandonment barriers. Allowing guest checkout as the default, rather than a hidden option, is essential.
- Hide fees until the last step: Announcing all costs early and fully, including price, shipping fees, and additional charges, before asking for payment information is one of the four factors that create a sense of trust according to the Nielsen Norman Group. Customers seeing the total increase at the last step will abandon their cart immediately.
- Faded or missing call-to-action button: The main call to action must be prominent, clear, and not competing for visibility with other elements.
- Lack of trust signals: Genuine reviews from previous buyers, clear return policies, real contact information, and privacy commitments. According to Nielsen Norman Group, customers need to meet the trust level at the bottom before they are willing to fill in information and click to pay.
- Poor mobile experience: Most shopping traffic in Vietnam comes from mobile devices. Small buttons, difficult-to-use fields on small screens, or slow-loading pages disrupt the flow on the devices customers actually use.
Choose an investment direction based on type
Small catalog, high unit value (specialty items, premium cosmetics, gifts): focus efforts on storytelling product pages and trust signals, a streamlined checkout on one page is sufficient. Customers need to be convinced before spending a large amount, so content and social proof are more important than filtering speed.
Large catalog, many items: invest in searching, filtering, and categorizing products before worrying about checkout. If customers cannot find items, they cannot proceed to purchase. Once the search flow is stable, then optimize the payment process.
Regarding payment and delivery methods: they must align with the habits of specific customer segments. Vietnamese customers are accustomed to paying upon delivery, using QR transfers, and popular e-wallets. Missing any payment method that customers are currently using could result in losing the order at the final step. Integrating payment gateways and managing delivery requires technical teams or specialized platforms to collaborate, not just design work.
The design and flow of the checkout process are often the direct cause of cart abandonment. Optimizing checkout is the biggest conversion lever for e-commerce websites.
Baymard Institute, Checkout Usability Research
The viewpoint of Sinh Vũ
Sinh Vũ builds sales websites based on how customers make decisions, not from a generic design framework. The customer journey map and content strategy must come first, followed by the interface. The two aspects Sinh Vũ scrutinizes most in all e-commerce projects are the product page and the checkout process, as this is where money either changes hands or does not.
What Sinh Vũ does not promise is a specific conversion number applicable to all industries and products. Improving the experience in the right places will reduce drop-off rates and increase order completion rates, but the extent depends on the product, client base, and the quality of existing traffic. You need to measure your actual drop-off points before deciding where to prioritize investment.
Decision checklist
Topic: Digital experience for e-commerce: what to prioritize first?. Sinh Vũ guide, sinhvu.com
Select each item you find appropriate, then print or save as PDF to take with you.
If you have marked most of the signs above, this is the time to discuss in more detail. Sinh Vũ can help you review and propose a direction.
References
Baymard Institute, Cart & Checkout Usability Research; Baymard Institute, Checkout UX Best Practices; Nielsen Norman Group, Trust and Credibility: Ecommerce UX; Nielsen Norman Group, Trustworthy Design: 4 Credibility Factors. Practical experience from Sinh Vũ Studio.
Frequently asked questions
Does a multi-step checkout really affect order rates?
Yes, and this is one of the most common reasons for cart abandonment recorded in the Baymard Institute's research. Every unnecessary step, every unnecessary field, and every forced account creation adds friction for customers. There is no need for absolute numbers: the principle is that less is better, and you should measure specific drop-off points based on your own data.
Is it necessary to invest in an impressive homepage?
It’s not the top priority. A good homepage helps guide and build initial trust, but customers visiting the product page and checkout are when the decision to spend money is made. Therefore, focus your budget and time on those two points first, and work on the homepage after the main flow is stable.
What payment methods are needed for e-commerce websites in Vietnam?
It depends on the specific customer base, but generally, Vietnamese customers tend to prefer payment upon delivery, QR transfers, and popular e-wallets. Missing any payment method that regular customers use can result in losing the order at the final step. Sinh Vũ considers this in the design flow, while integrating payment gateways requires technical teams or specialized platforms to coordinate.