Funnel Analysis
Part of Ecommerce conversion funnels
Separating checkout failures from abandoned browsing
Separate browsing exits, incomplete checkouts and recorded failures using funnel observations alongside order and payment evidence.
Call a checkout action a failure when an attempted action carries an error or other recorded failure outcome. A product or basket visit with no observed checkout entry is a browsing or basket exit. Checkout entry with no completed order and no recorded error is an incomplete checkout whose reason is unknown.
Classify the evidence
Choose an observation window and a counting unit, such as sessions, checkouts or payment attempts. Do not add those units together. Use the best available evidence for each record:
| Evidence | Working classification | Next check |
|---|---|---|
| Product or basket activity, with no checkout entry observed | Browsing or basket exit | Check whether another route entered checkout without being tracked. |
| Checkout entry, with no matched completed order or recorded error | Incomplete checkout; reason unknown | Check later orders, route coverage and the observation window. |
| Submitted action with a recorded validation, payment or service error | Recorded failure at that action | Inspect the message and any retry outcome. |
| Matched qualifying order | Completed order under the store’s rule | Check whether analytics also observed the purchase. |
E-commerce analytics events can describe observed shopping actions when collected, but a gap in an event trail does not identify its cause. Check whether the store has a separate shipping step before interpreting stage gaps, and check order records before treating a missing purchase event as proof that no order exists.
Classifying Checkout Events: Browsing, Incomplete, and Failed Checkouts
- Browsing or Basket Exit
- Product or basket activity with no checkout entry observed
- Incomplete Checkout (Unknown Reason)
- Checkout entry with no completed order or recorded error
- Recorded Failure
- Submitted action with validation, payment, or service error
- Completed Order
- Matched qualifying order under store rules
Check transaction evidence
Where available, inspect checkout or payment attempts beside the event trail. In Shopify, a payment attempt recorded on an abandoned checkout can appear in that checkout’s Timeline, while successful payment events are inspected in the order Timeline. The abandoned-checkout list is not a complete register of checkout difficulties: Shopify excludes some suspected automated attempts, and its abandoned-checkout definition has eligibility and timing conditions.
Match records using permitted identifiers, time, route and order status. Keep a failed attempt separate from its checkout outcome: a shopper may retry and complete the order.
A declined payment, a form error and unavailable stock point to different investigations. Silence in a funnel does not reveal a shopper’s motive.
Checkout Journey: Tracking Payment Attempts in Shopify
- Payment Attempt Recorded
- Appears in abandoned checkout Timeline
- Successful Payment Event
- Found in order Timeline
- Excluded Automated Attempts
- Not included in abandoned-checkout list
Report the groups separately
Check that the observation window allows later purchases to appear and that purchase tracking covers the routes being compared. Identify qualifying orders with no observed analytics purchase event before counting checkout entrants as non-purchasers. If the analysis is checkout-level, count each checkout once and report repeated attempts separately.
Group explicit errors by action and available message. Leave records without an error signal in an unknown-reason group. If failures cluster on one route, that route warrants investigation. If incomplete checkouts rise without recorded errors, examine the journey and tracking coverage before assigning a cause.
Report browsing or basket exits, incomplete checkouts, recorded failed attempts and unresolved matches with their respective units and observation window.
Key Metrics for Checkout Analysis in Australia
- Observation Window
- Ensure it captures later purchases
- Purchase Tracking Coverage
- Must include all routes being compared
- Failed Attempt vs. Outcome
- Keep separate even if retry completes
