Every percentage point of checkout conversion represents real revenue. Today we are launching Checkout 2.0, a complete redesign focused on one metric: completion rate.
The Problem with Checkout
We analyzed 2.3 million checkout sessions across Hanzo merchants. The findings were stark:
- 68% of carts were abandoned
- Average checkout took 4.2 minutes
- Mobile conversion was 40% lower than desktop
- Payment errors caused 23% of abandonments
Checkout was where sales went to die.
Design Principles
Checkout 2.0 follows three principles:
1. Remove Everything Unnecessary
We audited every field, every click, every decision point. If it did not directly contribute to completing the purchase, we removed it.
- Shipping and billing address combined by default
- Guest checkout prominent (account creation optional, post-purchase)
- Single-page layout eliminates step anxiety
2. Reduce Cognitive Load
Decisions slow people down. We made smart defaults:
- Shipping method pre-selected based on location and cart value
- Payment method remembered and pre-filled
- Form fields auto-formatted and validated in real-time
3. Eliminate Errors
Every error message is a potential abandonment:
- Address autocomplete prevents typos
- Card validation happens client-side, instantly
- Clear error messages with specific remediation
Mobile First
Checkout 2.0 was designed mobile-first:
- Touch-optimized input fields
- Native mobile payment (Apple Pay, Google Pay) prominent
- Keyboard optimized for each field type
- Progress saves automatically
Mobile conversion in testing: up 52%.
Technical Implementation
Checkout 2.0 is:
Embeddable: Drop-in component for any website
<hanzo-checkout api-key="pk_live_xxx"></hanzo-checkout>Customizable: Full CSS control, or use our themes
Accessible: WCAG 2.1 AA compliant
Fast: Under 50KB, loads in parallel with your page
Results
Beta merchants saw:
- 23% increase in checkout completion
- 31% reduction in checkout time
- 45% fewer support tickets about checkout
- 52% improvement in mobile conversion
Migration
Existing merchants can upgrade with one line change. Your current settings, payment methods, and integrations continue working.
New merchants get Checkout 2.0 by default.
What's Next
Checkout 2.0 is the foundation. Coming soon:
- One-click checkout for returning customers
- Buy-now-pay-later integrations
- Cryptocurrency payments
- Localized checkout experiences
Every sale matters. Checkout 2.0 ensures fewer sales slip away.
Zach Kelling is the founder of Hanzo Industries.
Read more
Hanzo Checkout: 47% Less Cart Abandonment, Formally Proven
The Checkout paper, March 2018: one-click checkout, 47% cart abandonment reduction, PCI DSS Level 1, payment state machine with formal safety proofs, 2,000+ merchants, $1.2B annually.
Designing for Pre-Sales: The Crowdfunding Commerce Playbook
Pre-sale commerce is psychologically different from regular retail. We spent 2013 designing for the patterns that actually convert backers to buyers.
Hanzo Vault: PCI-Compliant Card Tokenization for AI Commerce
Hanzo Vault is a PCI-compliant card tokenization service — isolating cardholder data from your application so you handle tokens, not sensitive payment information.