A High-Consideration Ecommerce Friction Checklist

Confidence is part of conversion

When I look at a high-consideration retail site, I ask how we make it easier for the customer to do business with us. That goes beyond whether the page is easy to use. Customers are deciding whether the product will fit, whether the company can deliver it, whether the total cost is acceptable and what happens if something goes wrong.

In high-consideration categories, removing friction mostly means answering the customer's doubts before they have to ask.

Discovery and comparison

• Can customers search using their own language rather than the retailer’s taxonomy?
• Do filters reflect the attributes that actually determine fit?
• Can customers compare meaningful differences without opening many tabs?
• Are zero-result searches and failed refinements reviewed regularly?

Product and fit

• Are dimensions, compatibility, materials, care, installation and limitations explicit?
• Do images show scale, detail and relevant configurations?
• Are variants connected correctly and consistently across the page, feed and structured data?
• Does the content explain who the product is best for and when it is not the right choice?

Price and financing

• Is the full price clear, including required accessories, delivery, installation and service?
• Are financing terms understandable before checkout?
• Do promotion messages remain consistent across listing pages, product pages, cart and checkout?

Inventory and delivery

• Can the customer see whether the exact variant is available for the relevant location?
• Are delivery dates promises the operation can reliably keep?
• Are pickup, room-of-choice, installation and haul-away choices explained before checkout?

Service and post-purchase

• Are returns, cancellations, warranties, damage claims and service contacts easy to find?
• Does order communication set accurate expectations?
• Can store, service and digital teams see enough context to resolve the issue without restarting the conversation?

How to prioritize

Combine analytics with customer-service contacts, site-search data, research, returns and operational failure data. Prioritize issues by customer impact, likely effect on conversion and revenue, frequency, effort and dependencies. Use evidence where it is available and make assumptions explicit.

Do not begin with a redesign backlog. Begin with the moments where uncertainty causes abandonment, the wrong purchase, a costly return or a broken promise. Those are the friction points most worth solving.

About the author

Jeff Douglas

I bring 20+ years of ecommerce leadership experience, including revenue and budgeting responsibilities, customer experience and digital marketing leadership, Salesforce Commerce Cloud modernization and high-consideration retail. I advise businesses on customer experience, growth priorities, technology and AI-driven discovery.

Experience