I’ve been spending a lot of time lately thinking about the small things that make big differences in ecommerce experiences. One issue that’s popped up again and again, both in conversations with merchants and from my own online shopping frustrations, is surprise checkout costs.

You know the drill: you see a product, decide to buy it, add it to your basket, start checkout, and then BAM; unexpected shipping fees, handling charges, or taxes appear. Instantly, your enthusiasm evaporates, and you’re tempted (or more likely) to abandon the cart entirely.

Why this matters (and what the data says)

This isn’t just anecdotal frustration. The latest research from Baymard Institute (2025) shows that 39% of shoppers who abandon their carts, do so specifically due to hidden or unexpected extra costs like shipping or tax fees.

Think about that: nearly two in every five people who wanted to buy something changed their minds solely because the site wasn’t upfront about costs.

You can check out Baymard’s detailed research here: Baymard Cart Abandonment Study.

The actual business impact

Let’s run the numbers with Baymard’s ~70% industry-average cart-abandonment rate as the baseline:

• 2,000 initiated checkouts each month
• £50 average order value (AOV)
• 70% abandoned carts overall equates to 1,400 lost orders
• 39% of those abandon because of hidden fees, resulting in ~546 orders lost

That’s roughly £27,300 in revenue lost every single month, or about £328,000 per year, simply because costs weren’t transparent early enough.

A simple way to fix this

Fixing this doesn’t require fancy tech or extensive redesigns. The principle is straightforward: be transparent about costs as early as possible.

• Include shipping cost info, or a shipping cost estimator right on the product page.
• Display taxes and fees clearly in the shopping basket before customers get to checkout.
• Use a dynamic “order total” indicator that updates as customers select options.
• Utilise and display free shipping, or incorporate it into product prices.
• Ensure no new costs pop up after the customer clicks “Proceed to Checkout.”

This approach isn’t just good UX; it’s good business.