Customer journey in eCommerce: where companies lose revenue
eCommerce
Many eCommerce companies invest large budgets in marketing, performance campaigns and traffic generation. Nevertheless, the desired sales often fail to materialise. The reason is rarely a lack of visitors, but much more often breaks along the customer journey. Customers come to the shop, interact with products – and leave again without buying anything.
The customer journey describes all the stages a customer goes through from initial contact to purchase and beyond. Those who fail to understand and optimise this journey holistically lose revenue at crucial points – often without even noticing.
The customer journey is not a linear funnel
A common mistake in eCommerce is the assumption that the customer journey is linear: attention → product → purchase. In reality, users jump between channels, compare offers, return multiple times or abandon processes only to return later.
The customer journey consists of many touchpoints: advertisements, social media, search engines, product pages, shopping cart, checkout, shipping communication and customer service. Each of these points influences the purchase decision. If even one touchpoint does not meet expectations, the likelihood of abandonment increases significantly.
Companies that view their journey solely from the perspective of the shop often overlook significant revenue losses that occur before or after the actual purchase.
Loss of revenue in the awareness phase: when expectations are not met
The first critical point in the customer journey comes right at the beginning: expectations. Marketing messages, advertisements and social media posts make certain promises – for example, regarding price, availability, delivery times or product selection. If these promises are not fulfilled on the website, this immediately leads to a breach of trust.
Typical problems are:
- inappropriate landing pages
- missing information about shipping or availability
- prices different from those advertised
Visitors often leave the shop within seconds if their expectations and reality do not match. This results in a loss of revenue, even though the traffic was purchased at great expense.
Product discovery & navigation: When users can’t find what they’re looking for
Another significant loss of revenue occurs during the product discovery phase. Users come to the shop with a clear expectation or a specific need. If they cannot find products quickly, they abandon their search.
Common causes are:
- confusing navigation
- missing or poor filters
- imprecise search functions
- overloaded product categories
Studies show that users have little patience. If the product search is not intuitive, the shop will be perceived as unprofessional – regardless of product quality or price.
The checkout: The biggest sales killer in e-commerce
The checkout is one of the most well-known and, at the same time, most expensive points of abandonment in the customer journey. On average, around 70% of all shopping baskets are abandoned. The reasons for this are usually not the price or the product, but friction in the process.
Common checkout issues:
- too many forms
- mandatory registration
- unclear shipping costs
- missing payment methods
- lack of trust
Every additional step increases the likelihood of abandonment. Companies lose revenue here, even though there is already interest in purchasing.
Compulsory registration and unnecessary barriers
A particularly critical point in the checkout process is early or mandatory registration. Many users want to buy quickly – without first having to create an account, assign passwords or confirm emails.
Mandatory registrations feel like extra work and cause users to abandon their purchase or postpone it until later. This is a significant hurdle, especially for first-time purchases, and has been proven to cost revenue.
The journey does not end with the purchase
An often underestimated sales factor lies after checkout. Many companies view the completion of a purchase as the goal of the customer journey – but this is only the beginning of the customer loyalty phase.
Problems after purchase include, for example:
- unclear delivery information
- delayed delivery
- complicated returns
- poor customer service
A negative experience after purchase means that customers will not return – even if they were impressed by the shop beforehand. The lost revenue is not immediately apparent, but rather in the form of a lack of repeat purchases.
Compulsory registration and unnecessary barriers
Many sales losses along the customer journey remain invisible because they are not measured accurately. Companies analyse conversion rates or abandonments, but rarely consider the entire journey, including the pre- and post-purchase phases.
Without customer journey mapping and clear KPIs per touchpoint, it remains unclear:
- where users drop out
- why they jump off
- which optimisation would have the greatest leverage
Those who only optimise at the end of the funnel are wasting enormous revenue potential.
Conclusion: Losses in revenue occur in many small areas
The customer journey in e-commerce is complex and fragmented. Losses in revenue do not occur at a single point, but rather at many small points of friction throughout the entire journey. From initial expectations to navigation and product pages to checkout and the after-sales experience – every touchpoint counts.
Companies that understand their customer journey holistically and consistently optimise it from the user’s perspective not only secure more deals, but also long-term customer loyalty and sustainable revenue.
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