Boutique e-commerce (fashion)
Velvet Row
Clarity at cart for cross-border buyers
International buyers hesitated at the last step: duties, delivery windows, and return costs weren’t visible early enough. The fix wasn’t a new payment provider—it was information architecture in the cart and calmer error handling.
Context
The brand’s domestic flow was strong; cross-border was a minority of revenue but a majority of support tickets.
Legal required accurate duty disclaimers without turning checkout into a law textbook.
Constraints
No change to core payment processor; improvements had to be presentation and timing.
Mobile-first: most international sessions were phones.
Research
We correlated exit pages with shipping method selection; hesitation clustered before payment when totals shifted.
Support logs were categorized: ‘unexpected fees’ vs. ‘timing’ vs. ‘returns’—three different copy strategies.
Approach
Totals communicate duty estimates earlier with links to policy; returns summary sits beside size selection prompts for international shoppers.
Error states explain what failed and what to try next—no generic ‘something went wrong.’
Delivery
We staged changes behind a feature flag by region to measure impact without risking domestic flows.
Transactional emails mirror checkout language so post-purchase anxiety drops.
Outcomes (directional)
Support tickets about surprise fees declined after estimates moved earlier in the path.
Cart recovery emails referenced the same language for consistency.
Stack & integrations
- WooCommerce checkout
- Regional shipping APIs
- Email templates