Conversion
Adult conversion optimisation, with nothing hidden at checkout
Adult conversion optimisation usually finds its biggest gains in the checkout, where most carts are lost. The leading cause is costs that appear late, which is also exactly what Australia's new drip pricing rules target. We help lawful adult stores lift conversion by making the whole path clearer, faster and more discreet, and we test every change on real behaviour.
- Cartitems added
- Detailsdelivery and contact
- Paymentcard or wallet
- Orderconfirmed
Four fixes we usually start with
- 01Show the full price early
Delivery and any fees visible on the product page, not revealed at the last step
- 02Let people check out as guests
An account can be offered after purchase, never forced before it
- 03Explain discreet billing
What appears on the bank statement and on the parcel, stated plainly
- 04Shorten the checkout
Only the fields the order needs, with clear errors and saved progress
Landing pages get their own treatment in our lab note on landing page conversion.
Where the data and the law agree
| Point | Detail |
|---|---|
| Most-cited abandonment rate | Roughly 70% of carts, across around fifty studies aggregated by Baymard Institute |
| Leading reason | Unexpected extra costs at checkout, such as shipping, taxes and fees |
| New drip pricing rule | From 1 July 2027, transaction-based charges must be disclosed clearly with the base price |
| What that means | The biggest conversion fix and the new legal duty point the same way: show the full cost early |
Abandonment findings from Baymard Institute research as widely reported; published figures vary slightly between editions, so we quote them approximately. General information, not legal advice. The broader plan is on growth strategy.
What we will not test
- Pre-ticked add-ons or insurance slipped into the basket
- "Only two left" messages that are not true
- Guilt-tripping buttons such as "No, I don't want to save"
- Anything that weakens an age check
Honest persuasion that converts
| Instead of | Try |
|---|---|
| A fake "only 2 left" banner | Real stock levels, shown only when low |
| A timer that resets | A sale with a stated end date |
| Hidden delivery cost until checkout | Delivery cost on the product page, by postcode |
| Pre-ticked insurance or gift wrap | An optional extra the customer adds |
| Vague "discreet shipping" | A photo of the outer parcel and the billing name |
Each change on the right is lawful now and will remain so after 1 July 2027, and specific reassurance tends to persuade nervous shoppers better than pressure does.
Card surcharges and the new disclosure rule
From 1 July 2027, where a base price is shown and transaction-based charges apply, those charges must be disclosed clearly with it, according to law-firm summaries of the Act. For stores that add a card or payment surcharge, the simplest course is to show it on the product and cart pages from the start, or to absorb it into the price. Either way, the shopper should never meet a new mandatory charge at the last click.
Testing with Australian traffic volumes
Many Australian adult stores do not have enough visitors for fast, reliable split tests. Rather than leaving tests open for months in hope of a verdict, we prioritise changes with strong evidence behind them, test only the biggest decisions such as checkout layout or price display, and run them for full weeks across pay cycles. Smaller changes are made directly and checked against the same weeks before. We say plainly which results are firm and which are indications.
Abandoned carts, with consent
Reminder emails to people who left items in their cart can recover sales, but only where the customer has agreed to receive them under the Spam Act, and they must identify the sender and offer an easy unsubscribe. Keep them discreet: no product images in the subject line or preview, and a sender name chosen to look ordinary in a crowded inbox. One gentle reminder usually works better than a sequence of escalating offers.
Checkout that respects privacy
Many adult shoppers hesitate at checkout because of what they are asked to share. Ask only for what you need to deliver the order, offer guest checkout, explain why a phone number is requested if it is, and show how the order will appear on the card statement. Each removed field and each clear explanation reduces abandonment, and collecting less data also reduces privacy risk under the reformed Privacy Act.
Product pages that answer the hard questions
Shoppers who reach a product page but do not buy usually have an unanswered question: is it body-safe, how big is it really, how loud, how is it cleaned, can it be returned. Put those answers in the same place on every product page, above the fold on a phone, with the price including GST and any surcharge. A product page that answers honestly converts better than one that pushes harder.
The order we work in
- Measurement: make sure orders, refunds and sources are tracked correctly.
- Clarity: prices, delivery costs, surcharges and returns shown early and plainly.
- Friction: fewer checkout fields, guest checkout and payment methods that work for adult goods.
- Persuasion: honest reassurance, real reviews and specific product facts.
- Testing: the few changes big enough to test properly, planned with the growth strategy.
Mobile, after dark
Adult shopping in Australia happens largely on phones and often late at night, sometimes on slow connections or in private browsing. Pages should load quickly on a mid-range phone, the price and the buy button should sit inside the first screen, and the checkout should not require an account. Test the whole path, from search result to confirmation email, using the order we describe in our traffic-to-revenue note, on a phone over mobile data, at the time of day your customers actually buy. More detail on landing pages is in our landing page guide, and the testing method in our CRO guide.
Reviews that persuade honestly
Reviews persuade because they are real. Show reviews from verified buyers, including critical ones, and reply calmly with facts. Burying bad reviews, paying only for good ones and writing your own are all off limits; each can breach the Australian Consumer Law now and would likely fall under the 2027 unfair trading rules too. A product with a few honest four-star reviews often sells better than one with suspiciously perfect scores. Bringing reviewers back for a second order is covered in our retention guide.
Questions answered before they are asked
Support emails are a free list of conversion problems. Each month, read the questions customers sent before buying anything, and add the answers to product pages, the delivery page or the checkout itself. Every question answered on the page is one fewer shopper who quietly left instead of asking.
The conversion scorecard
| Figure | Why we watch it |
|---|---|
| Checkout completion on mobile | The step where most adult orders are lost |
| Revenue per visitor | Conversion and order value together |
| Refunds and complaints after changes | Catches wins that are really problems |
| Subscription cancellations in month one | Shows whether sign-up terms were clear |
Results are judged over whole months and against the same period last year. Fees are on pricing, and the planning side on growth strategy.
Questions
What is a normal cart abandonment rate?
Baymard Institute's aggregate of around fifty studies puts the average at roughly 70%. Your own rate matters more than the benchmark.
What makes most shoppers abandon a checkout?
Charges that only appear at the end, for delivery, tax or service, top the list in Baymard's surveys. Forced account creation and long checkouts also rank highly.
Is a countdown timer allowed?
Only if it is true. A timer that resets or a sale that never ends risks breaching consumer law now, and the unfair trading ban from July 2027.
How do you test changes?
With controlled A/B tests where traffic allows, or careful before-and-after comparisons where it does not, and always on real behaviour rather than opinion.
Can we keep showing card surcharges only at checkout?
From 1 July 2027, law-firm summaries indicate transaction-based charges must be disclosed clearly with the base price. Showing them earlier, or absorbing them, is the safer course now.
Free growth check
See where visitors step off before they buy
Share your site and what you sell. We look at how visitors move from arrival to checkout, where they leave, and which changes would lift revenue without tricks, then send you a short written plan. Free, with no obligation.
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