# Case Study: When Neither the Catalogue Nor the Checkout Could Be Seen | Crank Source: https://wearecrank.com/case-studies/beauty-wellbeing-tracking-checkout-2017 No add-to-basket event existed and checkout could be completed without visiting the basket page — so a falling conversion rate couldn't be traced to either cause. --- Beauty & Wellbeing — 2017 Audit # When Neither the Catalogue Nor the Checkout Could Be Seen No add-to-basket event existed and checkout could be completed without visiting the basket page — so a falling conversion rate couldn't be traced to either cause. Challenge No add-to-basket event existed, and checkout could be completed without ever visiting the basket page — so a falling conversion rate could not be traced to merchandising or to checkout, because neither had a distinct signal. Approach Rebuild the missing events, then work backward from the checkout itself — a basket that didn't persist, unclear tax wording, two confusingly similar delivery options, unclear payment acceptance and a spurious security warning, all present on the same page. Outcome Basket completion had already fallen from 73.9 to 62.2 per cent in a year, and most product categories were missing from the data entirely — meaning the business had been unable to see either what wasn't selling or why people were leaving at the till. 01 ## Two different problems that looked identical No add-to-basket event was being recorded, and checkout could now be completed without visiting the basket page at all — so that page couldn't be used as a substitute signal either. Whether people were failing to add to basket or failing to check out was, from the outside, the same unanswerable question. 02 ## Advertising a catalogue nobody could see Category information was absent for most products, so it was impossible to say which ranges sold to which audiences or on which devices. Decisions about what to promote where were guesses dressed as strategy. 03 ## Five reasons to abandon at the final step The basket did not persist between visits. Tax wording created uncertainty about the final price. Two similar-looking free delivery options confused the choice. It was unclear that card payment was accepted. And the browser displayed a security warning on the checkout page, despite the connection being secure. Basket completion had already fallen from 73.9 per cent to 62.2 per cent within a year — five separate, fixable reasons to leave, all sitting on one page. ## What was missing, and what it cost 73.9% → 62.2% Basket completion rate, year on year 5 Separate reasons to abandon, found on one checkout page 0 Add-to-basket events being recorded Most Product categories missing from the data Drawn from Crank's account audit conducted in 2017 for this beauty and wellbeing retailer, before the account was taken on. Client not named. ## Want to know what this looks like in your own account? These findings came from asking straightforward questions before any budget moved. We're happy to do the same for yours. [ Talk to Wearecrank](https://wa.me/447457416922?text=Help%20my%20business)[Get in touch](/contact) [← Back to all case studies](/case-studies)