# 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 and wellbeing case study: When Neither the Catalogue Nor the Checkout Could Be Seen](/images/case-studies/beauty-wellbeing.png?dpl=dpl_2uJjggmfov9ibhArygujfRBb3pax) 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. Eleven percentage points of basket completion had been lost in a year, with no way to tell whether the cause was the catalogue or the till, and decisions about which ranges to promote, to whom and on which device, were guesses dressed as strategy. Approach Rebuild the missing basket and checkout events, restore category data so range performance can be read by audience and device, and resolve all five checkout faults, a basket that doesn't persist, unclear tax wording, two near-identical delivery options, no visible sign that card payment is accepted, and a false security warning on a secure connection. Outcome All five faults were fixed. Revenue recovered from basket abandonment activity rose 150 per cent, which was only possible once the basket persisted between sessions, and basket completion then reached 91 per cent for existing customers and 72 per cent for new ones, against a blended 62.2 per cent before the work. 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. 04 ## What fixing the five faults changed Once the missing events were rebuilt and all five checkout faults resolved, revenue recovered from basket abandonment activity rose 150 per cent, only possible once the basket itself persisted between sessions. Basket completion recovered too, but not as one number: existing customers reached 91 per cent and new customers 72 per cent, against a blended 62.2 per cent before the work and a previous best of 73.9 per cent. Reading the two separately, rather than as one blended figure, is what surfaced the nineteen-point gap between them. 05 ## What this means for you If you cannot tell whether people are failing to add to basket or failing to check out, you cannot fix either, and that is one tracking job, not a redesign. The recovery also only shows its real shape once new and existing customers are counted separately. ## What was missing, and what fixing it changed 73.9% → 62.2% Basket completion rate, before the work 5 Separate reasons to abandon, found on one checkout page +150% Revenue recovered from basket abandonment activity, once fixed 91%vs72% Basket completion after the fix, existing vs. new customers (was 62.2% blended) 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)