Three mistakes that kill e-commerce conversions.

Internet sales made up 27.6% of total UK retail in May 2026, and online sales values grew by 9.8% over the three months to May compared to the year before. That growth matters for small retailers in Norwich and across Norfolk, but it also means more competition for every customer.

Most small e-commerce sites lose sales not because of traffic, but because of friction at the point of purchase. We have built and looked after online shops for Norwich businesses since 2025, and the same three mistakes come up again and again. Fix these and you will convert more of the visitors you already have.

1. Hiding the delivery cost until checkout

Nothing kills a sale faster than a surprise charge on the last page. A customer has picked a product, added it to their basket, filled in their address, and then discovers that delivery costs more than they expected. Most will close the tab.

The fix is simple: show delivery costs up front. If you charge a flat rate, say so on the product page. If it varies by location or order value, give a range or let people check their postcode before they add anything to the basket.

When we relaunched the Surplush shop in January 2025, delivery was part of the pitch. They deliver packaging and cleaning supplies by e-cargo bike in Norwich, Cambridge and London, so the delivery model is a selling point. Every product page shows which city you are in and what the delivery options are before you reach checkout. No surprises, and fewer abandoned baskets.

2. Making people create an account before they can pay

Forcing account creation before checkout is one of the fastest ways to lose a first-time buyer. They want to know if your product is any good before they commit to another login they will forget.

Let people check out as a guest. Collect the email address, take the payment, send the confirmation. Then offer to save their details for next time. Most people will say yes once they have received the order and know you are legitimate.

Let people check out as a guest. Collect the email, take the payment, then offer to save their details for next time.

We built the Brandemic shop for custom branded packaging, and every order needs a proof before it goes to print. Customers upload their artwork, pay, and approve the proof online. They get an account automatically when they place the first order, but they are never asked to create one before they can pay. The login arrives in the order confirmation email.

3. Slow checkout pages that make people wait

Checkout pages do a lot of work. They validate addresses, calculate tax, talk to the payment provider, send confirmation emails, update stock levels and sometimes trigger orders to suppliers. If all of that happens in sequence while the customer stares at a loading spinner, you will lose sales.

The fix is to move the slow work off the critical path. Take the payment first, confirm the order, then handle the invoices, supplier notifications and stock updates in the background. The customer gets instant feedback, and you get the sale.

When we relaunched Surplush, card payments were being held up by background work: sending invoices to trade accounts, notifying suppliers, booking couriers. We moved all of that into an AWS Lambda that runs after the payment completes. The customer sees confirmation in under two seconds, and the order still gets processed correctly.

What to fix first

If you are losing sales at checkout, start with delivery costs. Make them visible before people reach the basket. Then look at your account requirements. If you are forcing registration before purchase, switch to guest checkout with an optional account after the first order.

Speed comes last, but it matters. If your checkout takes more than three seconds to respond, find out what is slowing it down and move that work into the background.

Online retail is growing, but so is competition. The shops that win are the ones that make buying easy. Fix these three things and you will keep more of the customers you have already worked to attract.