Before and After: Mercato’s Checkout Progressive Disclosure Cuts Dropoff

Tech · 5 min read

Mercato, an online specialty groceries marketplace, struggled with high mobile checkout abandonment driven by surprise fees, long forms, and perceived instability during payment. The team’s hypothesis was that presenting everything up front—full fee breakdowns, optional upsells, and long address forms—overwhelmed users at a critical microdecision moment.

The redesign introduced progressive disclosure: a light, single-column cart summary that emphasized itemized cost visibility early, followed by staged steps for delivery options, payment, and optional add-ons. Contextual nudges explained why fees existed (e.g., “local producer fee” with a tooltip), while inline address autocomplete reduced typing friction. Importantly, the team retained a persistent total at the bottom to keep users oriented.

After deployment, Mercato recorded a 22% reduction in checkout abandonment and a 9% increase in average order value, as users felt more confident completing purchases. The case demonstrates that revealing complexity in manageable chunks—and coupling it with clear rationale—can lower anxiety and improve conversion without resorting to deceptive UX patterns.