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A checkout test splits your visitors into groups, shows each group a different checkout, and measures which completes more orders. You decide what every group sees, and ABConvert compares the results.
Checkout tests are available on all ABConvert plans. Delivery and Payment modifications work on any Shopify plan. Content, Cart, and Upsell modifications require Shopify Plus.

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When to use it

Use a checkout test to prove a change lifts orders or revenue before rolling it out:
  • Raise order value with an upsell. Show a product recommendation inside checkout and compare average order value against Control.
  • Win more orders with reassurance. Add trust badges, a guarantee banner, or payment icons, and measure whether more visitors finish.
  • Guide shipping choice. Rename or reorder shipping options to make a faster option clearer.
  • Streamline payment methods. Hide, rename, or reorder payment methods and measure the effect on completed checkouts.

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When NOT to use it

Checkout tests change only what visitors see at checkout. If your change happens earlier, use the test built for that surface:
  • Testing a product’s price? Use a price test. Checkout tests don’t change the price shoppers pay.
  • Testing a discount or promotion? Use an offer test. A checkout test can rename a payment method but can’t discount it.
  • Testing a landing or product page? Use a URL redirect test or theme test. Checkout tests don’t touch the pages leading up to checkout.

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What you can change

A checkout test can modify five things. Combine several in one variant, and give each variant its own set.

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Set up a checkout test

1

Add basic information

Choose the Checkout type, name the test, set a hypothesis, pick your primary metric, and add the variants to test against Control.
2

Configure your audience

Set the traffic split and targeting rules. See Audience targeting.
3

Add modifications and preview as you build

Open the Compose checkout editor for a group, click Add modification, pick a category, and configure it.A live preview on the right updates as you build, and the tabs at the top switch which group you’re previewing. It’s an approximation of your checkout; confirm the real thing on your storefront before launch (see Preview on your storefront).
Compose checkout editor showing a live preview with Added badges on an upsell block and a trust badge

Compose checkout editor with live preview.

Two toggles help while you build:
  • Show diff markers flags how the group differs from the original checkout page: Added and Modified blocks get a solid ring, Hidden ones a dashed ring.
  • Desktop / Mobile switches the viewport.
Check the Mobile viewport too. Most checkout traffic is on mobile, and the desktop and mobile views can differ, so a block that looks right on one may not on the other.
Compose checkout preview in the mobile viewport with a collapsed order summary bar

Mobile viewport preview.

4

Save and add your blocks

Click Save. ABConvert shows a card listing the blocks to add in the Shopify checkout editor. See Add your blocks.
5

Preview and launch

Preview every group on your storefront to confirm each renders correctly, then click Launch test. See Preview on your storefront.

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Add your blocks in the checkout editor

Add the listed blocks exactly where ABConvert shows them, or your test won’t render.

Adding ABConvert blocks and pasting Block IDs in the checkout editor.

Content, Cart, and Upsell modifications render through ABConvert blocks you place in Shopify’s checkout editor. (Delivery and Payment modifications apply automatically, with no block to add.) After you save, the Add your blocks card lists two kinds of block:
  • ABConvert Checkout Block renders your Content and Upsell modifications. Add one at each placement the card lists.
  • ABConvert Cart Control renders your Cart modifications. Add one in Order summary.
Add your blocks card with the ABConvert Checkout Block highlighted, its Block ID and Copy ID button, and the editor guide spotlighting where the block renders

Placement guide for the ABConvert Checkout Block.

What a Block ID is. Each Checkout Block placement has a short code like before-contact-bpa. It links a block you add in Shopify’s checkout editor back to the modifications you configured for that spot in ABConvert. You paste the Block ID into the block’s settings so ABConvert knows what to render there. Each Block ID belongs to exactly one placement.
1

Open the Shopify checkout editor

Click Open checkout editor on the card. It opens the editor in a new tab, jumped to the Apps tab, so ABConvert stays open beside it.
2

Place a Checkout Block and paste its Block ID

Click Add app block, open ABConvert Checkout Test, and add an ABConvert Checkout Block at each placement the card lists. Then paste that placement’s Block ID into the block’s Block ID field in the checkout editor’s settings panel.
3

Add the Cart Control block (if you test Cart modifications)

Add ABConvert Cart Control in the Order summary section. It has no Block ID and renders its controls on each cart line automatically.
4

Save, then check each placement off in ABConvert

Click Save in the checkout editor (blocks aren’t applied until you save), then return to ABConvert and check off each placement on the card.

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Check each group renders in the editor

While you’re in the checkout editor, each ABConvert block shows a Preview header with its Block ID and a Variant dropdown. Switch the dropdown to render each group’s content and confirm your blocks land in the right spot. If a group has no modification for a block, it shows a Block hidden banner.
ABConvert Checkout Block Preview header with a Variant dropdown showing Control and Variant A

The Variant dropdown in a block Preview header.

If you change modifications in ABConvert while the checkout editor is open, refresh the editor to load the latest version.

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Preview on your storefront

Before launching, walk the full shopper path to checkout on your real storefront, as any group you choose. This is the standard pre-launch preview for every ABConvert test type. See Preview before you launch.
  1. In the Preview Test card on the review step, click Open.
  2. An ABConvert Preview widget appears. Choose the group you want to walk through as.
  3. Browse to your cart and checkout. The blocks render the same way a real shopper would see them.
Storefront homepage with the ABConvert Preview widget showing the checkout test groups Control and Variant A at a 50/50 split

The storefront preview flow.

Preview is only visible to you. Real shoppers never see the test while it’s in Preview.

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Reading your results

Open the Analytics dashboard to compare Control against each variant. ABConvert tracks the checkout funnel step by step, so you can see where each variant drops off. You can also add custom funnel steps to measure stages specific to your checkout.
Session-based conversion funnel comparing Control and Variant A across sessions, added to cart, reached checkout, submitted payment, and completed checkout

The session-based conversion funnel.

For full definitions and how significance is calculated, see Metrics.
Checkout tests often reach significance faster than storefront tests, because only high-intent visitors who reach checkout are counted.

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Common mistakes

Launching without adding the blocks in the checkout editor. Your variants render nothing. Complete Add your blocks first.
  • Pasting a Block ID into the wrong placement. Block IDs are placement-specific, so a mismatched ID renders the wrong content or nothing.
  • Forgetting the ABConvert Cart Control block. Cart modifications only appear if the block is added in Order summary.
  • Not previewing every variant. Checking only one group hides a broken placement in another. Preview them all before launching.

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Checkout test FAQs

Almost always because the blocks weren’t added in the checkout editor, or a Block ID was pasted into the wrong placement. Follow Add your blocks: add a Checkout Block at each placement, paste the matching Block ID, and add the Cart Control block in Order summary if you use Cart modifications.
No. It means the selected variant has no modification for that block, so customers in it won’t see the block. Switch the dropdown to another variant to confirm it renders there.
No. Preview sessions bypass your traffic and audience rules and are excluded from analytics.
Yes. Once assigned, a visitor sees the same checkout for the duration of the test.