We found 32 issues in Arhaus's checkout, a modelled 14.8–45% of conversions.

The problem

When the checkout form has an error, the store clears out information the shopper already typed correctly.

Why it matters

A shopper who typed their address once and lost it to a form error frequently will not type it twice. This is a critical-severity leak at the very end of the funnel, where every lost buyer was seconds from paying.

The problem

The cart does not show a full cost breakdown. Some of subtotal, shipping, tax, or total is missing before checkout.

Why it matters

Baymard research: 48% of shoppers abandon at checkout because of surprise costs. If the cart hides shipping or tax until the final step, you are training buyers to bail.

The problem

The full order total (including shipping and tax) isn't visible before the buyer starts entering payment details.

Why it matters

Surprise costs at the payment step are the #1 abandonment trigger in every study. Buyers want the final number before their card leaves the wallet.

The problem

The Add-to-Cart button is not visible above the fold on mobile. Shoppers have to scroll to find how to buy.

Why it matters

On mobile especially, buyers scan the top of the page and decide within seconds. If the primary purchase button isn't in that first view, many will leave before scrolling.

What to do

Add a persistent sticky 'Add to Cart' bar pinned to the bottom of the viewport (below the QTY row) showing price and button, similar to the sticky header treatment used at the top, so users can purchase without scrolling past the finish/quantity selectors.

The problem

The product page doesn't tell shoppers when their order will arrive. There is no delivery date or lead-time estimate.

Why it matters

Buyers often decide between two stores based on delivery timing, especially for gifts and urgent purchases. Uncertain timing pushes them to competitors who are clear.

The problem

The product page shows no star rating or review summary above the fold. Shoppers have to scroll to find social proof.

Why it matters

Ratings are the fastest trust signal on a product page. A shopper who lands and doesn't see any social proof in the first view assumes it's a low-quality product or a new store.

What to do

Add a star-rating widget with review count (e.g. '★★★★☆ (42 reviews)') directly under the 'Malone Round Plinth Coffee Table in Manta' title and above the price, matching the space currently between the title and the $1,200/$2,899 pricing line.

The problem

The main content of the product page takes longer than 2.5 seconds to appear ("Largest Contentful Paint" is slow).

Why it matters

Every extra second of load time drops conversion by ~7% (Google, 2024). 2.5s is Google's threshold for a good experience. Above 4s is considered poor and hurts search rankings too.

The problem

The cart has no shipping estimator; shoppers can't preview shipping costs without starting checkout.

Why it matters

Unknown shipping costs are the single biggest cause of cart abandonment. An estimator answers the question before it becomes a reason to leave.

The problem

The cart does not clearly show tax, either as an amount or as a note that tax will be calculated at checkout.

Why it matters

Buyers in the US and Canada expect a tax line before they commit. Silence at the cart step means a jump in the total at checkout, and that jump is what makes them abandon.

The problem

The cart doesn't offer any express wallet button (Apple Pay, Google Pay, Shop Pay, PayPal Express).

Why it matters

Express wallets skip 60-80% of the checkout form. Shop Pay alone lifts checkout completion by ~1.7x. On mobile especially, one tap vs six form fields is the biggest single conversion lever left in ecommerce.

What to do

Add branded express checkout buttons (e.g. PayPal, Apple Pay, Amazon Pay) directly below or above the dark green 'CHECKOUT' button near the $227.50 total to let returning customers skip manual form entry.

The problem

The checkout has more than 8 form fields. Industry-best checkouts collect 6-8 fields; industry-average is 11.3.

Why it matters

Every extra field drops conversion by roughly 2%. Fields cost you money in a direct, measurable way. A checkout with 13 fields loses ~10% of buyers compared to one with 8.

The problem

The checkout has no address autocomplete (Google Places, Loqate, SmartyStreets, or similar). Shoppers type every line of their address manually.

Why it matters

Address autocomplete cuts address-entry time roughly in half on mobile and drops delivery-failure rates from typos. It also feels premium, buyers notice.

The problem

The checkout page does not show when the order will arrive. Buyers commit to buying without knowing the delivery date.

Why it matters

Delivery timing is often the deciding factor between two stores. If your competitor tells the buyer "arrives Tuesday" and you say nothing, you lose. Especially for gifts.

The problem

The checkout has no signals declaring it can be driven by AI agents. No ACP or UCP meta tags, no /.well-known/agentic-commerce endpoint, no Stripe ACP integration.

Why it matters

OpenAI's Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP) and Google's Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) are the emerging standards for agent-driven checkout. Stores that declare readiness get preferential routing from ChatGPT and Google AI. This is 2026's biggest new distribution channel.

The problem

There's no returns or exchange policy communicated on the product page itself. Shoppers have to hunt the footer or FAQ to find it.

Why it matters

"What if I don't like it?" is the last question in every purchase. If the answer isn't obvious, hesitation kills conversion, especially for higher-price items and apparel.

What to do

Expand the 'CARE, SHIPPING & RETURNS' accordion by default or add a short inline line near the ADD TO BAG button (e.g. 'Free 30-day returns') so shoppers see the policy without an extra click.

The problem

The structured product data that AI shopping agents read (ChatGPT, Google, Copilot) is incomplete on this page. Some or all of these are missing: product ID (GTIN), brand, review data, availability, shipping details.

Why it matters

AI-referred traffic converts 42% higher than regular traffic (Adobe, 2026). But agents only recommend stores whose product data they can read. Incomplete data means invisible to AI shoppers.

The problem

Clicking the product image doesn't open a zoom view. Shoppers can't inspect details, fabric, or quality up close.

Why it matters

Zoom is how online shoppers replace touching the product. Baymard finds inadequate image inspection among the top reasons for product-page abandonment.

The problem

The product page does not have a Q&A section or a real specifications table. Shoppers cannot answer their own questions before buying.

Why it matters

Considered purchases (electronics, appliances, tools, tech gear) live and die on the details page. When shoppers cannot find dimensions, materials, compatibility, or answers to obvious questions, they leave to research on Amazon or a competitor and often buy there instead.

The problem

Some interactive elements on the mobile page are smaller than 44x44 pixels. Fingers struggle to hit them accurately.

Why it matters

44x44 pixels is the minimum touch target Apple and the WCAG 2.2 guidelines recommend. Below that, mis-taps happen: buyers hit the wrong swatch, wrong quantity, wrong link, and abandon in frustration.

The problem

Content on the product page moves around while it loads ("layout shift"). Buyers try to tap a button and it jumps.

Why it matters

Layout shift is one of Google's Core Web Vitals. Beyond the SEO hit, it is deeply frustrating on mobile: you go to tap Add to Cart, an image loads above it, the button jumps down, and you tap something else instead.

The problem

The checkout doesn't show which step the buyer is on or how many steps remain. It feels like an infinite form.

Why it matters

Not knowing how long a task will take is one of the strongest predictors of abandonment. A visible "Step 2 of 3" gives buyers the confidence to push through the next 30 seconds of typing.

What to do

Add a step indicator bar below the ARHAUS logo (e.g. 'Information → Shipping → Payment') with the current step bolded or underlined, similar to Shopify's default breadcrumb pattern, so users know they're on step 1 of 3 before reaching Shipping method and Payment.

The problem

The checkout uses separate First Name and Last Name fields instead of a single Full Name field.

Why it matters

Two fields cost two taps and two keyboard focuses on mobile. Baymard research shows a single Full Name field measurably lifts checkout completion, especially on phones.

The problem

Some input fields use `type="text"` when they should use `type="email"`, `type="tel"`, or `inputmode="numeric"`. Mobile keyboards do not adapt.

Why it matters

The wrong keyboard is a small papercut on every entry. Type an email on a phone with a QWERTY (no @ key) or a phone number without the number pad, and completion drops.

The problem

Personal-info fields are missing correct `autocomplete` attributes, or one is set to `autocomplete="off"`. Password managers and browser autofill do not work smoothly.

Why it matters

WCAG 2.2 requires autocomplete on personal-info fields for accessibility. Beyond compliance, correct autocomplete makes checkout a 2-tap experience for returning buyers, huge for mobile conversion.

The problem

The checkout does not offer a "Same as shipping" checkbox for the billing address, with the box checked by default. Buyers have to type their address twice. (This rule only applies to physical-product stores.)

Why it matters

For most orders, billing and shipping addresses are the same. Making the buyer re-enter their address is duplicate work and a common source of typos.

The problem

The checkout form uses placeholder-only labels: the field's purpose is shown as grey text inside the input, and disappears the moment the buyer starts typing.

Why it matters

Placeholder-only labels violate WCAG accessibility, but they also just cost sales. A buyer who types a wrong value, then forgets what the field was for, has to erase everything to see the label again. Frustration compounds.

What to do

Add small static labels (e.g. 'First Name', 'Last Name', 'Address', 'City', 'ZIP Code') above each input in the Delivery and Payment sections so they remain visible after the user types, similar to how 'Contact' and 'Delivery' section headers are already styled in bold above their fields.

The problem

The payment step doesn't show any trust or security signals near the payment fields (padlock icon, "Secure checkout", PCI badge, Verified by Visa).

Why it matters

Buyers are at their most anxious when typing card numbers. A visible security signal near the field removes that anxiety and lifts conversion.

What to do

Add a small padlock icon with 'Secure Checkout' text directly under the ARHAUS logo (near the 'Express checkout' label at top) so it's visible before users fill in Contact/Delivery fields, and repeat a PCI/SSL trust badge near the future payment/card entry section.

The problem

The card-payment form is missing the `autocomplete` attributes mobile browsers need to autofill saved cards.

Why it matters

iOS and Android can autofill a saved card in one tap when the fields are labeled correctly. Without it, the buyer types 16 digits, expiry, and CVV manually, and many abandon.

The problem

The checkout does not declare support for delegated-payment (ACP tokenization). Agents cannot pass a tokenized payment method on the buyer's behalf.

Why it matters

Delegated-payment is the piece that actually lets agents complete a purchase without asking the buyer to type their card. Stripe and PayPal both support this via their ACP modes. Without it, agents can prep the order but hand it back to the buyer to finalize.

The problem

The recommended items shown in the cart do not relate to what the shopper is buying.

Why it matters

Relevant cross-sells (socks with shoes, a pillowcase with a pillow) raise order value. Random ones read as ads, erode trust at the exact moment the shopper is deciding, and can distract them out of the purchase.

What to do

Replace the generic 'Our Favorites Under $200' module with a 'Complete the Bed' rail showing matching Ballao sheets, shams, or duvet covers in the same Mink colorway, or at least filter suggestions to Bedroom/Bath category items instead of showing glassware and frames.

The problem

Cart line items do not include machine-readable product identifiers (SKU, GTIN, product_id). Agents see only display names.

Why it matters

Without a stable identifier per line, agents cannot cross-check items against a catalog, apply price rules, or reconcile the order. Display names change with translation and localization, they are not safe identifiers.

The problem

When an error message appears, the form visibly jumps, moving fields under the buyer's cursor or thumb.

Why it matters

Layout jumps cause mis-clicks and lose the buyer's place in the form. On mobile they routinely cause wrong-field input.