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CHK-021Checkout · formsMedium

Phone number field explains why it is needed (or is optional)

Phone number field explains why it's needed or is optional.

Check my store for this rule →Cite this
Free · no card · runs all rules at once · judged on 36 stores · updated
67%of the audited stores we could judge fail this rule
12 pass0 partial24 failPublished audits · September 2026
Stores judged
36
of 40 published audits
Score weight
1.0pts
of the 100-point score
Page share
50%
of the score is the checkout

What earns each verdict

Same outcomes on every UXFix rule · how verdicts work
✓ Pass12

Explanation OR optional marker present.

~ Partial0

Marked optional but tiny/hidden.

✕ Fail24

Required phone field with no rationale.

not assessable is recorded when the rule applied but the store could not be judged on it (bot protection, a region lock, a step we could not reach), and not applicable when the store has nothing for the rule to judge. Those stores are left out of every number on this page, never guessed. Why we do that
Why it matters

The phone number field is required with no explanation why. Buyers who value their privacy hesitate or abandon.

"Why does a t-shirt store need my phone number?" is a real objection. Without a rationale, some shoppers will not give it and will leave.

That sentence is the one a failing store sees in its own UXFix report.How rules are weighted and scored →
36 audited stores, one dot each
24 fail
PassPartialFail

Every published UXFix audit this rule could be judged on, as of 23 Sep 2026. A count of real stores, not a simulation of yours.

How we test it

Scripted walk, fresh signed-out browser · the full walk
  1. 1Fresh browserSigned out, cookies cleared, desktop and mobile viewports, the store's live theme.
  2. 2Open a productA real, in-stock product page, found the way a shopper finds one.
  3. 3Add to cartDefault variant, quantity one, then the cart page itself.
  4. 4Walk the checkoutFrom the cart to the payment step. Nothing is ever bought.
  5. 5Judge this ruleAgainst the standard above, on what a shopper can see.
  6. 6Record the verdictPass, partial or fail, saved with the screenshot it was judged on.
What the agent looks for
Phone number field explains why it's needed or is optional.
Confidence
The rulebook rates this check’s confidence High. When the agent is not sure, the rule is recorded as not assessable rather than guessed.
Not judged
4 of 40 published audits: the rule did not apply or could not be judged. Dropped, never guessed.

The numbers behind the rule

Published UXFix audits · more statistics
Published audits failing this rule
and 12 more, newest audit first.
No pictures here yet: none of the audits above saved a marked area for this rule.
Where this rule sits among 103 UX rules
Most-failed rank
#27
Score weight rank
#47
Fail rate
67%

Score weight: a fail costs 1.0 pts of of the 100-point score; a partial costs half that. Most-failed rank is among the 79 rules with enough published audits to report a rate.

The fix

The same steps a failing store sees in its report

A pass means: Explanation OR optional marker present.

Severity
Medium
Score gain
+1.0pts
Page
Checkout

Score gain is roughly what a fail-to-pass change adds; rules that could not be judged are left out, which can move it a little. Re-run a free audit after the change ships to confirm the verdict moved.

Checklist for the pass
0 of 3

Tick each step as you ship it. The audit judges the live store, so re-run it once all of them are done.

Every store that fails this rule

The 24 audited stores that fail Phone number field explains why it is needed (or is optional), with each store's published score and the day it was audited.
#StoreScoreAuditedPublished audit
1Bxbx.eu46Open audit
2Mujimuji.us61Open audit
3Blackstoneproductsblackstoneproducts.com60Open audit
4Thebrickthebrick.com61Open audit
5Wpswingswpswings.com57Open audit
6Benettonbenetton.com58Open audit
7Verabradleyverabradley.com58Open audit
8Everlaneeverlane.com62Open audit
9Tomstoms.com52Open audit
10Bodenboden.com64Open audit
11Eddiebauereddiebauer.com62Open audit
12Forever21forever21.com57Open audit
13Gymsharkgymshark.com57Open audit
14Fashionnovafashionnova.com56Open audit
15Kathmandukathmandu.com.au63Open audit
16Toysrustoysrus.com57Open audit
17Brewdogbrewdog.com56Open audit
18Zulilyzulily.com61Open audit
19Mejurimejuri.com65Open audit
20Fashionphilefashionphile.com63Open audit
21Timextimex.com54Open audit
22Citstorescitstores.com65Open audit
23Enviafloresparadifuntosenviafloresparadifuntos.com56Open audit
24Tentreetentree.com58Open audit

What our auditors say about this rule

A phone number with no reason given reads as marketing. Say it is for the courier, or do not ask for it.
Omar Dabbas, Co-founder, UXFix

Written by the person who audits this rule, and reviewed every quarter.

Keep going

All rules →
RuleCHK-001
Guest checkout offered as first-class option (no account wall)Checkout · Critical ›
RuleCHK-003
Clear step indicator showing progress through checkoutCheckout · Medium ›
RuleCHK-005
Ability to edit cart from within checkout without losing progressCheckout · Medium ›
RuleCHK-006
Account creation offered after order placement, not beforeCheckout · High ›
RuleCHK-007
Site logo/name does not link away from checkout (or warns first)Checkout · Medium ›
RuleCHK-008
Header/nav minimized during checkout to reduce exitsCheckout · Medium ›
RuleCHK-009
Total form fields 8 or fewer (industry average is 11.3)Checkout · High ›
RuleCHK-010
Single Full Name field (not first + last)Checkout · Medium ›
Cite this

«24 of 36 online stores audited by UXFix fail the rule "Phone number field explains why it is needed (or is optional)" (CHK-021) as of September 2026. UXFix, uxfix.ai/audits/rules/optional-phone-number-field»

Rule record · JSON
Dataset →
{
  "id": "CHK-021",
  "name": "Phone number field explains why it is needed (or is optional)",
  "area": "checkout",
  "severity": "medium",
  "weight": 0.99,
  "published_audits": {
    "judged": 36,
    "pass": 12,
    "partial": 0,
    "fail": 24
  },
  "updated": "2026-09-23"
}
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