A couple weeks ago, I was chatting with someone running a Shopify store. Great brand, killer product, solid traffic numbers. But sales? Flatlined.
They’d already optimized their homepage, invested in SEO, and tested dozens of Facebook ad creatives. But conversion rates were stuck at 1.3%.
So I asked a simple question:
“When was the last time you walked through your own checkout process on mobile?”
Silence.
Then: “Wait… do you mean like, actually buy something?”
Yes. That’s exactly what I meant.
The Bottlenecks You Can’t See in Google Analytics
In the world of e-commerce, we’re trained to look at dashboards. Bounce rates. Funnel drop-offs. Revenue per session. It feels like we’re being data-driven – and to an extent, we are.
But not everything shows up in the numbers.
There are invisible bottlenecks – the micro-moments that kill conversions quietly. You won’t find them in your analytics tool. But they’re felt by your customers in milliseconds.
Here are a few I see all the time:
- Tap targets too small for thumbs
- Coupon codes that don’t apply at checkout
- Shipping costs that only appear after someone enters their info
- A “Buy Now” button that scrolls below the fold on mobile
- Auto-playing videos that cover the “Add to Cart” button
None of these will show up as glaring red flags in your metrics dashboard. But they’re quietly convincing your best customers to bail – just inches from the finish line.
The “Blind Spot Effect” in Founder-Led Brands
If you’re the founder (or even close to the product), chances are you’ve stopped experiencing your site the way a customer does.
You already know where the size chart is.
You already know shipping takes 6–9 days.
You already trust your brand’s promise.
So when someone bounces after 18 seconds, you assume they just weren’t ready to buy. But more often than not, they were – until something small got in their way.
And small things stack up. Fast.
A 10-Minute Ritual That Could Save You Thousands
Here’s a challenge: Once a month, block 10 minutes to do this:
- Visit your own site on your phone.
- Start on Instagram or Google (like a real customer would).
- Find a product you’d actually buy.
- Go through the checkout flow – taxes, shipping, coupon code, everything.
- Take notes every time you feel confused, hesitant, or frustrated.
That’s it.
You’ll start spotting things you’ve become blind to – janky transitions, clunky modals, unclear product descriptions, or slow-loading pages right before payment.
None of this is rocket science. But it’s neglected more often than you’d think.
Optimization Does Not Mean More Tools
I know the temptation: When conversions stall, we assume we need more features. A quiz builder. A pop-up countdown timer. AI-powered product recommendations.
But most e-commerce sites aren’t suffering from a lack of tools… they’re bloated with too many. Each one adds load time, cognitive load, or a weird UX quirk that nobody questions.
Sometimes, the fix isn’t adding. It’s removing.
If you’ve ever added a widget that promises “+17% CVR” and saw nothing budge, it’s probably because you haven’t addressed the underlying friction.
Tools don’t fix friction. Awareness does.
Final Thought: Make It Frictionless to Buy
The real job isn’t just to sell, it’s to make buying effortless.
If someone lands on your product page and wants what you’re selling, your job is to get out of their way. Remove friction, eliminate doubt, and make the whole thing feel seamless.
The bottlenecks that kill conversions aren’t always obvious. They’re subtle. But once you start seeing them, you can’t unsee them.
And neither will your customers.
See you next Saturday.