Checkout Friction Calc. Composite score, calibrated rubric.
A 0-100 friction score for any checkout flow, composed of step count, guest-checkout availability, payment-method coverage, KYC requirements, and cart-recovery cadence. Rubric is calibrated against Baymard Institute’s checkout-usability taxonomy. Per-company scores log here when audits ship — currently 0 companies indexed.
The 5 dimensions of checkout friction
- Step count (0-25 pts). Each step from cart → payment-confirmed adds friction. 1-step (Stripe Checkout-style): 0 pts. 2-step: 5 pts. 3-step: 10 pts. 4+step: 15-25 pts.
- Guest checkout (0-20 pts). Available + above-fold on cart page: 0 pts. Available but hidden: 5 pts. Account required: 20 pts. (Account requirement remains the #1 documented cart-abandon cause per Baymard.)
- Payment-method coverage (0-20 pts). Cards + Apple Pay + Google Pay + PayPal + region-specific (iDEAL, Bancontact, etc.): 0 pts. Cards + 1 wallet: 5 pts. Cards only: 15 pts. Cards + requires manual bank transfer: 20 pts.
- KYC / data requirements (0-20 pts). Asks only what payment processing legally requires: 0 pts. Asks for company size, industry, role: 10 pts. Requires phone verification or document upload: 20 pts.
- Cart-recovery cadence (0-15 pts). 1h + 24h + 72h triggered emails: 0 pts. Single 24h email: 5 pts. No recovery: 15 pts.
Total possible: 100 pts. Lower = less friction. Score interpretation:
- 0-15: Excellent. Stripe-Checkout-class, mobile-perfect, low-effort.
- 16-35: Good. Standard B2B SaaS quality.
- 36-55: Mediocre. Likely losing 15-30% of buyers to friction.
- 56-75: Bad. Account requirements + multi-step + missing wallets.
- 76-100: Hostile. Likely losing 50%+ of cart starters.
Per-company friction-score schema
| Field | What it records |
|---|---|
| company | Brand name |
| snapshot_url | Checkout entry URL |
| observation_date | YYYY-MM-DD |
| step_count | Cart → confirm step count |
| step_score | 0-25 pts |
| guest_checkout_status | available | hidden | required_account |
| guest_score | 0-20 pts |
| payment_methods | JSON list of accepted methods |
| payment_score | 0-20 pts |
| kyc_required | JSON list of required fields |
| kyc_score | 0-20 pts |
| recovery_cadence | 1h_24h_72h | 24h_only | none |
| recovery_score | 0-15 pts |
| total_friction_score | Sum of dimension scores (0-100) |
| observer_notes | Subjective commentary, marked as such |
Honest current state
Database: 0 / 15 companies indexed.
Each indexed company gets the rubric applied with a snapshot URL and date. Score interpretation is anchored on Baymard’s checkout-usability taxonomy + observable cart-abandon-rate research. Phase 1 target: 15 B2B SaaS companies. Currently empty.
Want your checkout flow scored?
A CROAudit covers checkout flow analysis (web + mobile) as part of the standard 8-12 page report. €197, 48-hour turnaround, async only.