Where do buyers leave checkout? The 10-minute phone check
Short answer
The quickest way to see where customers drop out is your own test purchase on a phone: product, cart, checkout, payment, confirmation. Watch the form fields, the return from PayPal or the banking app, and the information German law requires in the order process. If the order button lacks "zahlungspflichtig bestellen" (order with obligation to pay) or equally clear wording, no contract is formed under § 312j(4) BGB.
This article is for information only. Not legal advice. Your lawyer or your legal‑text provider approves your legal texts.
Why the test happens on a phone
A checkout that works at a desk can fail on a phone. A button slips under the keyboard, a field won’t accept the postcode, the banking app opens and there is no way back to the store. No report shows errors like these; you see them when you order yourself.
You need ten minutes, a phone on mobile data and a cheap product that is in stock. Really place the order, and cancel or refund it afterwards. Only then do you also see the payment, the order confirmation and the e‑mail.
Test at least the payment methods your customers use most. According to the Deutsche Bundesbank study "Zahlungsverhalten in Deutschland 2025" (payment behaviour in Germany), half of online payments go through internet payment methods, with PayPal clearly the most used. Direct debit and bank transfer follow with 30%, and credit cards with 15%6.
The 10-minute check, minute by minute
Test purchase on a phone
10 minutes in total- Prepare1 minWi‑Fi off, mobile data on, open a private browser window. Choose a cheap product that is in stock and start the stopwatch.
- Product page1 minCan you read the price, the VAT note, the shipping costs and, for goods sold by weight or volume, the unit price without zooming? Choose a size or colour and add the product to the cart.
- Cart1 minChange the quantity, remove the item, add it again. Can you already see the payment methods and delivery restrictions here? German law requires them at the latest when the order process starts.
- Open the checkout1 minCan you continue without a customer account? Does the e‑mail field bring up the matching keyboard, and the postcode field the number pad? Does the phone suggest your address?
- Address2 minMake a mistake on purpose, for example a four‑digit postcode. Is the message clear, does it sit next to the right field, and is everything else you typed kept?
- Shipping and payment1 minBriefly tap each payment method on offer. Does the total price change in a way you can follow when you switch the shipping or payment method?
- Order summary1 minRight above the button, do you see the product with its main characteristics, the total price and the shipping costs? Can you read the whole button text, without it being cut off?
- Pay1 minPay with the most used payment method and approve the payment in the app or with your bank. Does it lead back to the store’s confirmation page?
- Confirmation1 minDoes the order confirmation arrive by e‑mail, and does the order show in the back end? Then cancel or refund it and note the result.
Note each step briefly as "OK" or "to fix". A log like this later serves as your to‑do list:
Test log from a phone
- to fix: Product page: unit pricemissing
- to fix: Cart: payment methodsvisible too late
- done: Address: postcodenumber pad
- to fix: Summary: button textcut off
- done: PayPal: return to the storeworks
- done: Confirmation by e‑mailafter 2 min
Total time 10 minutes · order cancelled afterwards
Sample
Required information as technical checkpoints (Germany)
Part of what you check in the test is set by German law. Here we only cover the technical side: is the information where it belongs, and can it be read on a phone? Whether the wording is enough is for your lawyer to judge.
- When the order starts: delivery restrictions and accepted means of payment must be stated clearly at the latest here (§ 312j(1) BGB)1.
- Right before sending: among other things the main characteristics of the goods, the total price and the shipping costs, and for contracts with a term also the term, the notice conditions and the minimum duration, stated clearly, understandably and prominently (§ 312j(2) BGB with Art. 246a § 1 EGBGB)17.
- The button: easy to read and labelled with nothing but "zahlungspflichtig bestellen" (order with obligation to pay) or equivalent clear wording (§ 312j(3) BGB). Without it, no contract is formed (paragraph 4)1.
- Input errors and confirmation: customers must be able to spot and correct errors before sending; you confirm receipt of the order electronically without delay (§ 312i(1) BGB)2.
- Prices: the total price, a note that VAT is included and whether shipping costs apply (§§ 3 and 6 PAngV)103; for goods sold by weight, volume, length or area, the unit price as well (§ 4 PAngV)4.
On a phone it pays to look twice at how things are shown: a cut‑off button text, collapsed price details, or shipping costs that only appear after another tap. The content may be right, but it still can’t be seen.
Let’s check this in your store.
In the free store review we look at this point too; on working days we write to you within 24 hours.
Paying: the return from app and bank
For electronic payments on the internet, German law (§ 55 ZAG) generally requires the payment service provider to use strong customer authentication: an extra approval linked to the amount and the payee5. Depending on the bank, this runs through an app, a code or another kind of approval.
What counts for your checkout is what happens next. The phone switches to the banking app or to PayPal and must then find its way back to your store’s confirmation page. If this way back breaks, the money may already be approved while the order is not properly completed; check how it shows in your back end.
Checklist to copy
Checkout check on a phone
Start with the first place where the test purchase got stuck; a real customer never gets past it. Repeat the check after every change to the checkout and at least once a month.
Next step
About this article
- Written by
- Qante Assist team
- First published
- Last updated
- Sources
- 10 sources
Frequently asked questions
Do I really have to order, or is clicking through to the checkout enough?
Really order. Only with the payment do you see whether the approval in the app or with the bank works, whether the way back to the store works and whether the order confirmation arrives. Then cancel or refund the order.
Is "Jetzt kaufen" (buy now) on the order button enough?
German law requires "zahlungspflichtig bestellen" or equivalent clear wording. Whether other wording is enough is for your lawyer to judge; we check that the text can be read in full on every screen.
How often should I repeat the check?
After every change to the theme, payment methods or shipping, and otherwise at least once a month. Ten minutes is nothing compared with an error that quietly costs you orders for weeks.
Sources (10)
- Bundesministerium der Justiz und für Verbraucherschutz (gesetze-im-internet.de)§ 312j BGB: Besondere Pflichten im elektronischen Geschäftsverkehr gegenüber Verbrauchern (opens in a new tab)Accessed: 1 October 2026
- Bundesministerium der Justiz und für Verbraucherschutz (gesetze-im-internet.de)§ 312i BGB: Allgemeine Pflichten im elektronischen Geschäftsverkehr (opens in a new tab)Accessed: 1 October 2026
- Bundesministerium der Justiz und für Verbraucherschutz (gesetze-im-internet.de)§ 6 PAngV: Preisangaben bei Fernabsatzverträgen (opens in a new tab)Accessed: 1 October 2026
- Bundesministerium der Justiz und für Verbraucherschutz (gesetze-im-internet.de)§ 4 PAngV: Pflicht zur Angabe des Grundpreises (opens in a new tab)Accessed: 1 October 2026
- Bundesministerium der Justiz und für Verbraucherschutz (gesetze-im-internet.de)§ 55 ZAG: Starke Kundenauthentifizierung (opens in a new tab)Accessed: 1 October 2026
- Deutsche BundesbankZahlungsverhalten in Deutschland 2025 (Stand: Juli 2026), Abschnitt 4.5 (opens in a new tab)Accessed: 1 October 2026
- Bundesministerium der Justiz und für Verbraucherschutz (gesetze-im-internet.de)Art. 246a § 1 EGBGB: Informationspflichten (opens in a new tab)Accessed: 1 October 2026
- Bundesministerium der Justiz und für Verbraucherschutz (gesetze-im-internet.de)§ 356a BGB: Elektronische Widerrufsfunktion bei Fernabsatzverträgen (opens in a new tab)Accessed: 1 October 2026
- Bundesministerium der Justiz und für Verbraucherschutz (gesetze-im-internet.de)§ 5 PAngV: Mengeneinheit für die Angabe des Grundpreises (opens in a new tab)Accessed: 1 October 2026
- Bundesministerium der Justiz und für Verbraucherschutz (gesetze-im-internet.de)§ 3 PAngV: Pflicht zur Angabe des Gesamtpreises (opens in a new tab)Accessed: 1 October 2026
