E-commerce marketing
One store,
taken apart.
Most online stores don't lose sales in one big place. They lose them in small ones: a Shopping title Google limits, a 'was' price nobody paid, a fee that turns up at payment, an email with no unsubscribe. This page takes a made-up Australian store, Wattle & Tide Linen, through six stages of one sale and marks what works and what leaks, each tied to a published rule or study. Extra costs alone are the top reason in Baymard's cart abandonment research.
Written by Dan Picken, a marketer who checks the sources. Last checked 2 November 2026.Why a
made-up store?
Pulling apart a real business in public isn't fair to them, and screenshots of other people's stores aren't ours to publish. So Wattle & Tide Linen is invented: one product, a queen linen sheet set, and the mistakes and good habits that come up most often in online stores.
Everything else is real. Each note links to the Google, ACCC, RBA or ACMA page, or the study, it rests on, checked on the date above.
The
teardown.
Pick a stage. Each note is marked as a leak or as something that works.
Store teardown
One store,
six places it leaks.
Wattle & Tide Linen is made up, and so are its prices and dates. Pick a stage to see what's working and what's costing sales. Checked against the sources linked in each note on 2 November 2026.
LeakShouting title
Caps, symbols and 'free shipping' in the title. Google's title rules ban promotional text and caps for emphasis, and shoppers usually see only the first 70 or so characters. Better: 'French Linen Sheet Set, Queen, Sage, 4 Piece'. Google's title rules.
LeakBadge on the main image
The '30% OFF' badge on the main photo breaks Google's image rules: no promotional overlays, watermarks or borders. Put the sale in the sale price field instead, and keep lifestyle shots for the additional images. Google's image rules.
LeakFeed says $159, page says $169
The page loads its price with JavaScript after a change, and the feed wasn't updated. Google wants the feed, page and checkout to match exactly. Mismatches get products disapproved, and repeated ones put the account at risk. Google's price mismatch help.
LeakA 'was' price nobody paid
'Was $299' when the set has sold at $159 to $169 for months. The ACCC says a was/now price is misleading if the item wasn't sold at the 'was' price for a reasonable period. ACCC price displays.
LeakStars with no count
'4.9 stars' with no number of reviews, and only five-star reviews on the page. The ACCC says show how many reviews a rating is based on, and don't hide genuine negative ones. ACCC on online reviews.
WorksA delivery date, before the cart
'Arrives Thu 12 Nov to 2259' answers the question that sinks carts: slow delivery is the second most common reason in Baymard's research, after extra costs. A date beats '3 to 7 business days'. Baymard cart abandonment.
Leak'No refunds on sale items'
A sign can't take away consumer guarantee rights. If a faulty sheet set arrives, the customer still has rights. 'No change-of-mind refunds on sale items' says what you mean. WA Consumer Protection on 'no refunds' signs.
LeakImplies a health condition
Meta bans ads that assert or imply personal attributes, including health. 'Struggling to sleep? Your insomnia ends tonight' does both, and promises a result sheets can't. Meta's personal attributes policy.
WorksRewrite around the product
'French linen that stays cool through a Queensland summer. Queen sets in five colours.' It talks about the sheets, gives a reason to care and makes no health claim.
Leak'Calculated at checkout'
Extra costs are the top reason people abandon carts: 40% of those who left in Baymard's research. Show delivery cost in the cart, or a calculator by postcode. Baymard cart abandonment.
LeakA handling fee that appears late
A $9.95 'handling fee' first appears at payment. The ACCC says the total price must include unavoidable fees, and fee types should be disclosed at the start. Google's misrepresentation policy also bans hidden costs. ACCC price displays, Google misrepresentation policy.
LeakA card surcharge
Surcharges on eftpos, Mastercard and Visa ended on 1 October 2026 after the Reserve Bank's review. Take the line out and check your payment settings. RBA decision.
LeakInstalments bigger than the total
'Or 4 payments of $42.87' in bigger type than the total. The ACCC says the total price must be at least as prominent as any part of it. ACCC price displays.
WorksGuest checkout
A clear 'Continue as guest' button. 18% of shoppers who abandoned a cart in Baymard's research left because the site wanted them to create an account. Baymard cart abandonment.
LeakA discount email with no unsubscribe
An email with an offer is an advertisement, and the ACMA says a message that includes or links to one is commercial. That means consent, your details and a working unsubscribe. ACMA spam rules.
LeakA pre-ticked newsletter box
Consent came from a box ticked by default at checkout. Marketing emails need consent under the Spam Act, and a box the shopper never ticked is weak evidence of it. A new law starting 1 July 2027 also targets design tricks online. Ask clearly, with the box unticked.
WorksOne reminder, then stop
A single reminder a few hours later, with the product photo and the delivery date, is useful. A series of five gets ignored or marked as spam.
What the Shopping
listing teaches.
The feed is the first thing a shopper sees on Google, and Google is strict about it. Titles have a 150-character limit, and promotional text or caps for emphasis aren't allowed. Main images can't carry badges or watermarks. The price must match the page and the checkout exactly.
In Australia, Google also requires shipping costs in Merchant Center for Shopping ads and free listings. Set them once at account level, and the feed only needs to handle exceptions.
What the product
page teaches.
A product page earns trust with specifics: real photos, honest prices, reviews with a count, and a delivery date. Every shortcut shows. A 'was' price nobody paid is misleading under the ACCC's price display rules. Hiding bad reviews is too.
The page code matters as well. Google's merchant listing structured data lets search show price, availability, shipping and returns. Only mark up a strikethrough price when the old price was genuine.
What the cart and
checkout teach.
Shoppers are most likely to leave at the moment of truth. Baymard puts the average documented cart abandonment rate at 70.22%, across 50 studies. Among US shoppers who left for a reason other than browsing, 40% blamed extra costs, 20% slow delivery and 18% being made to create an account.
Two rules sharpen that in Australia. Surcharges on eftpos, Mastercard and Visa ended on 1 October 2026. And a new law against drip pricing, subscription traps and design tricks starts on 1 July 2027. Fix them now and you're ahead of it.
Why the small
things matter.
Australians spent a record $82.6 billion online in 2025, and 9.8 million households bought something online, according to Australia Post. The average basket fell to $96. With smaller baskets, every leak in the path costs a bigger share of the profit on each order.
The same report found 73% of shoppers say a good delivery experience makes them more likely to shop online. A clear delivery date and cost do a lot of work.
Run it on
your own store.
Go through your own store in the same order: a Shopping listing, the product page it leads to, an ad, the cart, the checkout and the follow-up email. Buy something from yourself on a phone, using a new email address.
Note every moment you hesitated or were surprised. Those are your leaks. The sales page has a calculator for finding the step that loses most, and the advertising rules page has the full set of rules.
What I see most often
What I see
most often.
- 1
Feed and page out of step
Prices or stock changed on the site but not in the feed, so products get disapproved.
- 2
Shipping hidden until checkout
Delivery cost shown only after the shopper enters an address.
- 3
Sale badges on main images
Promotional overlays on the main product photo.
The honest bit. Fixing leaks lifts sales from the visitors you already have. It won't rescue a product people don't want, or a price that doesn't make sense.
Questions
people ask.
What is the average cart abandonment rate?
Baymard's average of documented studies is 70.22%, across 50 studies.
Why do shoppers abandon carts?
In Baymard's research, the top reason (excluding people just browsing) was extra costs being too high, at 40%, then slow delivery and forced account creation.
Can I put a sale badge on my Google Shopping image?
Not on the main image. Google's image rules ban promotional overlays, watermarks and borders. Use the sale price field instead.
Can online stores still charge a card surcharge?
Not on eftpos, Mastercard or Visa. Surcharges on those ended on 1 October 2026.
Do abandoned cart emails need an unsubscribe?
Treat them as commercial messages, especially with an offer. The ACMA says they need consent, your details and a working unsubscribe under the Spam Act.
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