Most checkout optimization advice focuses on form fields, page speed and payment options, and all three matter. A survey Bizrate Insights ran in March 2026 points at something most CRO checklists skip entirely: what happens after the sale. Return policy and promo code visibility turned out to move abandonment more than a lot of teams have ever tested for, and the numbers are specific enough to act on this quarter.
Bizrate Insights surveyed 1,010 US shoppers in March 2026 and found a 10 dollar return fee on a 50 dollar purchase drives 72 percent to abandon, 78 percent look for a promo code before buying, and 57 percent prioritize free shipping over the lowest price. When expectations are not met, 72 percent walk away and about half go straight to a competitor.
The survey behind these numbers
Bizrate Insights fielded the survey among 1,010 US adults between March 20 and March 29, 2026, asking specifically how free shipping thresholds, return policies, surprise fees and promo code visibility shape a purchase decision at checkout. It is worth naming the source because these numbers are more specific, and in places more surprising, than the general abandonment statistics most CRO content repeats. The headline finding is blunt: when checkout does not match what a shopper expected going in, 72 percent abandon, and roughly half of those go to a competitor rather than dropping out of the category. That reframes a lost sale as a transferred sale, which is a worse outcome than it sounds.
The return fee problem almost nobody tests
This is the number worth pinning to a roadmap. A 10 dollar return fee on a 50 dollar purchase, a fee equal to 20 percent of the order, was enough on its own to drive 72 percent of surveyed shoppers to abandon the transaction. Not the return. The original purchase. Shoppers are pricing in the cost of a possible return before they ever add an item to cart, and a return policy that reads as punitive kills the sale before it happens rather than after. Most sites disclose return terms in a footer link or a separate policy page discovered late in the funnel, if at all, which means the majority of shoppers are making this calculation with incomplete information, or worse, discovering the fee after they already feel committed.
State the return policy plainly on the product page, not just in a footer link, especially for anything with a real chance of being returned. If a return fee exists, say so upfront rather than letting a shopper discover it later. Given the 72 percent figure above, ambiguity here is not a minor UX gap, it is a direct revenue leak.
Promo codes: show them or lose the sale
78 percent of shoppers in the survey said they look for a promo code before completing a purchase. That habit is now close to universal, and a checkout that makes shoppers hunt for a code, or worse, offers no way to apply one visibly, creates a specific and avoidable abandonment moment: the shopper opens a new tab to search for a code, does not find a valid one quickly, and does not come back. Auto-applying an eligible code, or surfacing an active promotion clearly at the cart step, removes that exit ramp entirely.
Free shipping still beats a lower price
57 percent of shoppers prioritized free shipping over the lowest available price, and the survey identified 25 to 49 dollars as the threshold range that best matches shopper expectations for unlocking it. This is not new behavior, but the size of the gap over price is a useful data point when a pricing or shipping threshold conversation needs a number attached to it rather than a hunch.
| Driver | 2026 survey finding | What to test |
|---|---|---|
| Return fees | A $10 fee on a $50 order drives 72% abandonment | State return terms on the product page, remove or lower fees on core categories |
| Promo code visibility | 78% look for a code before buying | Auto-apply eligible codes or surface them clearly at cart |
| Free shipping threshold | 57% prioritize it over lowest price; $25 to $49 is the expected range | Test a shipping threshold inside that band against your current one |
| Surprise fees at checkout | 42% frequently abandon over unexpected costs; 60% among ages 18 to 34 | Show taxes and mandatory fees before the payment step |
| Unmet expectations overall | 72% abandon, about half go straight to a competitor | Audit every point where a term is disclosed later than a shopper expects |
Rank these five tests by how far your current site is from the benchmark, not by which is easiest to build. A return policy rewrite usually takes an afternoon and, based on the 72 percent figure above, is likely to outperform a much larger checkout redesign in the same quarter.
How this fits with fee disclosure and legal requirements
Surprise fees sit at the intersection of conversion and compliance right now. California, Connecticut and Washington DC all now require all-in pricing that shows the full cost before checkout, which we covered in detail in our piece on the 2026 all-in pricing laws. The Bizrate data above makes the business case for going further than the legal minimum: even where all-in pricing is not yet required, showing full cost early converts better regardless, because 42 percent of shoppers already abandon over fees that surface late.
What to test this quarter, in order
- Rewrite the return policy summary and place it on product pages for anything with meaningful return volume, not just in the footer.
- Audit whether an eligible promo code auto-applies or is surfaced clearly at the cart step, not buried behind a manual entry field.
- Test a free shipping threshold inside the 25 to 49 dollar range against your current setting if you are outside it.
- Move any mandatory fee disclosure earlier in the flow, ideally before payment information is requested.
- Pair this with your existing cart abandonment recovery stack so recovery emails address the actual reason a shopper left, not a generic reminder.
None of these are large engineering projects. They are policy, copy and placement changes, which is exactly why they tend to get skipped in favor of bigger redesigns. This is the kind of test we prioritize early in a conversion optimization engagement, because the return on an afternoon of copy changes is usually faster than anything requiring a development sprint.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a return fee actually affect checkout conversion?
A lot more than most sites test for. Bizrate Insights surveyed 1,010 US shoppers in March 2026 and found a 10 dollar return fee on a 50 dollar purchase is enough to drive 72 percent of shoppers to abandon the transaction entirely, before they have even started the return.
What percentage of shoppers look for a promo code before buying?
78 percent, according to the same 2026 Bizrate Insights survey. Shoppers who cannot find or apply a code they believe exists frequently abandon rather than complete the purchase at full price, which is why surfacing or auto-applying valid codes reduces drop-off.
Does free shipping still matter more than a lower price?
Yes. 57 percent of shoppers in the 2026 survey prioritized free shipping over the lowest price, with 25 to 49 dollars identified as the threshold range that best matches shopper expectations for unlocking it.
How common is cart abandonment over unexpected fees at checkout?
42 percent of shoppers say they frequently or very often abandon a cart because of unexpected costs like taxes, handling fees or charges that only appear at checkout, and that rate rises to 60 percent among shoppers aged 18 to 34.
What happens to a sale after a shopper is surprised by a fee or a punitive return policy?
72 percent will walk away when checkout expectations are not met, and roughly half of those go straight to a competitor rather than abandoning the category entirely. The lost sale is rarely just delayed, it is usually transferred.
Should a return policy be shown before or after checkout?
Before. Given that a modest return fee alone drove 72 percent abandonment in 2026 survey data, a return policy stated clearly on the product page or early in checkout lets shoppers self-select rather than discovering the terms after they have already committed.
The takeaway
Form fields and page speed still matter, but the 2026 Bizrate Insights data points at a gap most CRO checklists miss entirely: what a shopper is told, and when, about returns and total cost. A punitive-looking return fee kills sales before the return ever happens. A hidden promo code sends shoppers hunting and often not coming back. Both are copy and policy fixes, not development projects, and both are cheaper to test than almost anything else on a typical CRO roadmap.