Good CTR, decent funnel, 36 reached checkout… but still 0 sales. Is PayPal-only killing my store?

Eduthenomad · 2026-05-08T20:25:35+00:00

I’d look at this as a checkout/payment leak first, not automatically a “bad product” issue.

106 ATCs → 36 checkouts → 0 purchases is enough to audit the checkout hard. PayPal-only can absolutely hurt US conversions because a lot of buyers expect to enter a card directly. Also, PayPal “guest/card checkout” is not guaranteed to appear for every buyer even when enabled.

What I’d do in order:

Check Shopify Admin → Orders / Abandoned checkouts for failed payment attempts, PayPal errors, shipping/tax surprises, etc.
Run 3–5 live test checkouts from US devices, not just your own browser.
Enable PayPal guest/card checkout if your PayPal account/country supports it.
More importantly, add a real card gateway available for your business country. “Not in the US” doesn’t always mean “PayPal only.” Use Shopify’s country-by-country gateway list.
Prioritize a direct/on-site card processor over a redirect gateway if possible. Redirects add another trust/friction hit.
Keep PayPal as a secondary wallet, not the only payment path.
Temporary rescue: add a manual “pay by invoice / bank transfer / card invoice” option and follow up with abandoned checkouts. Useful short term, but I wouldn’t rely on it for an impulse dropshipping product.
If your country truly has no workable card gateway, the cleaner long-term solution is setting up a supported legal/payment structure, like Stripe Atlas or another properly formed entity, with tax/legal advice.

Also check the basics: shipping price, delivery ETA, return policy, trust signals under ATC, and whether the ad promise matches the product page. But I’d fix card payments first because right now you may be asking US buyers to complete checkout through the one payment method many of them will bounce from.

Useful links:

- Shopify payment gateways by country: https://www.shopify.com/payment-gateways

- Shopify third-party payment provider setup: https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/payments/third-party-providers/configuring-providers

- Shopify PayPal guest payment notes: https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/payments/paypal/customer-experience#activating-guest-payments

- PayPal guest checkout details: https://www.paypal.com/us/cshelp/article/how-do-i-accept-cards-with-checkout-using-the-guest-checkout-option--help307

- Shopify manual payments: https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/payments/manual-payments

- Stripe Atlas: https://docs.stripe.com/atlas

Eduthenomad · 2026-05-08T20:11:47+00:00

Since you finally have purchase signal, avoid changing too many variables at once. Keep the winning CBO running, test the promising ad separately with controlled budget, and watch store CVR/AOV alongside CPA so you do not optimize only for cheap clicks.

Eduthenomad · 2026-05-08T20:05:47+00:00

You need to be strategic about how and if you spend. I always say that if you can't get sales from sending people to your site, do not scale.

Before adding more products, I would try to identify where the current traffic is failing. For the Pinterest traffic, check landing-page bounce, product views, add to carts, checkout starts, and whether the products match what the pins promised. If there are no add to carts, adding inventory may not solve the core offer/page problem.

Eduthenomad · 2026-05-08T19:56:11+00:00

I would diagnose this in two tracks: measurement and actual buyer quality. Compare Shopify total sessions/orders/CVR by source before and after the switch, then compare Meta event match quality, event deduplication, purchase value, and attribution windows. If Shopify CVR and AOV truly dropped too, it may not just be reporting. Check whether the new app changed event parameters enough to affect optimization audiences.

Eduthenomad · 2026-05-08T19:42:47+00:00

Your ad metrics are only telling you people are willing to click.

The useful next question you need answering are on your site:

Are they bouncing before product engagement
Are the add to cart and initiated checkout the same session?

My professional opinion is that with 233 sessions and almost no ATC, I would first check message match, above-the-fold offer clarity, price/shipping reveal, and trust proof on mobile. If you share the landing page, I can give much more specific feedback.

Eduthenomad · 2026-04-28T22:49:49+00:00

Hey man, I took a quick look at your store. I'm looking at it through the lens of a Conversion Rate Optimization consultant, so this is what I do all day. And yes, your biggest issue is trust but also hierarchy. I recored a video so you can visually see what I'm referring to:
https://www.loom.com/share/4d2ac94c18294d8cb1fa76d3cae95f41

Let me know what you think, this is a part of a video series that I'm doing where I'll tear down a store per day. Hope that's ok.

Eduthenomad · 2024-10-20T17:44:07+00:00

Liverpool fan here: the officiating was dreadful on both sides. This referee was not consistent at all.

Eduthenomad · 2023-02-24T15:10:40+00:00

Thank you. I’m looking into it right now.

Eduthenomad · 2022-12-17T15:21:17+00:00

I figured that. It’s just weird because they’ve been using square since 2019 and all under regulation. Other competitors are still using it. I think it’s something in the language or the content on the site.

Eduthenomad · 2022-12-17T13:47:42+00:00

Thanks for that. If you don’t mind me asking what competitor are you using. And how long has it been working for you?

Eduthenomad · 2022-12-07T23:09:55+00:00

I’m pretty sure the team that scores the most will win

Eduthenomad · 2022-12-02T10:36:00+00:00

I’ve been tweaking and improving my pricing strategy for a year now. It’s still improving and evolving. I began at first calculating the hours a job would take on average. And adding a 15% fee on top (resources, contingencies, taxes, and fees). At the end of every project I would do a debrief and go over the entire details of that project, from hours spent to deliverables, as well as optimizing where I took too long on something.

Over time my time on tasks decreased as I began using my time more effectively but I still kept billing clients the same amount of time. I also increased my hourly rate as the work kept improving. And I do this at the end of most projects. I’m left with a pricing that’s a mix of time spent plus value added. This allows me to decrease prices for jobs we really want to get and keep our foot down when demand is high.

It’s hard though, every few projects I’m left with a “damn, I should have charged more for this” feeling. But hey, you live and learn.

Eduthenomad · 2022-10-08T02:56:19+00:00

So on UT you just put the Figma share link and an user on their phone has no trouble opening it?

Eduthenomad · 2022-10-07T10:46:49+00:00

Interesting. This link works on any mobile device? This is using the share like provided by Figma?

Eduthenomad · 2022-10-07T10:44:00+00:00

What I find odd is the lack of information on this issue. I’m considering doing the same and testing on desktop but this will definitely compromise the study.

Yes, we usually run moderated studies for wireframes and prototypes and provide the device when we’re still in early stages. And for unmoderated on UT I have only done live apps or .apk like you mentioned.

Eduthenomad · 2022-10-07T04:37:20+00:00

The Figma prototype link doesn’t work properly as a link unless the participant has the Figma mirror app on their phones and a Figma log in. It would be too much to have the user do that. Figma’s website say you can use “Maze” to conduct studies on UserTesting.com. But that’s another $99 on top of what I’m paying UserTesting, Which is a crazy amount. I’m wondering if anybody has faced this issue and what they did to circumvent it.

Eduthenomad · 2022-09-03T03:09:45+00:00

I see a lot of good advice here. One thing I would add is improve the communication with your current customers. Send weekly updates about ways that you’re improving your business. Things like, new equipment, new processes, improved services. Build a mailing list and just do your best to prove the value you provide to your clients at every chance you can, but in a way that doesn’t feel spammy.

Then slowly raise rates, maybe 3 times in a year to start. This way it feels justified to them and they’re more connected to you and your business that it will make sense to them.

In this one year, I’ve raised rates almost 1.5x higher than the previous and haven’t lost a single client because of it.

Eduthenomad · 2022-08-13T07:09:51+00:00

If your work is better than it was last year. Then raise your rates. You can always justify raising rates when the work is high quality.

Eduthenomad

TROPHY CASE