E-commerce / D2C

«They abandon the cart on the very last step»

The cosmetics brand blamed expensive shipping. Interviews showed: people weren't stopped by shipping, but by the fear of trusting an unfamiliar brand.

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1Company & symptom

Company
A natural cosmetics brand selling direct. Average order €40, traffic mostly from Instagram, 70% of visitors are new.
Symptom
People add a product to the cart, reach checkout — and leave. 78% of carts are abandoned. Free-shipping tests raised conversion by a fraction of a percent.
False hypothesis
"Shipping cost scares them off." The most obvious explanation from the analytics numbers.

2Research design

Goal
Understand what actually stops new buyers at the checkout step.
Who we invited
20 people who added a product to the cart and didn't pay in the last two weeks.
Format
A 10–12 minute interview, invitations sent via a Telegram bot.

3Script

Full set of questions

  1. Tell me how you came across our brand in the first place?
  2. What made you add the product to the cart — what caught your attention?
  3. What were you thinking about the moment you reached checkout?
  4. What exactly stopped you then? Describe it in detail.
  5. What doubts did you have about the product itself?
  6. How much did you trust us as an unfamiliar brand? Why?
  7. What did you do after you closed the cart?
  8. What would have needed to be on the page for you to place the order anyway?
  9. Where and how did you eventually buy something similar?

AI doesn't read this out as a list. It follows the questions and, after every answer, asks a live follow-up until it gets to the real point. Here's how it sounds.

4Live conversation

Interview excerpt

AI
You reached checkout and closed the tab. What were you thinking about at that moment?
Respondent
I thought — what if it doesn't suit my skin. I'm seeing you for the first time.
AI
And what would have helped remove that fear?
Respondent
Well… reviews from real people with skin like mine.
AI
There were reviews on the site — did you see them?
Respondent
I saw about five, all perfect. Honestly, they look staged.
AI
Did you look for return information?
Respondent
I looked and didn't find it. If I can't return it, I won't risk buying something so unfamiliar.

5Interview analysis

sonarum combines 20 conversations into one report: which themes come up most often, live quotes, and conclusions.

How often the theme came up

Fear it "won't suit me" with no way to try it75%
Didn't believe the "too perfect" reviews60%
Couldn't find return terms — so it's a risk55%
Went looking for the brand on review sites and with bloggers50%
Mentioned shipping, but not as the reason to leave25%
«It's not about shipping. It's about the money going to waste if it doesn't suit me.»
«Five perfect reviews don't build trust — quite the opposite.»
«I didn't find anything about returns — so it probably doesn't exist. I closed the page.»

Key conclusions

  • What stopped people wasn't the shipping cost, but the fear of trusting an unfamiliar brand. Free shipping treated the wrong pain point.
  • "Too perfect" reviews worked against the brand — they were read as paid-for.
  • Since nothing was said about returns, people assumed there was none, and left.

6Solution & result

Add honest reviews with photos and skin type to the product page, a prominent "30-day no-questions returns" block, and a "doesn't suit you — money back" guarantee. Leave shipping as is.

Before → after

Abandoned carts
78%
61%
Reach checkout
1.9%
3.3%
Actual returns
—
4% (within normal range)

Honest reviews and a clear return guarantee nearly doubled conversion. Actual returns turned out to be low — the fear cost more than the risk itself. Shipping was never touched.

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