# What do apps actually change when they experiment on checkout?

Source: Lazyweb Research
Published: 2026-07-07
Sample size: n=81
Tags: checkout, experiments, monetization, mobile, ux-patterns
HTML: https://www.lazyweb.com/research/checkout-experiments-what-apps-actually-change
Markdown: https://www.lazyweb.com/research/checkout-experiments-what-apps-actually-change.md

**Answer.** The corpus detected 81 before/after checkout experiments across 19 companies [1]. By area, the changes split into payment (34), cart (27), core checkout (21), and express-pay (8) [1]. These are observed UI changes with LLM-inferred rationale — not measured A/B lift — and they are concentrated (adidas dominates), so read them as a menu of what teams touch, not as win rates.

> 81 detected checkout experiments across 19 companies split into payment (34), cart (27), checkout (21), and express-pay (8) — Lazyweb Research, July 2026.

## The finding: payment and cart are the most-touched areas

Of the 81 detected checkout-related experiments across 19 companies, payment and cart changes are the most common [1].

| Area touched | Detected changes |
|---|---|
| Payment | 34 |
| Cart | 27 |
| Checkout (core) | 21 |
| Express-pay (Apple Pay / express / Google Pay) | 8 |

The count spans only 19 companies and is heavily concentrated, so the totals describe activity, not effectiveness [1].

## What the changes look like (observed, not measured)

Representative teardowns show the recurring moves [2]:

- **adidas** replaced a grayed-out 'PLACE ORDER' with an Apple Pay 'Check out with Pay' primary CTA, and in another change added an explicit delivery date, free-shipping copy, and a payment-method row before the promo field.
- **doordash** tightened delivery estimates (Express 21-36 to 15-27 min) and raised displayed DashPass savings at the order-summary step.
- **backmarket** reframed the empty-cart state from a generic 'Your cart is empty' toward a favorites-empty framing.

Each is a single observed change with inferred rationale — a hypothesis to borrow, not a validated result [2].

## Caveats

These 81 changes are detected UI diffs whose text touches checkout/payment/cart/order-summary language, with rationale inferred by an LLM — never measured A/B lift [1]. They span only 19 companies and are dominated by adidas, so dedupe by distinct change and company before drawing conclusions [1]. The denominator (81 of 4,814 detected experiments overall) means checkout is a small slice of tracked experimentation [1].

## The numbers

| Stat | Computed from |
| --- | --- |
| 81 detected checkout experiments across 19 companies: payment 34, cart 27, checkout 21, express-pay 8 (of 4,814 total detected experiments) | checkout_experiments_total (81; breakdown checkout=21 payment=34 cart=27 express_pay=8; denominator 4,814); checkout_experiment_companies (19) |
| adidas, doordash, backmarket representative observed checkout changes | qualitative teardowns: adidas Apple Pay primary CTA + delivery/payment row; doordash tighter delivery + larger savings; backmarket empty-cart reframe |

## Methodology

Universe: 81 detected checkout/payment/cart/order-summary experiments across 19 companies (of 4,814 total detected experiments). Method: automated before/after UI diff detection with LLM-inferred rationale, July 2026. Caveat: observed changes not measured lift; concentrated in a few companies.

## Sources & citations

- [1] Lazyweb Research analysis of 81 detected checkout experiments across 19 companies (mobile app corpus), July 2026. Detected before/after diffs whose text touches checkout/payment/cart/order-summary; area breakdown payment 34, cart 27, checkout 21, express-pay 8; 81 of 4,814 total detected experiments; heavily concentrated (adidas dominates).
- [2] Lazyweb Research analysis of 81 detected checkout experiments across 19 companies (mobile app corpus), July 2026. adidas, doordash, backmarket qualitative teardowns: observed UI change + inferred rationale, not measured A/B lift.

## Related questions

- [Where do apps place upsells around checkout — and how common is it?](https://www.lazyweb.com/research/where-apps-place-checkout-upsells)
- [How many tracked apps offer Apple Pay as an express checkout option?](https://www.lazyweb.com/research/how-many-apps-offer-apple-pay-express-checkout)
- [Which tracked apps have the richest checkout and payment flows?](https://www.lazyweb.com/research/which-apps-have-the-most-checkout-screens)