Three shifts in shopper behaviour that should prompt a checkout and funnel review
Baymard Institute has published its 2026 Quantitative UX Insights, drawing on a survey of 1,083 US online shoppers. The report covers the full ecommerce journey from product discovery to post-purchase account use, and while most foundational behaviour stays stable year on year, three trends have moved enough to warrant merchant attention.
First, high-frequency returns are declining. More than half of shoppers (52%) made at least one online return in the past year, but the segment making multiple returns has been shrinking consistently since 2024. For merchants, this matters on both sides: overly generous return messaging in the checkout flow may be less necessary as a conversion lever than it once was, while post-purchase friction for first-time returners remains worth addressing because that group is still large.
Second, the top driver of newsletter unsubscribes has changed. Shoppers used to cite general inbox clutter as the main reason for opting out. Now they point to high email frequency from a specific retailer. The implication for the post-purchase journey is direct: aggressive re-engagement email sequences triggered after checkout completion are actively eroding the trust merchants worked to build during the purchase flow. Frequency caps and preference centres at the account level are no longer a nice-to-have.
Third, loyalty programmes have climbed to the fourth spot in account feature expectations, up from lower rankings in prior years. As guest checkout remains a conversion best practice, merchants need to reconcile two competing pressures: reducing account-creation friction at checkout while making the post-purchase account experience compelling enough that shoppers opt in voluntarily. Loyalty visibility placed at the right moment in the confirmation or post-purchase flow is where that tension gets resolved.
Dutch and Belgian merchants operating across both local and cross-border markets will recognise all three dynamics. Return behaviour in particular has been shaped by stricter retailer policies over the past two years, and shopper habits appear to be adjusting. Reviewing where return reassurance copy sits in the checkout funnel, and auditing post-purchase email cadence, are concrete starting points.
Source: feeds.baymard.com
