Why Isn't My Shopify Store Getting Orders? (With Solutions)

Seeing zero orders in your Shopify store is one of the most deflating experiences as a merchant. You have products, images, a store that looks presentable and perhaps some visitors; yet the checkout page remains empty. This article is written for owners asking: why is my Shopify store not getting orders? It aims to help you diagnose the cause, run practical checks, and introduce A/B testing and conversion rate optimisation as measured ways to improve sales.

Start with empathy: this is common and solvable

First: you are not alone. Many new and established merchants experience periods with no orders on Shopify. The reasons vary: low traffic, poor product-market fit, technical checkout errors, unclear product pages or simply pricing that does not match customer expectations. Recognising the problem is a strong first step; the next step is methodical diagnosis and targeted fixes.

Differentiate traffic problems from conversion problems

When diagnosing "shopify store not getting orders", it helps to split the problem into two categories: a lack of visitors, or visitors who do not convert. The solutions for each are different.

• Lack of traffic: if your store receives few or no sessions, you must focus on acquisition: SEO, paid ads, social, content and partnerships.
• Traffic but no sales: if you have visitors but zero orders, the issue lies in the funnel: product pages, trust, checkout, pricing, or technical problems.

Quick checks you can run in an hour

Before deep analysis, perform these immediate tests. They often reveal a simple cause.

• Check Shopify Live View: confirm visitors are landing and whether any add-to-carts or checkouts are occurring.
• Attempt a test order: place a real order or use a test payment gateway to run through checkout and confirm it completes successfully.
• Verify payment providers: ensure Shopify Payments, PayPal or other gateways are activated and configured for your region and currencies.
• Check shipping rates: unexpected high shipping at checkout often causes abandonment; make sure rates appear and are accurate.
• Inspect inventory and visibility: confirm product variants are available and that products are published to the Online Store sales channel.
• Review analytics tags: make sure Google Analytics or other tracking is working; missing tracking does not affect sales, but it prevents you from diagnosing traffic and behaviour.

Technical problems that block purchasing

Sometimes a technical change breaks checkout or payment flows. A broken experience can lead to the "no orders on Shopify" outcome even if your marketing is working.

• Theme customisations and apps: a recent theme edit or a newly installed app can interfere with scripts on product pages or the cart. Roll back or disable recent changes and test again.
• Checkout customisation limitations: Shopify restricts checkout customisation for non-Plus stores; avoid scripts that alter checkout unless you have tested them thoroughly.
• SSL and cookies: ensure your store uses HTTPS and that cookies are being set properly. Browser extensions or incorrect cookie banners can block key scripts.
• Third-party scripts and slow pages: excessive external scripts can break interactive elements or slow the buy process so much customers abandon.

How to tell if you have product-market fit issues

One common reason for "why my Shopify store has no sales" is a mismatch between your offer and the market. Use these approaches to test product-market fit:

• Check demand signals: keyword search volume, Amazon or Google Shopping listings, and competitor sales are quick indicators of demand.
• Run small tests: promote single products with modest ad spend to verify interest. If clicks are cheap but conversions remain zero, the problem is likely on-page or pricing.
• Collect feedback: add a simple site survey, live chat, or post in relevant communities to ask potential customers what would make them buy.
• Pre-orders and waitlists: a pre-order or waitlist can validate demand before you invest in inventory or large campaigns.

Review product pages: the most important page for conversion

Product pages are where intent turns into action. Many merchants find that improving product pages yields the fastest wins. Focus on clarity: what the product does, why it matters, price, and how to buy.

• Headline and product title: make the value obvious within the first two seconds. Remove jargon; state the benefit and primary attribute.
• Primary image: use a high-quality, zoomable hero image that shows the product clearly and at scale. Include lifestyle shots to indicate use and size.
• Price and offers: show price prominently; if you run discounts, show the original price and the saving clearly. Customers react to perceived value.
• Description structure: use short paragraphs and bullet points to list features, benefits and materials. Include size charts or specifications for technical items.
• Calls to action: use clear, action-oriented buttons such as Add to cart, Buy now or Pre-order. Ensure buttons are visible on mobile.
• Trust signals: reviews, number sold, guarantees and returns policy reduce friction. Display ratings near the price and CTA.
• Shipping and returns: show expected shipping times and free returns if available; unexpected shipping costs are a major cause of abandonment.

Checkout and cart friction: common blockers

Even good product pages can lose sales in the cart or checkout. Check these points:

• Unexpected costs: shipping, taxes and handling that only appear at checkout create distrust; offer clear shipping estimates earlier in the funnel.
• Forced account creation: require only necessary information; allow guest checkout to reduce friction.
• Payment method mismatch: offer the payment methods your audience prefers; for some markets PayPal or local wallets are essential.
• Form usability: ensure fields are labelled correctly, validation messages are clear and desktop and mobile forms are easy to complete.
• Cart persistence: confirm items stay in the cart across sessions and devices if customers return later.

Trust and credibility: the social proof factor

Many visitors abandon because they doubt your credibility. Building trust takes time, but several practical actions help immediately:

• Customer reviews: show verified reviews on product pages and on the homepage. Reviews increase conversions by reducing perceived risk.
• About and contact pages: include clear contact information, an About page that explains your brand, and links to social profiles.
• Clear policies: a visible returns policy, shipping details and FAQs reassure buyers.
• Secure badges and clear payment icons: show recognised payment logos and a privacy or security note on checkout pages.

Marketing and audience targeting: the acquisition side

If you have low traffic or irrelevant traffic, conversion optimisation will have limited impact. Consider these marketing checks:

• Traffic quality: review source-level conversion rates in Shopify Analytics or Google Analytics; social traffic often converts differently from paid search or email.
• Audience alignment: ensure your ad copy and landing pages match the promise made in ads; mismatched expectations reduce conversions sharply.
• SEO basics: ensure your product titles, meta descriptions and structured data are optimised so search visitors find accurate information.
• Email marketing: even a small list can generate initial orders if you nurture leads with clear offers and social proof.

Pricing and positioning: is your price right?

Price directly affects conversion rate. If your price is out of sync with customer expectations or competitor pricing, sales will be scarce.

• Competitive benchmarking: check similar products on Amazon, Etsy and other Shopify stores to see typical price ranges.
• Price perception: sometimes framing price as a per-month or per-use cost improves perceived affordability; experiment with price presentation.
• Psychological pricing: endings such as .99 can help; however, test instead of assuming it will work for your audience.
• Bundles and free shipping thresholds: offering bundles or free shipping above a spend threshold can increase average order value and conversion.

Use data to diagnose: what to look for in analytics

Good decisions come from data. Look at these metrics to narrow down the issue:

• Sessions and unique visitors: if sessions are near zero, focus on acquisition.
• Bounce rate and time on page: high bounce and short time suggest poor relevance or slow loading pages.
• Add-to-cart rate: a low add-to-cart rate points to product page problems; a high add-to-cart but low checkout rate suggests checkout friction.
• Checkout initiation and abandonment: check where users drop off in the checkout funnel.
• Conversion rate by device and channel: mobile often underperforms; paid traffic may convert better or worse depending on targeting.

Introduction to A/B testing and why it matters

When you want to move from diagnosing to improving, A/B testing is the most reliable approach. A/B testing compares two versions of a page element by splitting traffic and measuring which version leads to better conversions. It removes guesswork and helps you learn what resonates with your specific customers.

A/B testing is particularly useful for the problem of "shopify store not getting orders" because it lets you test small, focussed changes that can yield measurable lifts: product titles, price display, images, call-to-action text and more. ConvertLab is one of the tools that lets Shopify merchants run tests on product pages and compare results without heavy development work.

Basic A/B testing principles every merchant should know

To run meaningful tests, follow these principles:

• Test one variable at a time: if you change too many things simultaneously, you cannot identify the cause of any uplift.
• Define a primary metric: usually conversion rate or revenue per visitor; avoid multiple primary metrics that complicate interpretation.
• Run tests long enough: ensure you collect enough data for statistical power; short tests with few visitors lead to false positives.
• Avoid peeking: checking results midway and ending tests when they look good increases the risk of errors.
• Segment traffic cautiously: ensure you have enough traffic per segment before using it for decision-making.
• Use consistent traffic splits: most tests use a 50/50 split to accelerate learning unless there is a reason to favour control.

How to prioritise A/B test ideas

With many possible changes, pick tests that are likely to move the needle. Use an impact-effort framework:

• High impact, low effort: examples include changing a confusing headline, fixing a missing shipping note, clarifying price display or moving a CTA above the fold.
• High impact, high effort: redesigning the product detail layout or adding a new payment method; these may require development resources.
• Low impact, low effort: cosmetic changes like colour tweaks; test later if you have capacity.

Prioritise fixes that resolve clear blockers first: technical errors, missing payment methods and shipping issues should be addressed before fine-tuning button colours.

Practical A/B test ideas for stores with no sales

Below are specific experiments you can run on product pages and carts that often yield improvements.

• Product title variants: test descriptive benefit-focussed titles versus feature-focussed titles. Example: "Lightweight Travel Jacket" versus "100% Nylon Travel Jacket, 250g".
• Description length: test short benefit-led descriptions against longer detailed ones; some buyers want concise clarity and others require technical specs.
• Hero image variations: lifestyle image versus plain white background to see which reduces hesitation.
• Price presentation: test showing the monthly equivalent, strikethrough discounts or different price endings like .99.
• Free shipping message: test showing a free shipping badge near the price or a sitewide banner indicating the threshold for free shipping.
• CTA text: test Buy now versus Add to basket and colour variants; ensure tests include tracking for mobile and desktop.
• Trust elements: test adding a money-back guarantee text block or customer rating near the CTA.
• Urgency and scarcity: test showing limited stock levels or low-stock messaging, but ensure accuracy to retain trust.

Sample A/B test plan for a low-traffic Shopify store

If traffic is modest, you must choose tests that require fewer visitors to reach a conclusion or run tests for longer. Here is a simple plan:

• Primary metric: conversion rate (orders per session) for the product page.
• Test 1: Product title variant. Run as a 50/50 split for 4-6 weeks, depending on traffic, to collect enough conversions.
• Test 2: Hero image swap. Run after Test 1 concludes; measure add-to-cart rate and conversion rate.
• Test 3: Price presentation. If Test 1 and 2 show marginal gains, test price framing such as per-month or bundle offers.
• Interpretation: pick winning variations only after the test reaches sufficient sample size and the result remains consistent across days and traffic sources.

How many visitors do you need for reliable A/B results?

There is no single number; it depends on baseline conversion rate and the relative uplift you expect. As an example:

• If baseline conversion is 1% and you expect a 20 percent relative increase (to 1.2 percent), you may need thousands of visitors per variation to reach statistical power.
• Lower traffic stores should focus on larger-impact tests and accept longer test durations; alternatively, you can use sequential testing across multiple product pages with similar behaviour to pool data carefully.

Many A/B testing tools provide calculators to estimate required sample size; use them before you start and set realistic expectations about timeframes.

Technical setup for testing on Shopify

Shopify supports many A/B testing apps and some native features depending on plan level. Typical steps to set up tests:

• Choose an app: pick a tool that can test product titles, descriptions and price presentation without heavy theme customisation. ConvertLab provides this capability for Shopify merchants and integrates with store code safely.
• Create a variation: use the app interface to change the headline, description or price text for a subset of visitors.
• Define goals: set the primary metric such as add-to-cart rate or purchases.
• Run the experiment and wait for completion: ensure that caching and CDN behaviour do not skew results; many apps handle this automatically.
• Analyse by segment: check performance across mobile, desktop and traffic source to ensure the change is robust.

Interpreting results and avoiding common pitfalls

After a test finishes, treat results carefully:

• Look for consistent wins: small short-term spikes may be noise; prefer wins that persist across time and segments.
• Consider business metrics: increased add-to-cart is good only if it leads to completed orders; track revenue per visitor not only conversion rate.
• Beware of novelty effects: radically new messaging may attract initial clicks that fade; re-run a test or run a follow-up to validate long-term performance.
• Document learnings: store test hypotheses and outcomes; over time this builds an evidence base for what works for your audience.

Other tactics to try while running tests

A/B testing takes time; implement parallel activities that improve the funnel:

• Cart recovery: set up abandoned cart emails and push notifications; these recoveries often produce quick wins.
• Influencer or affiliate promotions: partner with micro-influencers to drive targeted traffic and social proof.
• Improve page speed: optimise images, remove unneeded scripts and use lazy loading to reduce bounce rates, especially on mobile.
• Conversion-oriented copy: refine category pages, product filters and search to make finding products easier.

When to hire outside help

If you have tried the checks above and still see no improvement, consider external help. A conversion specialist or agency can audit your store, run structured tests and implement changes faster. Look for partners that can:

• Audit analytics and tracking to ensure accurate data.
• Run prioritised A/B tests and interpret statistical results correctly.
• Assist with theme customisation, checkout issues and performance optimisation.

Common misconceptions about no-sales problems

Addressing myths helps you avoid wasted effort:

• Myth: A nice-looking store guarantees sales. Reality: design matters but clarity, trust and relevance matter more.
• Myth: Discounts always increase conversions. Reality: indiscriminate discounts can damage margins and brand perception; test them first.
• Myth: More traffic solves everything. Reality: poor conversion means more traffic only increases losses; fix conversion issues first if possible.

Checklist: diagnosing why your Shopify store has no sales

Use this checklist to work through the most common causes systematically:

• Is the store published and products visible to the Online Store sales channel?
• Do visitors appear in Live View or analytics?
• Can you complete a test order and receive payment confirmation?
• Are shipping and tax rules configured for your target countries?
• Are product pages clear: title, images, price and benefits?
• Do you offer the payment methods your audience prefers?
• Are there visible trust signals such as reviews and clear policies?
• Is page speed acceptable on mobile and desktop?
• Are you tracking conversions and can you segment by traffic source?
• Have you prioritised and run A/B tests on the highest-impact elements?

Example: a simple test that saved a store from zero orders

A small independent apparel store had traffic but zero orders. The owner ran the quick checks above and found checkout working and shipping set up. The breakthrough came from an A/B test: the original product title was technical and vague. The owner created a benefit-led title emphasising a key customer pain point and tested it using an A/B testing app. Within three weeks the conversion rate rose from 0.4 percent to 0.9 percent for the tested product page; over time this translated to consistent orders. The lesson: small clarity improvements can remove barriers for hesitant buyers.

Conclusion and next steps

Zero orders is a frustrating but solvable problem. Start by determining whether the issue is lack of traffic or poor conversion; run quick technical checks; make product pages clear and trustworthy; and adopt a disciplined A/B testing programme to learn what your customers prefer. Prioritise fixes that remove clear blockers before experimenting with cosmetic changes. Over time, systematic testing and measurement will convert the "no orders on Shopify" state into predictable revenue.

Zero orders is fixable: take practical action now

Zero orders is fixable. Start with your product pages. ConvertLab helps you test titles, descriptions, and prices to find what converts. Try ConvertLab to run controlled A/B tests on Shopify product pages and gather real evidence about what works for your audience.

Install ConvertLab on the Shopify App Store and begin testing small changes that can lead to big improvements.