Consumer Visual Attention During Checkout: An Eye Tracking-Study

The study focused on how users visually navigated Swegmark’s e-shop during the checkout process and which factors may have contributed to drop-off behaviors.

By combining visual attention analysis with participants’ subjective experiences, the project aimed to provide practical insights into user experience, online shopping behavior, and website usability. The findings highlighted the role of wishlists, comparison behaviors, impulsive buying prevention, and payment-page interactions in shaping consumers’ purchasing decisions.

The project was conducted as part of a field study at the University of Borås in collaboration with Swegmark.

Abstract

Shopping cart abandonment is a complex phenomenon affecting many e-commerce retailers. There are multiple psychological and practical reasons why consumers choose to abandon their shopping carts without proceeding to payment. The purpose of this research was to investigate how visual attention during the checkout process relates to drop-off behaviors in Swegmark’s e-shop. More specifically, the study aimed to address a gap in the existing literature and contribute to a better understanding of the relationship between visual attention and cart abandonment.

To address this research question, eye tracking was used to observe consumers’ visual attention during the checkout process. Following the eye tracking-procedure, short interviews were conducted to gain a deeper understanding of participants’ behaviors both within the specific website environment and in e-commerce settings more generally.

The results revealed important differences between participants’ interview responses and their visual behavior during the eye tracking-procedure. More specifically, the majority of participants highlighted the importance of wishlist functions in reducing cart abandonment. However, although a wishlist option was available on the website and was visually noticed by most participants, they failed to recall or use it during the procedure.

Future research could investigate this phenomenon in greater depth and further examine how visual attention operates in e-commerce environments, as well as which website elements consumers merely see compared to those they consciously process, understand, and remember.

Project details

Tagline: Visual Attention and Consumer Drop-Off Behaviors in E-Commerce/ Consumer Visual Attention During Checkout: An Eye Tracking - Study

Title: Visual Attention During Checkout and Shopping Cart Abandonment: An Eye Tracking-Study in Consumer Behavior

Type of Study:  Field study report (Journal article format)

Year: 2026

Language: English

Author: Chrysanthi Matsouka and Fani Roka

Course: Field Study in Textile Management

Program: Master’s programme in Fashion Marketing and Management

Supervisor: Marianne Louwerse / Jenny Balkow

Case company: Swegmark 

Technology: Eye tracking on screen