What is conversion funnel leakage?

Conversion funnel leakage is the loss of potential customers at different stages of a conversion funnel before they complete the desired action, such as making a purchase, submitting an RFQ, creating an account, or completing checkout.

A typical eCommerce funnel might look like:

Website visit → Product view → Add to cart → Checkout → Payment → Purchase

If many users reach the checkout but leave before completing payment, that stage has significant funnel leakage.

Common causes include:

• Complicated navigation or checkout processes.
• Unexpected costs such as shipping or taxes.
• Slow page loading.
• Poor mobile experience.
• Unclear product information or pricing.
• Lack of trust signals.
• Limited payment options.
• Technical errors or broken forms.
• Complicated B2B approval or account processes.
• Poorly targeted traffic.

For example, if 10,000 visitors reach a B2B product page, 1,000 add products to their cart, but only 200 complete an order, there is substantial drop-off between the cart and completed purchase stages.

Businesses use analytics, funnel reports, session recordings, customer feedback, and A/B testing to identify where leakage occurs and determine possible causes. Reducing unnecessary friction at those stages can help improve the overall conversion rate, although changes should be validated with reliable data and testing.