Optimizing E‑Commerce Experiences
for small to mid-sized customer software purchases
Context
While conducting research for a major software company, we uncovered a gap in the e‑commerce experience for small-to-medium businesses (SMBs). The purchasing flow was optimized for very small businesses (VSBs) and individual consumers — typically one product, one seat, paid by credit card in a single transaction. However, SMBs shared many of the complex purchasing requirements of enterprise customers, including:
Purchasing for groups of users across levels
Needing to save and share carts for team or committee decision-making
Payment flexibility (ACH, invoicing, financing)
Integration with other business entities in license deployment
Advanced requirements like user management and SSO
This mismatch created friction, delayed purchases, and increased confusion for SMB customers.
Action
Working closely with design, product, and engineering, we redesigned the e‑commerce cart experience to meet SMB needs by:
Enabling cart save and share functionality for collaboration
Embedding clear explanations of payment options without disrupting the purchase flow
Integrating explanations of licensing models directly into the checkout process
Continuously testing and iterating features to identify points of confusion and streamline the purchase path
Results
Increased higher-value, multi-seat product suite purchases
Greater adoption of complex licensing models, expanding product portfolio sales
Reduced customer confusion and a measurable decrease in support cases and returns
Shortened SMB purchasing timelines by supporting committee-based workflows
Learning
SMB customers, though smaller in size, often need enterprise-level purchasing capabilities
Overly consumer-focused flows (e.g., promotions, credit-card only checkout) can distract or block business buyers
Providing clarity and flexibility at the point of purchase enables businesses to make faster, more confident buying decisions