CheckoutZeiten

CheckoutZeiten is a term used in retail and e-commerce to describe a standardized approach to measuring the duration of the checkout process. It refers to a set of metrics and event definitions that capture the time from the creation of a shopping cart to the final confirmation of an order, across online and mobile checkout experiences. The primary aim is to provide comparable benchmarks for performance and user experience, enabling retailers and platforms to identify bottlenecks, reduce abandonment, and improve conversion rates.

The concept emerged in the mid-2010s within the e-commerce analytics community. In 2018 a consortium of retailers and technology providers released an open specification called CheckoutZeiten, outlining a common event taxonomy, timestamp formats, and data privacy guidelines. The specification emphasizes event-based measurement, with stages such as cart creation, checkout initiation, payment submission, payment confirmation, and order completion. Timings are recorded in aligned time zones (typically UTC) and can be collected via standard APIs or SDKs and integrated into analytics dashboards.

Adoption is voluntary and varies by market. Proponents argue that a shared standard enhances cross-platform comparability and accountability, while critics point to potential privacy concerns and the effort required to retrofit legacy systems. In practice, CheckoutZeiten is used by retailers, payment processors, and analytics vendors to benchmark checkout performance and drive optimization initiatives.

There are also variations and extensions, such as Core and Pro profiles that add deeper event details, error diagnostics, and regional compliance features. See also: e-commerce analytics, conversion rate optimization, checkout optimization.