In this release, we're attacking four known pain points for the auction bidding process: 

1. Bidder dropoff between Cart and Bid Checkout because Bidders don't know that they must complete Checkout to confirm their bids (they need to submit their Bids after just adding them to the Cart)
2. Bidders don't understand why we ask for their payment information upfront when they make their first bid
3. Bidders don't understand that their cards aren't charged if they don't win any items at the end of the auction
4. Bidders don't know what a "Maximum Bid" is and how Proxy Bidding works

Here are the changes we're making to address all of the pain points above: 

New "Place Bid" modal

A new modal makes it easier for bidders to enter their bid amount with explanations of how bidding works, what happens when they're outbid, and what the minimum bid and bid increments are for the item they're viewing. 

New "Bidding Guidance" modal

After a bidder adds their first bid to their Cart, a new modal explains the next steps of bid checkout better and eliminates dropoff between Cart and bid submission.

Cart changes

Cart Toast element and new Cart icon in the header

After adding a bid to the Cart, a new toast message appears in the upper right. Cart toast messages are a familiar UX pattern from other eCommerce sites and help users learn the pattern of where the Cart is and where they need to go to initiate Checkout.

New "Charged Later" cart section

The Cart now puts Bids and Pledges into a separate "Charged Later" section which explains when donors can expect the system to charge them for items in that section. See screenshot.

Conditional cart buttons

The buttons at the bottom of the Cart now dynamically change depending on what's in the Cart. If only Bids are in the Cart, they'll switch to "Submit bid now." If other items are in the Cart, they'll say, "Check out now." 

The new button text improves the bidder experience with more specific CTAs and addresses the confusion Bidders had when they didn't understand why they had to "check out" their bids. 

Better workflow for users who are outbid while in Cart

Bidders outbid by other bidders before they even get to Checkout will now see a new guided experience explaining what happened and giving them easy controls to take action. 

Checkout changes

New "Bids" section

The Bids section of Checkout is redesigned with two main improvements: 

• An easier way to edit your bid while in the middle of Checkout: see screenshot
• Clearer communication of Outbid status for when the user is outbid by someone else while they're still checking out or when they return to Checkout after being outbid: see screenshot

Review & Pay section changes

The Payment Method section now clearly explains why we ask for payment information upfront from bidders and that they won't be charged if they don't win anything.