Every Shopper Lands On Your PDP With a To-Do List
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If shoppers can’t finish their to-do list, they don’t buy. Here’s what they’re trying to get done:
Here’s a thought experiment: if you deleted everything on your site except your product detail pages, how much would your business really suffer?
CMOs would panic at this question. The homepage showcases our best lifestyle photography. The category pages took months to design and get right. The “About Us” page underwent 14 rewrites by the brand team.
But if you really look at where money changes hands, it’s not on any of those. It’s on the product detail page.
The PDP is where shoppers stop browsing and start deciding.
You could spend six figures on ads, build the prettiest homepage in your category, and still lose the sale here, because the PDP is where people figure out whether your product is right for them, whether it’s worth the price, and whether they trust you enough to hit “Add to Cart.”
And that’s really the key: shoppers land on a PDP to get jobs done. It’s not random scrolling. They’re trying to answer a set of questions that make them feel confident about buying. When you think of the PDP this way, not as a design exercise, but as a list of customer tasks (and don’t tell me it’s the jobs-to-be-done framework, because I don’t believe in frameworks), it becomes obvious what matters and what doesn’t.
Here’s what every shopper needs to accomplish before they’ll buy.
1. Verify that the product actually solves their problem (and brings them joy)
Every purchase begins with a tiny itch. Something they want to fix or feel. Their dog’s anxious. Their shoes hurt. Their skin’s dry. They need a new shirt (they don’t, they already have 35 in their closet).
When they hit your PDP, they’re looking for reassurance that this thing in front of them actually addresses that itch. They want to see it, read about it, imagine it in their life, and ideally, see other people like them getting results from it.
This is why clear photography, straightforward copy, and honest reviews matter so much. They help shoppers connect the dots between the idea of your product and their actual problem.
A good PDP doesn’t force people to go hunting for answers. It makes all the right information easy to find. Some shoppers will dive into specs. Others will skim reviews or look at lifestyle photos. You don’t get to choose which path they take, so create an information hierarchy that makes it easy for them to find what they need.
2. Decide whether the perceived value is higher than the price
Price is a number. Perceived value is a feeling.
The goal isn’t to make your product cheaper; it’s to make it feel more valuable than whatever number you’re asking people to pay. That feeling is built slowly, through quality cues like good photography, confident copy, and thoughtful presentation.
It’s also built through social proof: reviews, testimonials, and real-world usage that signals, “Other people like me spent this money and don’t regret it.” Add in small psychological sweeteners—free shipping, gifts with purchase, extended warranties, and you shift the mental equation from “Can I afford this?” to “I’d be dumb not to get it now.”
Perceived value is the sum of a hundred tiny signals, and your PDP is where they all have to land at once.
3. Feel trust in the brand and the delivery
Every online shopper has a few scars. They’ve been burned by a sketchy product, a broken item, or a brand that ghosted them after checkout.
So while your PDP might be about the product, part of what they’re really evaluating is you. Can they trust that you’ll deliver what you promise?
That’s why details like shipping timelines, return policies, and guarantees aren’t just fine print; they’re persuasion tools. They answer an emotional question: “Am I safe giving these people my money?”
If you’re not a household name, make it easy for shoppers to feel comfortable. Show where you ship from. Make customer service contact info visible. Use photography that features real people. Show pictures of your office, your product facilities, your team, and your life.
Trust doesn’t come from being perfect—it comes from being human and transparent.
4. Understand how and when they’ll get it
People are buying because they need something, and they may need it right away. So they’re asking: “When will it get here?” Or am I better off getting in my car and finding something similar down the street?
People want clarity. Not “Ships in 2–4 business days” buried in the footer. Real clarity: “Arrives by Friday with free returns.”
The second question is, “What happens if it doesn’t work?” This is where most brands overcomplicate things. If your return process feels like a scavenger hunt, it’s easier for the shopper to close the tab than to trust you.
Clear timelines, easy-to-understand delivery details, and visible return policies build both trust and urgency. Shoppers want to know that the thing they’re buying will be in their hands soon—and that it won’t be a nightmare if it’s not what they hoped for.
One note on returns: if you get people thinking too much about returns on the PDP, they may get cold feet. It’s a delicate balance that can only be figured out through testing.
5. Find the right product if this one isn’t it
Sometimes people land on the wrong PDP. Maybe they searched the wrong color, or your Google Shopping ad linked to a similar SKU. That doesn’t mean the sale is lost; it just means they need help getting to the right thing.
This is where related products, intelligent recommendations, and clear navigation save you. When a shopper realizes, “Actually, I need a slightly different style,” or “I want the bundle instead,” you want that moment to happen on your site, not on Google.
A good PDP doesn’t trap people. It acts like a guide, helping them self-correct without feeling lost.
Pro Tip: your Google Shopping result page can look dramatically different than a PDP because it’s a different experience. Don’t be afraid to show similar products at the top of the page for these shoppers.
6. Justify their emotional decision with logic
By the time a shopper reaches this point, they already want the product. What they’re looking for now is permission.
They need to feel that this purchase makes sense, that it’s not impulsive, but reasonable. This is where technical details, materials, certifications, and even the “why we built it” story come into play. They don’t create desire; they make desire feel safe.
This is the step where someone goes from “I love it” to “I can explain why it’s a smart buy to my partner.”
7. Feel confident they’re not missing something better
Even after they’ve decided, there’s still a flicker of doubt: “What if there’s a better one?”
That’s not logic—it’s fear of regret.
Comparison charts, “best seller” tags, expert recommendations, and social proof are all ways to quiet that voice. They tell the shopper, “You’re making the right choice.”
Your PDP should make that moment feel final, not fragile. The goal is to replace hesitation with confidence.
So they add to cart.
So how do you improve your site?
Knowing these seven tasks is the easy part. Figuring out which ones your PDP fails at is harder.
You may be able to make some quick changes, but first you need insights to prioritize what matters. Start by talking to your customers to learn what they actually care about and how they make decisions.
Once you’ve got a list of potential improvements, priotize by impact ot revenue, and run experiments. Some ideas will lift revenue. Others will quietly break things.
The only way to know is to experiment.
If any of this is overwheling, just too much, and you just don’t have the resources, email me.
If you disagree with this newsletter, tell me.
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