Metrics question
You’re a PM at eBay. If the checkout conversion rate is low, what steps would you take to address it?
- eBay
- Metrics
- Hard
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What this question tests
Diagnosing and addressing a checkout funnel problem with a structured, segmented approach.
How to approach it
- Confirm the drop is real and material: compare against historical baseline and rule out a tracking or reporting error first.
- Break the checkout funnel into steps: cart, shipping info, payment entry, and order confirmation, to find where users drop.
- Segment by device, since mobile checkout often has higher drop due to smaller forms and payment friction.
- Segment by buyer type, since eBay has both new buyers and repeat auction bidders with different checkout habits.
- Check for a recent change: a new payment provider, a longer form, or a policy change like updated seller fees passed to buyers.
- Propose the top hypothesis, run an A/B test on the suspected friction point, and define recovery target.
What a strong answer includes
- Breaks checkout into discrete steps and identifies the specific step with the biggest drop rather than treating checkout as one block.
- Segments by device, noting mobile forms are a common source of checkout friction on marketplaces like eBay.
- Names a concrete hypothesis, such as a recent payment provider change causing failed transactions, as the first thing to check.
- Proposes an A/B test on the suspected fix rather than rolling out a change blind.
Common mistakes
- Treating checkout as one single step instead of a funnel with multiple drop points.
- Proposing a fix before confirming where in the funnel users are actually dropping.
Likely follow-up questions
- How would you prioritize which funnel step to fix first?
- How would you validate a proposed fix before a full rollout?
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More questions from eBay
Learn the skill behind it
Chapters of the AI PM course that teach what this question tests.
- Chapter 9: Prove it paid off: outcomes, economics, and pricing
- Chapter 2: Data fluency: SQL, logs, and reading the truth yourself
- Chapter 14: Get the job: the AI PM interview loop