Skip to content

PTLanguage: EN

All case studies

03 · E-commerce · Independent study · 4 min read

Study: the required phone number in Shein’s sign-in

Independent study, not affiliated with Shein, based on the website flow in June 2025.

I analyzed the phone number request that shows up right after signing in to Shein. I found usability and accessibility flaws, and I propose making the phone number optional and asking for it after the purchase.

Problem
A mandatory phone number sign-up interrupts the purchase and drives away people who have already decided to buy.
What I did
I analyzed the flow, listed the usability and accessibility flaws and proposed asking for the phone number after the purchase.
Estimate
Could win back some of the people who give up when faced with the required phone number.

What I found on the phone number screen

After sign-in, the website asks for a phone number. On that screen, I found:

  • two buttons with almost the same name: “Envie” sends the code and “Enviar” confirms it (both mean “Send”) [3];
  • the phone field opens the letter keyboard instead of the numeric one, and you can’t navigate with Tab [4];
  • English text in the middle of a Portuguese screen, like the field label and the code-sent message;
  • a confirmation with technical jargon: “Bind was successful”;
  • SMS and WhatsApp come pre-checked;
  • a “Skip” option that doesn’t say why the number is requested or what happens if you skip.
  1. Already a Customer/Register window with a single field for phone or email, a Continue button and sign-in with Google or Facebook.
    Entry: a single field for phone or email.
  2. Sign in to your account window, with the email filled in, a password field and an Already a customer button.
    Sign-in with email and password.
  3. Window asking for a phone number and a verification code, with SMS and WhatsApp already checked, a Send button next to the code, another Send button below and a Skip link.
    After signing in, the phone number request: SMS and WhatsApp come pre-checked, and two “Send” buttons do different things.
  4. The same window with the number typed and the English message Verification code send successfully.
    The code-sent message appears in English, in the middle of a Portuguese screen.
  5. The same window with the code typed and two black buttons, Send next to the code and Send below.
    With the code typed, people have to guess which of the two “Send” buttons to use.
  6. Message Congratulations! Bind was successful! with a Confirm button, over the sign-in window.
    The confirmation uses technical jargon (“bind”) and mixes Portuguese and English.

Two screens of the phone number request, with annotations: the Phone Number label and the Verification code send successfully message in English, the Send button next to the code, which turns into a 58-second countdown, and another Send button below.
“Envie” sends the code and “Enviar” confirms it: two buttons with almost the same name. The field label and the sent message are in English.
Phone number request screen on mobile with the number field selected and the letter keyboard open, both highlighted.
Tapping the phone field opens the letter keyboard, not the numeric one.

Why I looked at sign-in

In Shein’s data on Reclame AQUI, Brazil’s largest consumer complaints website, the top complaints are about logistics, products different from what was advertised and difficulty with exchanges. I chose sign-in for a practical reason: logistics depends on third parties, while sign-in is 100% digital, quick to fix and sits at the start of every purchase.

Complaints table: orders not delivered with forged signature, 108,813; late delivery, 39,205; incorrect or incomplete deliveries, 3,213; sign-in and access difficulties, 2,038.
Complaints against Shein on Reclame AQUI, from January to June 2025.

My proposal

I propose keeping the entry screen and sign-in as they are and redoing the phone number request: the title says why the number is requested (to track the order), SMS and WhatsApp come unchecked, each button says what it does, the field opens the numeric keyboard and all the copy is in Portuguese.

  1. Already a Customer/Register window, same as the original.
    The entry stays the same.
  2. Sign in to your account window, same as the original.
    So does the sign-in.
  3. Add your phone number window, with the reason in the subtitle, a phone field with area code, SMS and WhatsApp messages unchecked under the heading Optional, and the buttons Code by SMS and Code by call.
    The title says why the number is requested, messages come unchecked and optional, and each button says what it does.
  4. Confirm your number window, with the editable number, six fields for the code, a Confirm number button and a countdown to resend.
    One action per screen: confirm the number, with the time to resend the code in view.
  5. Phone number added! window, explaining that the number can be edited or removed, with a Continue button.
    The confirmation, in plain Portuguese, says how to edit or remove the number.
  6. Two mobile screens of the proposal: Add your phone number and Confirm your number.
    The same proposal on mobile.

What if the phone number came after the purchase?

I also propose asking for the phone number on the order-complete screen. At that point, the person has already bought and has a reason to give their number: tracking the delivery.

Current flow: Product, Sign-in or sign-up, Add phone number highlighted, Cart, Payment and Order complete.
Current flow: the phone number sign-up interrupts the purchase journey.
Proposed flow: Product, Sign-in or sign-up, Cart, Payment, Order complete and, last, Add phone number highlighted.
Proposal: the phone number sign-up at the end of the purchase journey.

Leads or conversion?

I assume the required phone number serves a Marketing goal: building a list of SMS contacts. I considered two paths:

  • A: only fix the interface errors and explain the fields better, without changing when the phone number is requested.
  • B, what I propose: fix the errors, make it clear that the phone number is optional and ask again after the purchase.

My proposal collects fewer phone numbers up front, in exchange for not losing people who have already decided to buy.

How much this could win back

In Baymard’s research, 14% of people say they would never give their phone number to an online store [1]. With the number optional and requested after the purchase, the proposal could win back some of the people who give up at this step.

average cart abandonment [2]
70.22%
leave because the site required an account [2]
18%
would never give their phone number to an online store [1]
14%

References