We do a great deal of eCommerce research, design and development for clients, and one design element I am always fascinated by are progress bars. A progress bar is one of those "best practices" for a checkout process, which shows the user how many steps are in the checkout process, and what step they are currently on.

I always find myself searching for good examples of progress bars, and decided to devote significant time to seeing what was out there. It was interesting to see the ones that got creative, the ones that were downright boring and even the merchants that lacked a progress bar at all. Here is a gallery of what I found, in alphabetical order by merchant. Just click on the thumbnail to see the full-size version.

1-800-Flowers

Progress Bar Image

Abercrombie

Progress Bar Image

Amazon

Progress Bar Image

Apple

Progress Bar Image

Armani Exchange

Progress Bar Image

Bare Necessities

Progress Bar Image

Best Buy

Progress Bar Image

Blue Nile

Progress Bar Image

Buy.com

Progress Bar Image

Cafe Press

Progress Bar Image

Coach

Progress Bar Image

Crate & Barrel

Progress Bar Image

Crutchfield

Progress Bar Image

Disney

Progress Bar Image

Drugstore.com

Progress Bar Image

eCampus

Progress Bar Image

Endless

Progress Bar Image

Evogear

Progress Bar Image

Fossil

Progress Bar Image

Free People

Progress Bar Image

Fresh Direct

Progress Bar Image

Godiva

Progress Bar Image

Home Depot

Progress Bar Image

Ikea

Progress Bar Image

J. Crew

Progress Bar Image

Jet Blue

Progress Bar Image

Lego

Progress Bar Image

LL Bean

Progress Bar Image

Macy's

Progress Bar Image

Oneida

Progress Bar Image

QVC

Progress Bar Image

Sears

Progress Bar Image

Threadless

Progress Bar Image

Victoria's Secret

Progress Bar Image

Wal-Mart

Progress Bar Image

Williams Sonoma

Progress Bar Image

Yankee Candle Company

Progress Bar Image