Curating the right set of products and offers and delivering an intuitive browsing experience can only help so much when the choke point in the online shopping experience happens during the checkout stage.
But optimizing for a seamless checkout experience is easier said than done.
While dissecting the number of clicks and steps within the checkout flow seems obvious, online merchants need to dig a little deeper.
According to Bold Commerce’s Checkout Benchmark report, single-page online checkouts have a conversion rate of 48.4%, which is nearly at par with progressive or multi-page checkouts. However, that is not to say that it is appropriate to take a blanket approach to optimizing checkout flows on desktop and mobile channels.
The study found that progressive or multi-page checkouts actually perform better on mobile devices, while single-page scrolling checkouts convert higher than the progressive multi-page alternative on desktops.
What brands and retailers should instead focus on is whether their checkout experience speaks to the unique needs and requirements of their shoppers.
“There are so many different strategies brands and retailers can take to optimize checkout conversion, but it begins with personalization and tailoring those checkout experiences,” said Bold Commerce’s Chief Marketing Officer, Deanna Traa.
In today’s hyper-competitive environment, businesses need to consider ease of checkout beyond clicks and form fields. For example, are shoppers making one-time purchases, buying recurring subscriptions, or a mix? Can loyalty members easily collect and redeem loyalty rewards during the checkout process? Are shoppers presented with their preferred payment method instead of a growing sea of choices? These factors all serve as conversion boosters in the online checkout process.
Additionally, sharing the estimated delivery date and acceptable return window during checkout without forcing customers to read through the FAQs page can also serve as a conversion booster.
“All of these micro choices can make a big difference during the checkout process,” Traa said, adding that a tailored checkout flow should be based on conditions, such as channel, customer segment and device type.
Offering a cookie-cutter checkout experience that shortens that path to purchase, but lacks vital conversion boosters, limits the ability to reduce checkout abandonment. Brands and retailers that struggle to recognize that will continue to face an uphill battle with checkout conversion.
