Express Checkout: The Most Efficient Checkout Process For Your Online Shop

Are you noticing a big drop in traffic during your checkout process? Have you ever wondered what could be causing this? This may be a sign that your process is too complicated and lengthy. If so, let us guide you on how to improve your conversion rate. You can do so by optimizing your platform for Express Checkout. This term refers to a quicker checkout process targeted towards returning customers (either to your platform or to the express checkout service provider you’ve partnered with). 

Try putting yourself in your consumer’s shoes. How much more likely are you to complete your purchase on platforms that make the checkout process very simple? Have you ever abandoned your cart because of how long the checkout process was? You’re not alone in this! Research suggests that the average rate of cart abandonment is shockingly high at 68.8%. From this group of respondents, 21% specified that the complicated checkout process was the reason behind their cart abandonment. 

How Does Express Checkout Work?

For your consumers to enjoy Express Checkout on your platform, you need to start by analyzing your current Checkout process. Wondering where to start? No worries, we’ve got you covered.

Clicks
Check the number of clicks from Initiation (Add to Cart) till the closing of the transaction.

Fields
Check the number of fields required for your consumer to complete their purchase. By this we mean the following:

• Contact Information
• Shipping Information
• Payment & Delivery Options

Buy as guest
Does your platform allow the shopper to choose between creating an account and checking out as a guest? If not, you may want to reconsider your options. 28% abandon their carts because they would rather not create a new account. However, we know that having a registration option is inevitable if you want to guarantee a quicker checkout process. Express checkout only works for shoppers whose shipping and payment data are already available to you. What is the solution then? Remember that you don’t want to lose 28% of shoppers. So, you have to offer them the option to choose between both options.

Create an Account
Ensure that the payment process is easy: Make sure that your shoppers don’t have to fill out numerous fields for you to capture their payment details. You could also partner with third-party services that let you shorten the process. For instance, let’s say PayPal or Klarna (payment service providers in Europe), where the consumers can just log in and complete their purchase in a few clicks. 

Now that you’re done analyzing your website, it’s time to review your conversion rate. If your conversion rates are below average, you need to optimize your checkout process based on what you found in your analysis: 

• Can you minimize the number of clicks from the moment the consumers add their desired product to the cart until transaction completion? 
• Is it possible to minimize the number of fields required in your registration (account creation) option?
• Can you offer to save the preferred details as part of your customers’ profiles? Be mindful that you need to offer a clear guarantee for data safety in these instances.  

How can an Optimized Checkout Process Benefit Your Business?

The advantages of Express Checkout are numerous: 

Improved Mobile Optimization
The Checkout process optimization allows by nature a reduction in steps. This reduction reflects the number of clicks/fields/pages required to complete the purchase. The simplification and minimization of steps allow for an easier adaptation to the mobile version. This is important since over 70% of shoppers use their mobile devices for shopping online. 

Increased Consumer Trust
As we mentioned before, you need to always allow your consumers to choose between the registration and the buy-as-guest option. If they choose to trust you with their data and then see the benefits of a quicker checkout process, you’ve gained their trust and are more likely to keep it. 

More Equipped to Meet Consumer Expectations
In markets where Amazon or a similar global retailer is available. Your customers have higher expectations due to things like 1-click buying. This means not only do shoppers expect more, but also your competitors are likely to build better checkout processes. Implementing such a process can also help you stay competitive.

Better Conversion Pathway
The quicker shoppers can complete their online purchase, the higher your chances are as a brand for better conversion rates. A frictionless checkout process also makes your platform more attractive for impulse buyers. 40% of eCommerce sales have been categorized as impulse shopping. 

Now we leave you with the following chart to reflect on the eCommerce shopping experience, notice the big gap between the sessions with Add-to-Cart and the ones with Transactions. We thought it would help you visualize how significant cart abandonment is: 

Do you want to stay up to date in Digital Marketing?

One-Click Checkout vs. Express Checkout

One-click, as the name suggests, is a checkout process that is completed in a single click. Meaning, that the shoppers would move from looking at a product detail page to sealing their transaction with a press of a button. But for you to achieve this, you need to build trust. Why?

Because you are building a checkout process solely around the fact that you can securely store sensitive data from your shoppers. This is where you may need to rely on Trustee or other security seals on your site to provide credibility. This level of trust may require a while to achieve and this is where express checkout comes into play. 

Express-Checkout is simply a quicker, more optimized checkout process. Here the process is not simplified to one click. However, both registered users and guests have a simple and quick way to complete their purchases. For this, you may find that using third-party services is helpful.

Which Features Should You Expect From Express Checkout Providers?

When looking to provide the best user experience, retailers often overlook one aspect of their website: the shopping cart. Shopping carts can make or break the shopping experience. Whether your shoppers leave for a competitor or not depends on the shopping cart. If using a third-party partner allows you to provide an optimized experience, then you should look for the right partner. How can you make sure your chosen provider offers all the essential features that shoppers are looking for?

Here are five things you need to know:

Clicks to Checkout
If you integrate the third-party application with your checkout process, how many steps does it help you reduce? The fewer the steps, the lower your cart abandonment rate will be. With that in place, higher conversion rates can be achieved.

Speed
The likelihood that a customer won’t come back to shop with you again is high if they experience long waiting times to complete the checkout process. Can your provider’s technology speed things up and not slow things down? For instance, does it often lead to high load times when trying to connect to the provider’s account?

Quality and Reliability
It is crucial to test the process before launching it in order to identify any errors or potential technological problems. A smooth check-out experience is delivered by properly testing your e-commerce application. As a result, make sure the integration is bug-free and seamless.

User-friendly Checkout
Is the platform easy to use for customers? Which requirements must be met in order to enter? Do you provide users with their preferred option in terms of shipping terms, payment methods, and the checkout process? If not, can third-party integrations fill these gaps for you?

What Does It Mean For You?

Assess your cart abandonment rate to see if it is higher than average for your industry. If so, conduct an audit to evaluate your checkout process from your shopper’s perspective. Remember:

• Cart abandonment is reduced due to a lower friction level
• Returning users can generate higher LTVs (Lifetime Values)
• Retention costs are of course typically much lower than customer acquisition costs.

What To Do Next?

Interested in auditing your or your retail partner’s eCommerce optimization from discovery to delivery? Talk to us: moin@watersky.digital