The checkout is a vital part of the ecommerce experience, and so retailers should put considerable time and effort into getting it right. An effective checkout will ensure that shoppers complete the checkout process. An ineffective one will see the abandoned cart rate soar.
So how do you get it right?
There are two elements to consider as part of the buying stage of an ecommerce website:
- The checkout experience
- The payment methods
These two areas must work in tandem together to provide a smooth, fast and secure purchase for customers. Once this has been achieved, you can expect to see an improved conversion rate and a reduced shopping cart bounce rate.
In this blog post, we’ll:
- Take a look at the payment options available to retailers who use Adobe Commerce (Magento 2) as their ecommerce platform
- Show you how to pick the correct ones that match your target customers’ needs and requirements
- Weight up the different types of checkout options
- Detail the four key elements to providing a successful checkout process
What are the Payment Method Options?
When it comes to picking which payment methods to include on your website, you must first assess the needs of your customers. What shoppers prefer using will differ depending on their age, experience and expectations.
It is important to understand which demographics that use your site and then test what is, and what is not, working.
Buy Now Pay Later
Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL), such as Klarna and Clearpay, gives customers a range of payment options. This can be up front, in instalments, or deferred for a set period of time (e.g. in 30 days time).
If you are a luxury brand that sells high-value items, this can be a great option to offer as it allows shoppers to spread the cost of their purchase.
Equally, BNPL is a great option if you know that your customers prefer to bulk buy items with the intention of sending some (or most) of it back. For example, fashion and apparel brands where the customer isn’t sure of their size or the fit of the products.
One thing to note is that younger shoppers are generally happier to take advantage of Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) methods than credit-wary older generations.
Instant Pay
If your customers prioritise speed and convenience, then instant pay methods are a must.
The likes of Amazon Pay, Google Pay and Apple Pay allow shoppers to make their purchase with only one or two clicks of a button.
This is ideal for repeat customers who don’t want to go through lengthy steps for a brand they already know and trust. It is also essential for shoppers on the move – instant pay options are also perfect for mobile use.
How many payment methods should you offer?
It is best practice to offer a range of payment options that suits how customers like to shop and pay. However, make sure you don’t overcrowd your checkout process with too many: stick to three or four.
More than this isn’t necessary, and will only lead to confusion or a cluttered and messy-looking site.
What Kind of Checkout Should You Offer?
When it comes to your checkout, there are three types to consider:
- Multi-step checkout
- One-step checkout
- One-click checkout
1. Multi-step
The pros of a multi-step checkout is that it offers guest checkout, email marketing collection, clean layout and better options on tracking analytics data
2. One step
If a multi-step checkout is too cumbersome, then a one-step checkout offers customers fewer clicks and is generally easier if kept clean from a layout and design perspective
3. One click
Do your customers want more speed? Then a one-click checkout is the fastest checkout around. And faster speeds leads to higher conversions.
Pro Tip: Don’t forget to offer to set up a customer account at the checkout stage. Allowing your site to remember the customer will further reduce the time it takes to checkout when they return in the future. It is also a great way to start building the profile of your customer to offer personalised recommendations.
Emilia Swiecicka, from online payments provider Mollie, said, “In order to build trust with your customers, the payments experience needs to be smooth and secure.
“Simple adjustments like avoiding a redirect so that your customers stay on the page they’re checking out from, or offering a variety of preferred payment methods, will maintain trust throughout the checkout experience and reduce abandoned carts.
“At Mollie, we’ve seen customers up their conversion by as much as 8% over a matter of days, by removing their redirect and implementing a single page checkout instead.”
What Does a Successful Checkout Look Like?
Looking at the whole checkout, there are four key elements in producing a successful process.
1. Smooth
It should guide the customers seamlessly from step to step
2. Fast
A quick loading time means higher conversion rates. After choosing what type of checkout process and which payment methods to offer, the final consideration merchants must turn their attention to is site speed.
A slow or clunky checkout process will lead customers to abandoning their shopping cart and bouncing away. Attention spans are at a premium, and a site that loads slowly can cause frustration, resulting in a lost sale for the merchant. Test your site speed on the checkout page regularly to track the results and make improvements when required
3. Secure
It is essential that your checkout and payment process is secure to keep your customers’ personal and financial information safe.
Customers trust that the websites they use have a secure checkout, however there are still many poor ecommerce stores out there that don’t have the right protections in place.
Using a secure payment gateway like Mollie, Stripe, Opayo (Sage Pay), Paypal or Adyen will protect customers’ data, giving shoppers and retailers peace of mind.
4. Distraction-free
Distractions – such as leaving the navigation at the top of the web page – could lead the shopper away from the checkout, and so increase the risk of them abandoning their cart altogether
Build trust with your payments
After doing all the hard work to create a user-friendly checkout experience that is optimised to drive sales, the final step is to publicise your payment options.
By signposting your payment options across your website, you will build trust among first-time customers and also encourage sales (particularly with BNPL).
Make your checkout work harder
For such a small area of your website, there are many elements to consider and get right in your checkout process.
For assistance from the Magento 2 experts, get in touch with our award-winning team now.
Contact us here or call now on 0161 762 4920.