There’s a common myth amongst retailers that checkout is “untouchable,” a fragile system that can be thrown into disarray by even the slightest modifications. It’s why we’ve seen retailers invest significant time and money in efforts to upgrade and personalize every part of shoppers’ journeys – except for checkout.
At checkout, retailers’ make or break moment, most shoppers are ushered to the same generic experience after a series of hyper-personalized touch points. This one-size-fit-all checkout experience is causing nearly half (48%) of shoppers to abandon their cart during the checkout process. And many retailers accept this as the norm, because it’s been ingrained in them that checkout is too risky to touch and personalize, so they overlook any minor change to checkout – even if it will make a major difference to their revenue.
Fortunately, the myth that checkout is “untouchable” is only a myth.
The truth is that checkout can be personalized and improved, and retailers don’t have to tread lightly with fear they’ll dismantle the whole system. It’s possible to personalize checkout like every other part of the shopping experience. There are no limits to the experiences that retailers can offer shoppers at checkout; they simply have to get started. The first step is to forget everything they’ve learned about checkout and lean into its possibilities.
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The “untouchable and breakable checkout” is one of several checkout myths floating around the retail industry. Here are four other myths heard from across the industry that we’re debunking for good:
1. Personalizing checkout experiences requires retailers to replatform.
How consumers shop today is drastically different from years past. They shop anytime, anywhere and on any device – and they expect a shopping experience that reflects their real-time preferences. Many retailers want to upgrade the checkout experiences they offer to meet these evolving customer needs, but are unable to do so because they’re operating on systems that aren’t super flexible. Many believe that the only way to offer these experiences is to replatform, which is expensive, time-consuming and extremely disruptive to business.
But replatforming is not retailers’ only option.
Composable commerce offers retailers the ability to incorporate “best-of-breed” tools on top of their existing technology. This means they update the ecommerce experiences they offer with the industry’s most innovative tools, piece by piece, without disrupting their business or investing hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Composable checkout is a good place for retailers to start their composable journey. It’s one of the most important parts of shoppers’ journey – it’s where they decide to make a purchase and the last touch point they have with a brand. With composable checkout, retailers can introduce new checkout experiences to select audiences while still using their previous checkout for the majority of shoppers. This gives retailers peace of mind while they’re making the transition and minimizes the risk of disruption.
With a composable approach to checkout, retailers can deliver the experiences that convert shoppers and build long-term relationships with them across digital touch points and in-store. And they can do it all on the platform they’re already on.
2. Driving conversion = driving revenue.
Perhaps one of the biggest myths with checkout is that focusing on conversion means automatically increased revenue. It’s not that simple. In fact, focusing entirely on conversion can actually be hurting their business.
Take, for instance, a customer that purchases one $10 item. While this purchase counts as a conversion, the cost to convert that order (not to mention packing, shipping and delivery) may exceed the price of the item.
Conversion is certainly one metric retailers need to focus on as they think about revenue – but it shouldn’t be the only one. Retailers need to also consider Average Order Value (AOV) and Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) as they think about the checkout experiences they want to deliver.
For example, retailers can use personalized cross-selling and upselling at checkout to increase AOV by introducing customers to relevant items they may not have otherwise discovered. This is helpful to bring low-cost carts up in items and spend.
For CLV, offering personalized experiences alone is a good way to build relationships with customers. When shoppers feel connected to a brand and like they’re part of its community, they’re more likely to keep purchasing from a brand. These repeat customers are much more valuable to brands over those that purchase once and never come back. For customers who purchase items on a regular basis (e.g. vitamins, face moisturizer, coffee beans, etc.), subscriptions are another way to drive CLV. Retailers can offer personalized subscription options that automatically place a recurring order, providing shoppers with the convenience of auto-renewals and retailers with repeat customers and consistent revenue streams.
3. The best checkout is a fast checkout.
Retailers have long avoided solving issues at checkout because of its “untouchable” reputation. But that’s not to say some didn’t try. Unfortunately, these attempts were not successful at solving the checkout abandonment problem because they focused on prioritizing speed over everything else. The thinking there is that the faster shoppers get through checkout, the faster they convert.
A fast checkout process is optimal in some cases, but it’s not the best option in every shopping scenario, for every shopper.
A speedy one-click checkout may be best for shoppers making an impulse buy based on their social media recommendations. But for many shoppers, a longer checkout experience with expanded features is more relevant. These shoppers have different needs: they might be researching, comparing options or planning larger purchases. They’re spending more time with a brand and their purchase, which creates an opportunity for retailers to enhance the checkout experience to shoppers’ specific needs.
Prioritizing speed alone also means retailers compromise on features like in-store pickup or loyalty program benefits which can be valuable to both customers and retailers. By understanding individual shoppers and their shopping journeys, retailers can offer the personalized experience that best fits a shopper every single time.
4. One checkout experience is all shoppers (and retailers) need.
Consumers are offered personalized experiences in nearly every aspect of their online experiences – from social media feeds and news articles to TV shows and music. When it comes to shopping, consumers expect no different. They don’t want a one-size-fits-all experience; they want a personalized journey from start to end, and that includes checkout.
Retailers need to create personalized checkout experiences for individual shoppers in each shopping scenario. Checkout should be curated based on a variety of factors, including who shoppers are, their shopping preferences, what they’ve purchased before and where they’re shopping from.
This will allow retailers to create the experience that is right for that one shopper at the exact moment they’re making a purchase. For example, mobile shoppers will likely prefer one-click checkout for quick purchases on social media, while desktop users may benefit from more checkout features such as product recommendations, loyalty program offerings and multiple payment options. Or a returning customer that’s purchased with a specific buy now, pay later provider should already see that option as preferred as well as having their shipping address and loyalty membership already filled in.
By personalizing checkout to fit individual customer preferences, retailers can create thousands of checkout experiences that cater to shoppers’ diverse needs and leads to larger cart sizes, loyalty, and most importantly, increased revenue.
The myths surrounding checkout have caused retailers to neglect a crucial part of the shopping experience. By debunking common myths around checkout, retailers can unlock the full potential of checkout and provide a more holistic personalized customer journey.
Peter Karpas is CEO of Bold Commerce, the checkout company for leading omnichannel retailers and DTC brands. He has over three decades of experience in ecommerce, payments and fintech at companies including PayPal and Intuit.
