Why Checkout Friction Costs You Customers (and How to Fix It)

The checkout process is one of the most critical points in the e-commerce consumer journey. A lengthy or complicated checkout experience is one of the main reasons for abandoned shopping carts and lost conversions. Therefore, streamlining the checkout process to reduce friction should be a top priority for online retailers looking to improve conversion rates.

Why Checkout Friction Impacts Conversions

When customers add items to their cart, they have indicated intent to purchase. However, extra steps or a confusing checkout process introduces friction that causes customers to abandon their carts.

According to Baymard Institute, the average shopping cart abandonment rate is 70.19%. Out of all carts abandoned, over 18% are due to a too-long or complicated checkout process.

The easier and faster you can make it for customers to complete their purchase, the more likely you are to capture the sale. Reducing friction in checkout leads to higher conversion rates and more revenue.

Ways to Reduce Checkout Friction

Here are some effective strategies to streamline your checkout process and remove friction points:

Simplify the checkout form

Only ask for essential information needed to complete the order. Avoid requesting too many unnecessary fields which can confuse and overwhelm customers. You can include optional fields customers can fill out after checkout if you need additional info.

Offer guest checkout

Forcing customers to create an account to check out results in abandonments. Allow guests to checkout quickly with just an email address. They can optionally create an account after purchase.

Reduce form fields

The longer your checkout form, the more likely customers will abandon it. Remove fields not critical for order fulfillment like Company Name, Address Line 2 etc. Use address verification to auto-populate address fields.

Add progress bar

A progress bar provides visibility into where customers are in the checkout process. This reduces anxiety and uncertainty around how many more steps remain.

Offer multiple payment options

Provide popular payment methods like credit cards, PayPal, and Apple Pay to cater to customer preferences. Allow easy switching between payment options without having to re-enter details.

Auto-save information

Auto-save entered customer and payment information so it populates on returning visits. This reduces repetitive form-filling for repeat customers.

Highlight security and trust symbols

Display seals like Norton Secured or TrustedSite to reassure customers their information is safe. This builds trust and confidence in completing the purchase.

Optimizing Checkout for Less Abandonments

Abandoned carts directly impact revenue and conversion rates. By optimizing your checkout process, you can minimize walkaways and ensure customers are able to complete purchases easily.

The key is to continually test and experiment with your checkout flow. Monitor customer behavior to identify and eliminate friction points. With a streamlined one-click checkout process, you will be able to capture more customers and boost conversions.

Get Help Improving Your Checkout with Bytes.co

Optimizing your checkout process can have a significant impact on conversion rates and revenue. However, it requires in-depth analysis and testing to get it right.

The conversion rate optimization experts at Bytes.co can help streamline checkouts and reduce friction. We conduct thorough research to identify friction points and experiment with various checkout flows using A/B testing.

With Bytes.co, you get:

• Checkout process audits to diagnose issues and find optimization opportunities
• Implementation of best practices to simplify and reduce checkout fields
• A/B testing of checkout flows to determine the highest converting variations
• Identification of abandoned cart pain points and fixes to recover more customers
• Ongoing optimization to keep improving checkout conversion rates

Don’t lose sales due to checkout friction. Partner with Bytes.co to maximize revenue by creating the optimal low-friction checkout experience. Get in touch today to learn how we can help increase your conversions!