With today ending the 1-click patent for Amazon I figured I would take this opportunity to discuss merchants check out processes since it is an important topic of discussion during my consultation.
Why is that you might ask? Because we are the people that stand in front of the microwave yelling to hurry up, make right turns on red even when the car coming straight is only 10 feet away from you and even make check deposits right from our smart phones. Everybody is in a hurry. They want their purchases now and they want purchasing their items to be easy and since not everyone has an Alexa to make their purchases for them, the 1- click check out is the next best thing.
What is 1-click?
So for those new merchants who are wondering what 1 click check out is, here is how it works (though I’m pretty sure you’ve probably shopped on Amazon). The first time someone makes a purchase on your site they will add their name, shipping address and form of payment they want to use. In the future, when they choose the 1- click check out all the previous information is stored and with…one click….purchase completed.
It’s a great concept, right? However, prior to this advantage, I encourage the merchants to have their shipping costs already in place so that the buyer doesn’t have to search all over to see what their charge will be, whether it’s free, flat rate based or product (weight) based. The least amount of steps a buyer has to complete an order to make their purchase, the more likelihood of higher conversion rate.
How does this affect cart abandonment?
Experts in the industry estimate that billions of online shopping dollars are lost every year to cart abandonment, and the majority of it is because of long check out processes and the lack of knowing the full purchase amount, including shipping and tax until the end.
Streamlining your check out process is essential, and the now available 1- click checkout process is a great way to improve your buyer’s experience.