Convenience is king - what shoppers want from digital checkouts

73% of consumers value convenience as the main reason for shopping online. What does that mean for designing an effective checkout?

Convenience and speed are the essential elements in taking your customers from browser to buyer. We don’t mean to oversimplify an incredibly complex process which draws on everything from human psychology to UX design but our latest research confirms what many of you already suspect. In our report, Creating More Value at the Checkout, we surveyed 10 000 shoppers about their preferences. We found that 73% of consumers value convenience as the main reason for shopping online. And reflecting their need for speed, 43% of consumers said they were only prepared to spend a maximum of three minutes on the online checkout process before abandoning their cart. An impatient 28% said they’d only spend one minute.

This perfect combination should be the guiding light through every step of your online experience but nowhere more so than at the moment of truth, the checkout. So how can you create a checkout that combines both speed and convenience to ensure you catch every last dollar, euro, and pound? We’re going to tell you by diving into the nuances of checkout optimisation.

Checkout optimisation: delivering speed and convenience

The checkout is where shoppers' need for speed and convenience becomes the main focus. As we mentioned earlier, it’s a dynamic area with so many moving parts but here’s four principles to apply when building your checkout to ensure high conversion rates.

1. Make security robust but invisible

Security is the cornerstone of trust in ecommerce, but it shouldn't be a barrier. The art lies in making security robust yet invisible. While 50% of shoppers deem security as their top priority, merchants face the ongoing challenge of card-not-present fraud. This type of fraud, prevalent in online card transactions, exposes businesses to chargebacks and financial losses. It occurs when stolen card details are used for unauthorized purchases, often leaving merchants to bear the brunt. In contrast, Trustly offers greater protection for merchants against such frauds. By integrating account-to-account payment methods, merchants can avoid the pitfalls of card-not-present fraud, reducing the risk of chargebacks significantly. The challenge for merchants is to blend stringent security measures seamlessly into the background, ensuring a safe yet smooth checkout experience. Biometric solutions like facial recognition or fingerprint scanning are evolving as the norm, providing high-level security without the friction and risks associated with traditional card payments.

2. Reduce friction to boost conversion rates

Complicated processes are the nemesis of a smooth checkout. 55% of consumers wouldn't just abandon their carts due to a long or complex checkout process; they'd also bid farewell to the retailer for good. This startling statistic underscores the need for simplicity. Redirects, excessive steps, or convoluted processes are more than just irritants, they’re conversion killers. Ecommerce brands must streamline their checkout process, eliminating any unnecessary hurdles that could deter shoppers.

3. Time is of the essence

Every second at the checkout is precious. 43% of consumers will spend no more than three minutes in an online checkout process. This time sensitivity demands an ultra-efficient checkout experience ensuring that from the moment they decide to buy to the final click, the process of selecting options, entering delivery details, and authorising the all important payment method is swift and seamless.

4. Let customers pay the way they want

Choice is key at the checkout. Imagine going through all the hard work of leading a shopper from a paid ad, via your website, through your online store, to the checkout and then making it impossible for them to purchase by not having their preferred payment option available. The solution - offer a metaphorical buffet table of options including both direct payment and pay later options. By dividing payment options between credit and debit and explaining the relative merits to the consumer, you can promote informed consumer choice, increasing the likelihood of consumers completing purchases.

As shoppers' preferred methods are constantly changing, it’s imperative that you stay up to date with trends and cater accordingly. We’ve noticed a definite trend towards debit purchases. In a recent survey, we found that 72% of consumers prefer this option to avoid debt. However, this preference shifts slightly towards credit for non-essential items, underscoring the importance of understanding buying intent. The mix of preferences among UK consumers is diverse. Just over two-thirds (68%) have used debit cards, 45% have used credit cards, 41% have used e-wallets like PayPal, Amazon Pay and Apple Pay, and 22% have used account-to-account payments (such as Trustly), while 19% have used buy now pay later (BNPL) options.

It seems that just as BNPL improved the user experience of credit, open banking is now improving debit experience. By removing the friction of card payments, using biometric security and offering instant refunds, we are making it easier for customers to pay with their money. This shift is evident in data recently released by Open Banking Limited showing that the number of open banking payments have increased by 96% in the UK compared to the year before.

Our own recent survey of UK shoppers gives even further proof of the shift. We discovered that 56% of respondents would be “likely” or “very likely” to use Trustly for their transactions. This significant interest from consumers highlights the growing adoption and trust in account-to-account methods like Trustly, confirming that merchants who integrate such options are well-aligned with the evolving preferences of their customers.

Introducing Trustly Azura: a new era in checkout optimisation

To keep pace with the growing adoption of open banking based payment methods, we’ve developed Trustly Azura to help you increase conversions and simplify user acquisition. Trustly Azura is more than a product, it’s the power behind all of our payment services.

Developed from 1.2 billion data points over fifteen months, Azura personalises the checkout experience by instantly recognizing users and their preferred bank accounts, eliminating manual entry. For merchants, it dynamically customises the checkout interface, enhancing user engagement and driving conversion rates up to 95%. And it gives customers the speed they crave at checkout, with payment speeds as low as 10 seconds. Azura's simplicity is its sophistication, focusing on the bank account as the core of online transactions. It optimises user verification, onboarding, and payouts, creating a 360° payment experience that connects users, merchants, and banks seamlessly.

The checkout evolution

The digital commerce landscape is evolving, and at the heart of this change is the checkout evolution. This transformation is not just about enhancing transaction efficiency, it's about forging immersive, personalised shopping experiences.

Advancements in payment technology are central to this revolution, exemplified by Trustly Azura. These developments are reshaping the checkout experience, making it a seamless, engaging journey for both customers and businesses. The checkout evolution is a shift from traditional transactional exchanges to creating meaningful, efficient, and enjoyable shopping experiences that exceed customer expectations. It redefines the checkout process and sets new standards for customer satisfaction and business growth.

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