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Guest checkout for Ecommerce: when is it beneficial?

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Guest Checkout for ecommerce: when is it beneficial?
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With so much information and possibilities for customers on online platforms, it is important as a merchant to provide a better experience, in addition to quality products and services, you need to delight the buyer, to retain consumers.

There are a few ways, to use it as a retention strategy and increase your sales. In this article, we will focus more on how to simplify the checkout process through the guest purchase option, and how this brings benefits to your online store.

The one-click purchase is, without a doubt, a differential for the platform and makes a good experience that stimulates the customer and leaves him free of distractions to close the purchase.
In addition, another way to offer a way to finalize a purchase is the without registration checkout (also known as buy as a guest), where there is no need to fill out a form with so much information to register. And enabling guest checkout can increase conversions, although it also has its downsides.
When a company allows this type of online purchase, it is meeting demands in a convenient and responsive way.

What are the Guest Checkout?

Checkout as a guest is an option available in some online stores that allows customers to complete the purchase as a guest, without having to create an account or log in. Consequently, the checkout process in these cases has fewer steps, and customers can complete their purchase faster.
In practice, customers enter their name, delivery address, and billing data to complete the purchase, instead of filling in extra fields.

Some Guest Checkout benefits:

    1. Speed: allows consumers to consume the purchase quickly, this helps in converting the number of conclusions to buy, especially those of an impulsive nature;
    2. Convenience: customers save time by not having to register with a lot of information;
    3. Flexibility: it has the possibility of being a single purchase, and the registration can be done at another time;
    4. Access to promotions: the customer can be directed to the product on sale and finalize the purchase quickly;
    5. Encourages impulse purchases;
    6. Uninterrupted experience: gives the customer a faster and more dynamic shopping journey.

In addition to these benefits and implementing checkout without registration, it is essential to offer multiple payment options, as well as be clear and simplified. It is interesting for customers to have varied payment options and to be able to complete the purchase safely and reliably.

When is Guest Checkout beneficial?

As we said earlier, this is an interesting option, although it has its downsides. So, if your business sells one-shot/ essentially one-and-done products or services, and without the need for repeat (or infrequent) purchases, guest purchasing may be the best option.

On the other hand, it is also essential to know that, simplifying the checkout process is not related to eliminating the option to create an account altogether. A good strategy is also to insert the registration after the purchase is completed, which can be good to encourage customer loyalty, get additional information, and improve future experiences.

When is Customer Account Checkout beneficial?

As you will see below, it will make sense that in some deals and moments, the customer logs in to complete the purchase.

    1. Facilitates repeat purchases as account and payment details are already set up;
    2. Brands/ businesses have more data from their customers, thus personalizing all communications;
    3. Loyalty programs can be implemented, which encourage the customer to share more data about themselves and purchasing habits (an alternative to combating third party cookies!);
    4. Customers can quickly consult their purchase history, request returns or exchanges, and place new orders (especially repeated purchases);
    5. Purchases with a login (or created account), facilitate the tracking of purchases, and allow customers to modify their orders;
    6. The merchant has access to abandoned carts and can activate email marketing campaigns to encourage completion of the purchase (Ex.: discount coupon).

It is worth mentioning that if you choose to have a checkout in your online store with mandatory login or account creation, you must make the purchase process as easy as possible. And in that case, single page checkout might be a solution to consider!

What are the advantages of Single Page Checkout?

    1. Centralization of information: all pages of the checkout process in just one, facilitates customer understanding and motivation;
    2. Speed: decreases the number of steps and allows the customer to complete the purchase faster;
    3. Reduction of distractions: with the information on a single page, the consumer does not have many distractions and abandons the cart;
    4. Better customer experience: being more practical and easy the usability of the site, the customer feels more satisfied;
    5. Increased conversion rate: by reducing the barriers to purchase, consumers are more likely to complete the transaction.

Despite being two simplifying approaches, the purchase without registration and the single page checkout are strategies that involve some different things. The purchase without registration is literally not being necessary to make a registration to finalize a purchase, while the single page checkout, seeks to compile all the steps of the purchase process on a single page, but still, it is necessary to add some information.

According to a Deloitte study, only 65% of the companies surveyed offer a Guest Checkout option, providing a simpler and faster shopping experience, and reducing the probability of cart abandonment, compared to the one-page checkout functionality. However, and as in all businesses, each Ecommerce strategy must be adjusted and defined, according to the identified objectives and needs.

And in some cases, you can also choose to make available to the customer when he reaches the checkout stage, one of the three most convenient options:

    • Recurring customer (login);

    • New customer (create account);

    • Guest checkout.

Investing in a simplified checkout process, whatever it may be, has a positive impact until the last mile of delivery. Having the whole process uncomplicated, and agile, reduces errors and improves delivery efficiency.