Digital Checkout Focus for Top Retailers

Merchant retailers that sell products and services online have been chipping away at removing payment friction for their consumers over the past year. Merchants have found ways to improve the user experience by adding checkout features like free shipping, buyer guarantees, live-site help, and refund policies. These efforts have saved shoppers time, effort, and money. According to a new PYMNTS research report, among the fourteen checkout features that impact merchants’ conversion rates, nine of them were offered by more retailers in Q4 than in Q1 of 2019.

How Do Merchants Enhance Checkout Features?

With so many checkout features saturating the market, merchants are faced with the decision on how to enhance their customer’s experience. What features can merchants rely on to convert browsers to buyers?

PYMNTS has been studying the online checkout feature offerings of leading retailers since 2015. Their latest study of 667 leading web merchants indicated that features that offer a bonus will convert casual buyers to paying customers in 2020 and beyond. Catching the attention of consumers was key in the Q4 2019 findings with merchants using tactics like:

• Digital wallet acceptance
• Rewards programs
• Ability to create optional profiles
• Buyer guarantees or refund policies

Key Merchant Learnings

These insights into the checkout experience help define what any retailer selling online must have locked down to remain in the consumer’s consideration. Here are the learnings from the PYMNTS study:

• Retailers are making great strides in eliminating checkout friction.
• Retailers with the highest conversion rates offer the right mix of key features.
• Consumers spend more time on their smartphones, but the average desktop conversion was more than twice the mobile conversion.
• Retailers offering more payment options convert more business.
• Guaranteed refunds have become a staple.
• Free shipping that is contingent on location and minimum purchase price benefits merchants.
• Health and beauty merchants offer the best digital checkout experience overall.

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