Optimising the payments checkout – Best practices from Wix

Checkout optimisation is the most critical part of the purchase funnel. At the end of the day, if a buyer doesn’t purchase a product they have in their cart, the sale and everything that has been done to get the customer to the checkout has been in vain. The good news is that there are ways to help reduce cart abandonment and see a completed sale.

Creating a checkout that looks clean, secure, and functions appropriately can create a seamless user experience and ultimately optimise checkout. Aside from making it easy and holding the buyer’s hand throughout the entire purchase flow, here are some best practices to achieve checkout success.

The more autofill, the better. The checkout form needs to be crystal clear, and the buyer should be familiar with what you’re asking. If there’s something new or different, it creates confusion. It also makes it easier for the buyer if you have automatic settings to help complete the form, and, when applicable, make the form shorter. For example, it helps if the form has address lookup services and allows autocomplete or has a check box to select if the billing and shipping address are the same. It’s also key to show the buyer a clear and friendly error message if something goes wrong or is missing during checkout. 

Have an adaptable checkout form. Having a clean, short, and simple checkout can make all the difference. This means the page needs to be adaptable and professional on different devices. Some buyers prefer to make purchases on their phones, while others prefer to go to a website or a tablet, and it’s important to accommodate all preferences.

Be aware of buyer payment preferences. Let your buyer pick their payment type by having the top three relevant payment options available.  If you only accept credit cards and they want to pay with a different payment method such as Apple Pay, GooglePay, Buy Now, Pay Later, or Account-to-Account payments, you’re likely to see the buyer abandon the purchase. 

Localise the checkout form. It’s important to localise the checkout form with the local language, currency, and formats of the currency. The position left or right, of the currency symbols and having the correct decimal or comma used locally is important. Some geographies might have more than one as well. For example, checkout pages in Canada should have the option for both English and French languages and Canadian dollars as well as the American dollar if it’s accepted. Also, if your buyer is using a different currency and there’s a conversion, make it clear if there are extra fees.

Be clear with taxes. Taxes are often added to the end of the purchase and can surprise buyers if they aren’t aware they’re coming. The more you make this clear on what the taxes are, the fewer surprises and the greater opportunity for checkout success. For example, bookings might not charge tax online but if you go to a hotel, they might. If the buyer is unaware, this could lead to major dissatisfaction.

Understand security and privacy requirements. It’s imperative to be super aware of a user’s security and privacy and the current requirements and regulations. Make sure you have the relevant icons in place, such as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). Offer buyers to store their card details for future purchases after receiving their explicit consent. Returning buyers should be able to have a 'one click’ checkout experience but they also need to be able to update their card and billing details to make this process effective and seamless.

This article was first published in Payment Methods Report 2022, the most updated overview of trends and developments in the payment methods space and the innovative technologies that these methods work upon, emerging consumers habits, and strategies on how to win at conversion and retention.

Omer Shatzky, Head of Billing & Payments, Wix