Guest checkouts solve two of main issues that can lead to cart abandonment: mistrust in the shopping site and the need to create an account. That’s because guest checkouts drop the long sign-up process and allow customers to quickly enter only essential personal information to make a purchase.
Because a breezy checkout process can result in higher conversion rates, offering guest checkout is a no-brainer for many online businesses. Here’s what you need to know about using it successfully.
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Guest checkout—also known as anonymous checkout—is an ecommerce checkout process where shoppers aren’t required to create a customer account to complete a purchase online. Instead, the guest shopper enters the required information—their name, shipping address, and billing information—to finish the transaction.
No information entered through a guest checkout is stored in the business’s database. The information only applies to the single order and is used to complete the transaction.
The process differs from account-based checkout, which requires shoppers to log in with a username and password. The purpose of account-based checkouts is to expedite future purchases from the store. It also allows the business to offer personalized promotions and product recommendations based on the shopper’s behavior.
The decision to implement a guest checkout comes down to a delicate push and pull between what your customers want and what your business needs.
Nearly half of online consumers prefer to check out as a guest for two key reasons: they believe it’s faster than creating an account, and they don’t have to input as much personal information. As a result, guest checkout conversion rates for first-time shoppers are often higher because there are fewer barriers to completion.
The advantages of guest checkout include:
While the disadvantages of guest checkout are real, they mainly apply to sellers. It’s up to you to determine if the pros of guest checkout outweigh the cons:
Here are four ways to get the most out of guest checkout for your customers and your business:
The first way to ensure the effectiveness of your guest checkout is to prominently display the option at the forefront of the checkout process. You can give users two clear options: checkout as a guest or log in as a returning customer.
Make it apparent to buyers why or when they should check out as a guest or create an account. There are benefits to both—speed now versus future speed and tailored customer experiences—that you can explain at checkout. To encourage customers to create an account, explain the time saved by using tools like accelerated or express checkouts, and include information about how you use customer data in your site’s FAQ section.
The same rules that apply to optimizing all checkout experiences apply to guest checkouts. Specifically:
Trust and security are critical considerations for new customers. Implementing security measures includes:
Ecommerce stores hosted on platforms like Shopify are fully PCI compliant, meaning they benefit from top-tier data security already. Regardless, it’s a good idea to demonstrate your commitment to customer safety at checkout and in your store’s policies and FAQ pages.
Here are three key steps to take when enabling guest checkout on your store:
Any time checkout functionality changes or a new option is added to checkout, there will likely be a positive or negative
Before adding guest checkout, note your average conversion rate over a period—for example, three months. Once you launch guest checkout, see if this metric increases or decreases based on your benchmark. Use these insights to refine and A/B test different checkout strategies.
Many ecommerce platforms offer guest checkout functionality as an add-on application or a built-in component. Choosing the right solution depends on your underlying ecommerce tech stack. For Shopify users, guest checkout is a built-in feature you can turn on or off as needed.
Your checkout technology must also integrate with your existing cart, payment gateways, and back end logistics applications to ensure a seamless pre- and post-purchase customer experience. A fully integrated platform is often the ideal solution to ensure all pieces of the purchase and delivery process run smoothly. You can also achieve this by connecting standalone ecommerce modules through APIs and custom-built integrations.
User experience (UX) and design are critical to building a solid guest checkout experience. Make checkout fast and efficient, be clear about what’s required at each stage and what comes next, and offer multiple payment forms. With a great user journey at guest checkout, you increase the likelihood of securing those prized first-time buyers and the chance they’ll become returning customers.
You’ll lose the ability to save certain customer data in your store’s database and potentially lose the ability to contact the user via email with promotional material. You will, however, have a record of the purchaser’s email address that you can use to send order updates.
There are both risks and rewards associated with guest checkout. The risks include losing the ability to collect and store valuable customer data that businesses often use for marketing and cart abandonment campaigns. The rewards include removing the friction that may cause first-time purchasers to abandon their cart before the checkout stage.
Yes. It’s still a good idea to encourage customers to create an account and explain its benefits. You can do that either on your company’s FAQ or policy pages, or as text or callout boxes where you show the option for guest or account-based checkout.
