Benefits of Providing Guest Checkout

What is Guest Checkout?

Guest checkout allows a customer to buy goods without having to register or log in to an account. The impact of this is that the user’s data that is entered during the checkout process is not retained by the company. For many customers, this can be a necessary offering in order for them to feel comfortable with making their purchase, and therefore the use of a guest checkout can lead to improved conversion rates for certain stores.

What Are The Benefits Of Guest Checkout?

Faster Purchases
The fundamental benefit of guest checkout is a faster checkout experience. The lack of requirement to create a user account helps speed up the purchase process, therefore improving conversion rate. The impact of this is that it makes guest checkout perfect for one-off or impulse shoppers, by only needing to enter the bare minimum information in order for their purchase to be successful.

Lower Level of Commitment
Due to the fact that many online shoppers are hesitant to trust retailer companies with their information, having a guest checkout option is a good solution as the simple process means a higher likelihood of conversion. Allowing users to use a guest checkout option can lower your cart abandonment rate, by catering for users who do not wish to create a saved account in the first place.

Problems With Guest Checkout

The downside to guest checkout is lack of customer loyalty. For example, the user data of the customer is unavailable, which means that they won’t be available for direct marketing. As a result, the chances of establishing a relationship with the customer or customizing your outreach is limited.

Without the user creating an account, it will not be possible for your marketing team to target these users with follow-up emails with future purchase suggestions.

Guest Checkout vs Customer Accounts?

Choosing between Guest Checkout or a full Ecommerce Checkout for your business is dependent on various factors. For example, it may be wise to consider how users navigate your website, how often customers repurchase products, and whether account creation will improve the functionality of your site.

If your website is seeing a high volume of users opting for guest checkout, you could consider introducing a reward scheme or a points system, offering a discount for multiple purchases over time. These sort of features can help to push customers towards the option of signing up for a full account, therefore increasing the chance of return purchases and brand loyalty.

Conclusion

While there are many benefits to guest checkout, such as lower exit rates and higher guest checkout conversion rates, additional factors, such as customer loyalty and direct marketing outreach also need to be considered.

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