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Many merchants focus on making their home page and product pages attractive so customers are encouraged to purchase from their store. But still, cart abandonment is a challenge most of them face. This is because merchants don’t give checkout pages much importance.
The truth is, it is as important as the other pages of your store, especially since checkout is the last destination of your customers. Moving users from visitors to successful customers can be tricky but definitely easy with a few tricks up the sleeve.
The solution to decreased cart abandonment and increased conversion rates for your Shopify store is to optimize your Shopify checkout. Optimizing your checkout can increase your conversion by 35.62% (source: Shopify).
And if you are a Shopify merchant looking for the answer to checkout optimization, this article is your savior! We’ll explore 14 unique and effective ways to customize Shopify checkout page and move your customers through the sales funnel like a pro.
Shopify Checkout Huge Updates from Shopify Summer Edition 2024
The Shopify Summer'24 Edition update brings several enhancements to Shopify custom checkout experience, focusing on flexibility and customization for both merchants and customers. Key updates include options for third-party and in-store pickup, allowing customers to choose their preferred shipping speed at checkout, and the ability to pre-qualify for pay-later options. These features provide customers with greater control over their shopping and payment experience, enhancing convenience and satisfaction.
Additionally, the update introduces split shipping, enabling customers to send items to multiple addresses within a single order, and a new checkout Block, which allows merchants to customize the checkout process further. For partners, the latest Shopify edition allows them to seamlessly integrate and extend the checkout experience, ensuring that merchants can offer a tailored, efficient, and user-friendly checkout process.
With these updates in mind, we're thrilling to show you the 14 latest Shopify checkout strategies.
14 Strategies to Use to Customize Your Shopify Checkout
Here are 15 Shopify checkout customization strategies you can use to take your checkout experience to the next level:
Provide Express Shopify Checkout Options
Image Credits: outdoorvoices
A study by Splitit revealed that over 22% of shoppers abandon their carts (source: Statistia) if the checkout process is long and complicated. No customer would want to spend a long time filling tons of fields with information and then going through numerous verification just to make a purchase. And the chances are that your customers would think twice before making a purchase with your store again.
A complicated checkout can be an even worse experience for mobile shoppers, as they expect to make purchases more quickly, and having to go through multiple steps for purchase, can nudge them to leave your store and go for something else. One of the solutions to this is to offer an express checkout option like Gymshark has in their checkout.
Source: Gymshark
An express checkout option can include one or more relevant payment Shopify checkout options on the checkout page or cart page, where customers can simply click on them to make the payment and complete their purchase with minimal effort. The options could include PayPal Express Checkout, Apple Pay, or any commonly adopted mode of payment by your customers.
- Offering express checkout options can significantly improve the user experience by streamlining the checkout process.
- Provide Shopify checkout options such as PayPal Express Checkout or Apple Pay, which allow customers to quickly complete their purchases with minimal effort.
- By reducing the number of steps required for checkout, you can reduce cart abandonment rates and increase conversions.
In-store and Expanded Pickup Options for More Flexibility
Source: gotoliquorstore
If your business has a physical store, then providing an in-store pickup option on your online Shopify store can attract a lot more local customers. In this new age of omnichannel experience, customers love the freedom of being able to browse and shop for products from the convenience of their homes.
In certain cases, an online store with offline pickup will enable customers to confirm the availability of the product at the store and even purchase them online and pick it up from the physical store to avoid the rush.
Thankfully, Shopify latest update in June 2024 now allows customers to choose to buy online while pick up the product at store, enabled and managed by Shop Pay Component (exclusive to commerce components).
Image Credits: bestbuy
For example, several online stores, like Best Buy, offer the in-store pickup option on their product/checkout pages. Customers can choose to pick up their purchases from a nearby Best Buy store, eliminating shipping costs and reducing delivery time.
Source: bestbuy
Offering this option at your Shopify checkout page will give customers more flexibility and convenience, improving their ability to make better buying decisions. This is even more beneficial for customers who are looking to avoid shipping fees and want to receive the items more quickly.
- This is not suited for local buyers.
- No shipping or handling cost will be charged to the customer.
- The pickup dates are usually closer to the delivery dates. Hence customers receive the products faster.
- Customers can check for damages at the store itself.
What's more? Shopify store owners now can even connect to any third-party pickup point network of your choice (however this extension is exclusive to Shopify Plus).
By leveraging these Shopify flexibility in buying and pick up products, you can now take customer omnichannel experience to the next level.
Shopify One-click or One-page Checkout
Source: magebird
While collecting data from your customers benefits your business, it might seem like a tedious task for your customers. Filling in fields with tons of information is a time-consuming process, but it is not the only way. Most often, the checkout process looks something like this:
Create an account → cart summary → address confirmation with shipping details → final or cart subtotal → payment options → payment → order confirmation.
That's a lot of steps! So, here's how Shopify helps out. Shopify's one-click or one-page checkout feature eliminates the need for customers to navigate through multiple pages to complete their purchases. That means, on a single page, you get shipping, payment, and delivery information. With this custom Shopify checkout, you get:
- Reduced cart abandonment rates
- Improved user experience
- Faster checkout process
Custom Order Confirmation Mails
Source: unific
Personalization is key to the success of any eCommerce business. Customers prefer personalized experiences, as it makes them feel more valued as a buyer. This enhances the chances of having more loyal customers who would prefer purchasing from your business over your competitors.
When it comes to checkouts, customers get a confirmation email post, which includes their order summary, expected delivery date, and other information that they can use to keep track of the order.
So why not customize them? Personalized order confirmation emails could be a new way to amplify your branding. You can customize the design and content of these emails based on the order they have purchased.
For example, if a customer purchased sunglasses from your store, your email could have a fun riddle targeting sunglass users, with custom graphics, along with the order summary. Or you could simply include their name with an exclusive referral or discount code to use for future purchases.
You can even take it a step beyond and include other relevant information, such as products that would go well with the purchased item, a lookbook, or any other information to catch the eye of your customer. These measures will help in the following:
- Improved customer satisfaction and trust
- It reinforces brand identity
- It is an opportunity for additional marketing and upselling
Here’s how the eyewear brand Warby Packer has customized its confirmation emails. This email includes a tracker, the purchased product, and other relevant information to create a positive post-purchase experience.
Source: sendgrid
Guest Checkout and Member Checkout Options
Source: arengu
If you want to give your customers the option of a quicker checkout without the need to create an account, then the guest checkout option is the best way to go about it. While they make first-time purchases even more efficient for customers, it is also important to give the option for a 'member checkout' for those customers who would want to purchase from you in the future without the need of having to fill in all the information once again.
Providing customers with both options will help them make better decisions on how they want to checkout. This way, a few drawbacks with the guest checkout option can be eliminated.
- These drawbacks could include the lack of critical customer information that is captured when a customer creates an account.
- This information could be used for newsletters and other promotions.
- Also, providing only a guest checkout option will give you no access or information to abandoned carts, and customers won't be able to access their purchase history.
However, providing both options will give you the following benefits:
- Increased conversion rates by reducing friction
- Catering to different customer preferences
- Opportunity to collect customer data through member accounts
Custom Progress Bar
Source: ux.stackexchange.com
A progress bar is a common sight during the checkout process. It tells your customers what stage of the checkout process they are at now, helping them to understand the time it will take to complete the purchase and make the payment. This also reduces the chances of anxiety among customers who are clueless about the long checkout process of your business by improving transparency.
A custom progress bar comes with the following benefits:
- Enhanced user experience and reduced frustration
- Improved understanding of the checkout process
- Higher completion rates
Upsell and Cross-sell Related Products
Source: wordstream
The checkout time is the perfect time to upsell and cross-sell products to your customers. This strategy helps you increase your revenue and nudges your customers to browse more and buy related products.
For example, let's say your customer purchased a set of gold earrings from your store. At the time of checkout, you can upsell an entire set of jewelry which includes this earring. Since the cost of buying a single set of earrings is definitely more than buying the entire set, customers will feel the need to buy that instead of their current order.
Moreover, you can cross-sell related products, such as a necklace or ring that goes with the earring, to nudge customers to check them out and eventually buy them, increasing the average order value.
Here’s how Soylent, a nutrition brand, is cross-selling and upselling products on its cart page:
Image Credits: soylent
Another popular example is Amazon's "Frequently Bought Together" section. Highlighting complementary items encourages customers to add more products to their cart, increasing sales.
Source: eswap
Indicate Urgency
Creating a sense of urgency or scarcity at the time of checkout can push the customers to complete the purchase and not abandon their carts. This powerful metric can drive customer behavior and help them make quick decisions.
This can be through limited-time offers, countdown timers, or even low-stock notifications, like ASOS did below. This also gives the impression that the products they have added to the cart are in-demand and hence needs to be purchased immediately before it becomes unavailable.
Image Credits: Asos
Here’s another example of a brand that uses this time-bound method - Booking.com, a popular online travel agency where users can book hotels and flights.
Source: clickz
Leverage Social Proof
Source: shopify.com
As an eCommerce store owner, you know the importance of building a brand around trust and authenticity. Even if you are a new business, first-time customers always look for marks of authenticity and experiences from other users. The most helpful solution in this situation is to adopt social proof.
Social proof suggests to a customer whether this business is reputable or not. At the same time, customers get insights into what other customers think about your brand and products, helping them in their buying experience. It rather acts as an endorsement from other customers and can positively influence purchase decisions.
Source: mayple
The social proof can be in the form of customer reviews or testimonials, ratings, or any other format that showcases your strong customer base. Most often, it is added on product pages and home pages, but you can add it to your cart or customize Shopify checkout page for the highest efficiency.
This helps in the following:
- Improved trust and credibility for your store.
- Increased conversion rates.
- Satisfied customers.
Highlight Your Best Payment Methods/Attractive Offers
When was the last time you saw only cards as the option to make a payment online? Gone are those days when the payment options offered by retail stores were limited. With the convenience came flexible payment options, including QR Code payment technology, one-click payments, and many more.
Users prefer paying through Apple Pay, Google Pay, Shop Pay, and similar modes of payment, as it's more straightforward. Providing your users the option of their preferred modes of payment will ease their purchase process. And Shopify checkout options are definitely flexible to do so.
In some cases, users will check the available payment methods before they even begin shopping. This is because some users prefer pay-later options, EMI options, and quick and easy payment modes, like we discussed above. For example, Nike talks about its interest-free split payment option on their product page and at the checkout and offers multiple payment options.
Source: nike
To make this even more attractive to customers, you can:
- Offer discounts or cashback for payments made through certain banks or apps.
- To improve conversions, offer them the option to split payments. Shopify apps such as Clearpay or Split are great options to consider.
- Add the most preferred modes of payment on your express checkout or on your cart page.
- Boost customer confidence at checkout by showing customers whether they are pre-qualified to purchase now and pay later with Shop Pay Installments.
Exit Intent Survey or Pop-up
Source: wisepops
An exit survey is an ideal tool to use to understand how your customers perceive their shopping experience with your brand. An exit survey helps answer the following questions:
- Was the experience positive, neutral, or negative?
- What could be improved?
- What aspect of your shopping with us did you enjoy the most?
The survey typically comes as a pop-up or on a separate page, where a customer rate or is expected to answer a few questions with choices. You can provide some incentives to encourage customers to take the survey like Casper, a popular mattress brand, did here:
Source: Casper
Another use of an exit survey during the checkout is to collect feedback directly from customers who intend to leave your website without buying anything. A pop-up is usually triggered when the visitor clicks on the back button to leave the website, as shown in the image below:
Source: wisepops
Add a Message Field for Shopify Custom Checkout
A custom message field in your Shopify custom checkout is a must-have in the current eCommerce era. Including a message field will allow customers to leave personalized notes or messages for the order, especially if it is a gift order.
Outdoor Voices has done an exceptional job with this in their checkout, and you can check it out below:
Source: outdoorvoices
At the same time, as a retail shop owner, you can also customize the order to the customer's liking based on their notes, amplifying the user's experience. This also eliminates the need for customers to email you or call you after placing an order to pass on any specific information.
- This enhances customer satisfaction.
- Provides an opportunity for store owners to showcase their commitment to serving customers' special requirements.
- Provides a personalized touch.
Flexibly Split Shipping in Checkout
By using this checkout enhancement, you can provide customers with more clarity and choice by letting them split orders into multiple shipments. Customers now have the choice of the best deal, the quickest delivery, or customized shipment.
What a huge flexibility! As of July 17 2024, this update from Shopify is now available for a potion of Shopify stores yet will soon be applied widely.
Coming with this update, Shopify has updated vastly their adress and shipping flexibility, with 4 main updates:
- Shipping options for subscriptions: let customers choose a shipping speed for the first subscription delivery (repeated shipments defaulting to the cheapest option).
- Shop Pay default addresses: Save a default address to breeze through the checkout process.
- Additional address fields at checkout: More address fields are now possible to record region-specific information thanks to Checkout Extensibility.
Custom Shopify Checkout with Checkout Blocks
Shopify significantly enhances your ability to customize checkout with enhanced customization features like checkout blocks and app blocks. These tools provide greater flexibility for merchants to personalize the checkout process and other pages, ensuring a seamless and branded shopping experience.
All Shopify plans allow the use of apps to enhance the thank you and order status pages, ensuring security and upgrade safety. You can manage this function directly from the checkout and accounts editor.
Shopify store owners can boost conversion rates and improve customer satisfaction by allowing deeper customization and integration with various apps.
In addition, you can seamlessly use Checkout Sheet Protocol to integrate with partners like TikTok for a conversion-focused and synchronized checkout experience.
Conclusion
Providing a seamless yet personalized shopping experience for your customers is possible by custom Shopify checkout. While there are numerous strategies that you can test and implement for the success of your store, these 14 strategies are tested, proven, and succeeded by many big brands.
The result of each of these methods will differ depending on the type of store and the customers. However, staying ahead of the competition and providing your customers with a memorable shopping experience is possible only through an optimized checkout.
So, what are you waiting for? Get started with customizing your Shopify checkout today!
Explore more, check out: Shop Pay vs Other Payment Methods: A Comprehensive Comparison
