Offering Guest Checkout
Data shows that many customers do not like creating accounts while shopping online. One solution: offer guest check out. Read about the pros and cons.
Why some customers don't like creating accounts:
Feels complicated
These users tend to give up and abandon their carts. Research shows that sites that make account creation optional see a 10-30% increase in conversions.
Longer checkouts
When users have to pause their shopping experience to create an account, there’s a notion that they have to spend valuable time filling out long forms, so, they’ll delay the shopping for a more convenient time.
Too many accounts already
They are likely registered on other eCommerce sites. Whether the experience was favorable or not, they are reluctant to commit to another account.
Marketing emails
Our inboxes are full as it is, and user don't want more marketing emails. So, when you ask them for an email address in checkout, they assume you’ll be send them unwanted emails.
For these reasons, enabling guest checkout is a great option to speed up checkout and improve retention rates.
However!
Guest checkout presents several disadvantages:
No customer information
There’s no name, email, phone number, or even postcode to help streamline future marketing or segmentation. The transaction may require name, email and payment details, but they aren’t stored in your database.
This means that you don’t know who your customers are and you aren't able to segment your audience by specifics to customise marketing. If you offer guest checkout, people will use it, and the data you get will be incomplete.
Customer service becomes difficult
If a customer uses guest checkout, it is an anonymous transaction. This increases the margin of error significantly as there is no account with fixed details. You will have visibility through transaction information, but the customer is leaving a great deal to chance.
- A typo in the email address may result in confirmation and ticket delivery emails being lost
- Customers may log into an account expecting to see their orders, forgetting that they checked out anonymously. This doesn't go well for anyone!
No access to abandoned carts
You have no visibility of what users left behind in their carts, which hinders your email strategy.
Low engagements in loyalty programs
Loyalty programs are a way to engage users through incentives, discounts, and special promotions. If more users are opting to purchase anonymously, it significantly impacts your fan engagement.
No order history or analysis
Without customer information and their abandoned carts, it means there’s no way to track customer order history. This is key in forecasting for inventory, attendance, ticket sales, and operational requirements.
Cannot predict a repeat customer or personalise future shopping experience
There’s no way to track customer satisfaction, give them an option to rate or review, and you cannot anticipate their return. If they do interact with your business again, there’s no way of knowing that they did.
When a customer is logged in, they see their browsing history, items recently viewed/purchased, and more importantly recommendations. This streamlines the shopping experience for a return user.
Unfortunately with guest checkouts, every returning customer is still treated like a first-time customer.
Diminished marketing opportunities
Email marketing, in-app notifications, or other promotional strategies are not applicable. Guest shoppers cannot purchase during discounts, or holiday sales because there is no way to reach them. This offers fewer opportunities for long-term engagement.
Solution:
Enable guest checkout on event day for speedy checkout times. If an attendee doesn't want to wait in line, they can pre-purchase without logging in and receive their ticket by email - ready to scan at the gate!
Questions about strategising ticket builds and guest checkout?
Email your Account Executive or help@intix.com.