What is a One-Click Checkout? (And How to Add One to Your Store)

What is a one-click checkout, what are its benefits, and how can you add one to your Shopify store? 

If you’re looking to optimize the shopping experience for your customers, creating a streamlined and simple checkout experience is one of the best things you can do. After all, around 70% of carts are abandoned before a purchase is made, and many customers jump ship simply because the checkout process is too complex or time-consuming. 

A one-click checkout is a simple way to reduce the work your customer has to do to complete a purchase. Rather than having to click through multiple pages, or enter endless details, they can finish a transaction in seconds. Here’s everything you need to know. 

What is a One-Click Checkout? The Basics

A one-click checkout is exactly what it sounds like. Essentially, it’s a checkout solution that allows customers to make a purchase with a single click. 

Using automated technology, companies can allow consumers to enter their payment information and billing details into a system once, then re-use them whenever they want to make a purchase. You might have seen examples of this with the “Amazon Pay” and “Shop Pay” options available on stores. 

Notably, a one-click checkout isn’t the same as a one-page checkout (now standard on Shopify sites as of October 2023). A one-page checkout still simplifies the purchasing process, by asking for all the details your company needs on a single page. However, consumers still need to enter their details every time before they can buy anything. 

Here’s a quick example of what a one page checkout might look like:

https://assets-global.website-files.com/61b51cc08207921f523c5704/63be7809d9536224231a7e74_checkout_seed.png 

And here’s an example of a one-click checkout for comparison:

The Benefits of a One-Click Checkout

Offering customers access to a one-click checkout is an excellent way to simplify and streamline the purchasing experience. It eliminates the need for customers to enter information every time they want to buy something from your site, leading to:

• Higher conversion rates: With a one-click checkout, customers can make a purchase in an instant, reducing the risk of cart abandonment. They’re also more likely to make purchases on impulse, and spend less time “rethinking” their purchasing decisions. 
• Simplicity: Fewer steps in the checkout process lead to better experiences for your customers. Ultimately, the easier it is to buy something from your store, the more likely your consumers are to keep coming back and making additional purchases. 
• Improved differentiation: While one-click checkouts are becoming more common, they still give you an excellent way to differentiate yourself from other companies. This could be the key to building better brand loyalty with your consumers. 
• Greater reach: One-click checkouts make it much easier for customers to complete a purchase on any device, including smartphones, where they might not want to spend forever typing information out on a small, digital keyboard.
• Reduced churn: A one-click checkout can also allow customers to complete a purchase without creating an account with your store. This is important at a time when 24% of customers say they would abandon a purchase if they had to make an account first. 

Is a One-Click Checkout Right for Every Business?

Adding a one-click checkout to your store can be an excellent idea for many business owners in the ecommerce world. Merchants generally benefit when their products are easier to buy. Enabling one-click checkout makes a lot of sense if you:

• Have a lot of repeat customers: If your customers return to your site frequently, it’s a good idea to allow them to checkout with as few steps as possible. 
• Sell lower value products: Consumers are less likely to checkout instantly when buying expensive items, but they may be more likely to buy low-cost items on impulse. 
• Keep your site secure: One-click checkouts can be dangerous in a world where fraud is increasing. You’ll need in-depth site security strategy to avoid any issues. 

Alternatively, if you sell a lot of items as one-off purchases, specialize in expensive products, or complex items, and have issues with fraud, it’s best to stay away from one-click checkouts. 

How to Add a One-Click Checkout to your Store

The good news is that if you want to create a one-click checkout for your website, it’s relatively easy to do. If you’re using Shopify for ecommerce, the platform has a built-in one-click checkout solution in the form of “Shop Pay”. This allows you to add a one-click checkout button to your site checkout or product pages, which enables fast transactions through Shopify Payments.

Customers simply need to enter their details once, save them, and they can use the “Shop Pay” button to complete all future transactions. To enable Shop Pay, all you need to do is:

• Log into your Shopify admin account
• Click on your store, then “Settings”, followed by “Payments”
• In the Shopify Payments section, click on “Manage”
• Scroll down to the “Shop Pay” section and click the checkmark next to it
• Click Save

This will enable Shop Pay on your store. The app is incredibly intuitive and easy to use, saving, encrypting, and auto-filling checkout details for your consumers at speed. 

In fact, Shopify found that companies with Shop Pay checkouts have a 1.72 times higher (on average) checkout-to-order rate, than those using regular checkouts. 

As an added bonus, with Shop Pay, customers can track their orders within the “Shop App”. This reduces some of the pressure on your customer service teams, and ensures you can deliver a simple, transparent shopping experience. 

Other Ways to Add a One-Click Checkout to Shopify

While enabling Shop Pay is certainly the easiest way to add a one-click checkout to your Shopify store, it’s not the only option you have. There are plenty of apps, tools, and Shopify partner solutions that can be used to create a one-click checkout too. 

Some of the most popular options include:

• Sweet Checkout: Sweet Checkout is an all-in-one Shopify app designed to simplify the checkout experience. It comes with pre-set themes, customization options, and attention-grabbing effects. Plus, it’s optimized for compatibility with any Shopify store. As an added bonus, it only costs around $4.49 per month to use (although Shop Pay is free). 
• Instant Checkout: Another popular tool for customizing the checkout experience, Instant Checkout allows you to add a “Buy it Now” button to your store. This allows shoppers to bypass the “Add to cart” button on a product page. While it might not be the best solution for all ecommerce stores, it’s a good way to streamline the purchasing journey.
• PayPal One Touch: If you’re using PayPal to process payments on your Shopify store, PayPal OneTouch could be the ideal solution for you. With One Touch, you can add an instant Paypal checkout option to your store, allowing users to skip the log-in page and make purchases instantly. However, there are transaction fees to consider with PayPal.

Simplifying the Checkout Experience on Shopify

Ultimately, adding a one-click checkout to your Shopify store can be a fantastic way to improve user experiences, and increase your sales. The faster customers can make their purchase, the less likely they are to abandon their carts, or rethink their decisions.

However, it’s important to ensure you’re implementing a one-click checkout that’s safe, reliable and secure. If you’re struggling to optimize the checkout on your Shopify store, contact the Storetasker team for help from a Shopify design or development expert.