Do Payment Method Gaps Hinder e-Commerce Checkout Success?

In a recent study, payment service provider Ecommpay and the UK’s online retail organization IMRG have highlighted notable differences in e-commerce performance linked to how checkout processes and payment options are configured.

The report on the retail sector reveals that UK e-commerce websites successfully convert 58% of checkout attempts into actual sales, showcasing distinct patterns based on the variety of implementations.

Single-page checkouts achieve conversion rates of 61%, while their multi-page counterparts see a lower rate of 56%. Additionally, guest shoppers account for 59% of all orders but only convert at 52%, in contrast to a 64% conversion rate for registered users.

Credit and debit cards play a crucial role in UK e-commerce, responsible for generating half of the total revenue, while alternative payment options, such as digital wallets and buy-now-pay-later services, make up the rest. The study highlights that 50% of retailers have not yet adopted localized payment options that allow customers to use region-specific methods.

Furthermore, the findings reveal significant differences in completion rates depending on the payment options offered. Retailers providing four express checkout methods achieve a higher conversion rate of 67%, compared to just 54% for those with a single checkout option. Meanwhile, sites lacking express checkout options report a conversion rate of only 52%.

Technical Hurdles to Successful Transactions

One of the most striking insights from the report is its analysis of abandonment behavior, which indicates that shoppers tend to abandon the checkout process after completing 90% of the necessary steps, suggesting that issues often arise during the payment phase.

Retailers have noted that limited functionality hampers their ability to introduce new payment methods or adjust checkout flows. Additionally, performance-related issues, such as slow load times and system instability, further complicate the completion of transactions.

The study also points out gaps in the integration of digital wallets like Google Pay and Apple Pay, which limits retailers’ effectiveness in processing mobile payments.