Introducing Bolt SSO Commerce™

<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Introducing Bolt SSO Commerce™</strong><br><i>Increase account registrations and reduce friction for your shoppers</i></p><h3>Introduction</h3><p>To win in the age of <a href="https://www.bolt.com/identity-powered-commerce-report-bolt/">Shopper 2.0.</a>, retailers need an entire customer experience solution that converts guest checkouts into customer accounts—unlocking lifetime value potential of personalized brand experiences. To do this, Bolt is launching SSO Commerce, an industry-changing functionality that is redefining the login layer for commerce.</p><h3>The Prominence of Store Accounts</h3><p>Checkout as a guest or create an account? Today, whenever shoppers complete their purchase they have to ask themselves this question. At first glance, guest checkout may appear like the simpler option: there’s no need to create and remember usernames and passwords, no security concerns about saved payment information, and no commitment from the shopper. However, account creations continue to rise as more and more shoppers realize the perks and convenience they bring far outweigh the seemingly initial simplicity of guest checkout. From access to past order history, loyalty programs, easy reorders, and more, more and more one-time shoppers are turning into repeat customers through the adoption of store accounts.</p><p>In fact, Bolt conducted a <a href="https://www.bolt.com/customer-accounts-report-bolt/">Customer Report on Ecommerce Customer Accounts</a> to capture just how prominent accounts have become and discovered the following:</p><ol><li>98% of shoppers have 1-3 accounts</li><li>70% of shoppers have up to 6 accounts</li><li>28% of shoppers have 7 or more accounts</li></ol><p>And when asked why shoppers created their accounts, the following 3 reasons were the most reported responses:</p><ol><li>Speed and convenience at checkout</li><li>Discounts, rewards, and exclusive product offers</li><li>Being able to view their order history</li></ol><p>The benefits of store accounts are apparent, but the sheer quantity of individual accounts that shoppers have also brings its own challenges and risk. 70% of shoppers reported having up to 6 store accounts—meaning the typical consumer has to remember 6 different username and password combinations just to get access to all their favorite stores. Not to mention, this leads to information being spread across the internet and can make retailers and shoppers susceptible to data breaches if information is ever compromised.</p><h3>The Rise of Network Accounts</h3><p>Historically, you might think of global payment accounts in terms of alternative payment methods (APMs) like PayPal or Affirm—where shoppers can checkout using a saved set of payment information wherever those payment options are available. Although APMs can help drive conversion rates and higher average order values, they still require shoppers to have a separate username and password in order to access their account...which doesn’t exactly solve the issue of countless username and password combinations. Even more importantly, when APMs are used, store accounts are left in the dust and you lose that direct relationship with your shoppers.</p><p>However, in more recent years, we’ve seen the specific emergence of something we call “network accounts.” These are accounts from checkout platforms that offer a one-click checkout experience across sites in their entire network. In the case of network accounts, many intelligently remember their customer base and prompt shoppers with a one-time password (OTP) to complete their checkouts instead of usernames and passwords. They’re great for your customers because they breeze through checkout in one click—even on sites they’ve never shopped at before. Plus, they drive higher conversion rates and revenue for you.</p><h3>Siloed Systems Lead to Headaches for You and Your Customers</h3><p>We know there are benefits to both store and network accounts. Store accounts give customers access to things like past order history and loyalty programs, while you get a direct connection to your shoppers. On the flipside, network accounts provide a fast checkout experience using saved payment information across all retailers in that specific network.</p><p>So, what’s the problem?</p><p>These two accounts (store and network accounts) have historically been kept siloed and prompt shoppers to log in to two separate accounts at different points of their shopping journey. For example, if a shopper wants to initiate a reorder of something they’ve previously purchased, they have to log into their store account using their username and password to access their past order history. However, when they want to actually complete that order, they have to enter a OTP from their network account during checkout to complete their purchase with saved payment information.</p><p>The unnecessary friction these siloed accounts cause is apparent for your shoppers, but what about you as a retailer? Although network accounts help drive conversion and revenue, the biggest issue they bring is actually their impact on your store accounts. When shoppers save their information to create a network account during checkout, oftentimes they never end up creating a store account on your site. Network accounts prompt shoppers to save their information during checkout, so shoppers often don’t realize the network account they just created won’t give them access to all the perks of your store accounts. The truth is, most network account providers are so focused on prioritizing their account base that they completely forget about yours.</p><p>So, why don’t these two systems talk to one another? Why should your shoppers have to encounter multiple login walls to access everything they need to? Why are you losing store account registrations due to the rise in network accounts?</p><h3>Introducing SSO Commerce</h3><p>SSO Commerce is redefining the login layer for commerce. Bolt’s proprietary technology unites these two separate accounts—creating a single digital identity for each shopper. By unifying logins for shoppers and connecting your store accounts with Bolt accounts, your shoppers still have access to everything related to your brand (like past purchase history and loyalty programs) and they get a one-click checkout experience across all sites in the <a href="https://www.bolt.com/network/">Bolt network</a>. It’s still your brand, just powered by Bolt.</p><p>Unifying these accounts is critical to improving the customer experience, but also critical to ensuring that your store accounts are always prioritized (a key flaw right now in the way store accounts and network accounts interact). We’re able to do this by leveraging underlying SSO Commerce technology to autonomously create accounts and link accounts (with the shopper’s consent). The proprietary functionality of SSO Commerce is comprised of:</p><ol style="list-style-type:decimal;"><li><strong>Autonomous account creation</strong><br>Whenever a shopper checks out and saves their information, we also create a store account on your behalf with a simple checkbox. Bolt always prioritizes your brand and ensures accounts are autonomously created—all while serving as a unified account experience to your customers.</li></ol><p><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dugcmkito/image/upload/v1672164303/sso_4_c2c4e72ce4.png" alt="sso-4.png" srcset="https://res.cloudinary.com/dugcmkito/image/upload/v1672164304/thumbnail_sso_4_c2c4e72ce4.png 144w,https://res.cloudinary.com/dugcmkito/image/upload/v1672164304/small_sso_4_c2c4e72ce4.png 460w,https://res.cloudinary.com/dugcmkito/image/upload/v1672164304/medium_sso_4_c2c4e72ce4.png 690w," sizes="100vw"></p><p><strong>&nbsp; &nbsp;2. Linked accounts</strong><br>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;For your existing customers that have already created store accounts, we upgrade these accounts to &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Bolt accounts the next time a customer logs in (and vice versa for customers that already have Bolt &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;accounts). It’s the same login experience for your shoppers and they retain access to every benefit &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;they already enjoy with your store account. Only now, they also have access to the benefits of Bolt &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;accounts and a better, faster checkout experience across the Bolt network.</p><p><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dugcmkito/image/upload/v1672164412/sso_5_8700804361.png" alt="sso-5.png" srcset="https://res.cloudinary.com/dugcmkito/image/upload/v1672164413/thumbnail_sso_5_8700804361.png 144w,https://res.cloudinary.com/dugcmkito/image/upload/v1672164413/small_sso_5_8700804361.png 460w,https://res.cloudinary.com/dugcmkito/image/upload/v1672164413/medium_sso_5_8700804361.png 690w," sizes="100vw"></p><h3>Benefits for You</h3><ul><li><strong>Increased account registration</strong><br>Drive higher account registrations and benefit from Bolt’s 60% post-adoption registration rate.</li><li><strong>Higher account conversion</strong><br>Shoppers with Bolt accounts convert at a 63% higher rate than guest checkout shoppers.</li><li><strong>Increased account protection</strong><br>Provide customers more secure logins using passwordless OTP and account takeover protection (ATO).</li><li><strong>Benefit from a multi-retailer network</strong><br>Bolt account shoppers who have never shopped on your site will have access to a one-click checkout.</li><li><strong>Offload PCI compliance checkout responsibility</strong><br>By saving shipping and payment information within Bolt, ensure that all PII is tokenized and securely stored.</li></ul><h3>Benefits for your Shoppers</h3><ul><li><strong>Saved address and payment information</strong><br>Offer customers a way to save payment information and complete purchases with a one-click checkout.</li><li><strong>Passwordless login</strong><br>Let shoppers use a secure, OTP without needing to remember usernames or passwords.</li><li><strong>Faster checkout across retailers</strong><br>Give shoppers the ability to complete a one-click, logged-in checkout experience across all retailers in the Bolt network.</li><li><strong>Centralized security &amp; account protection</strong><br>Store payment and personal information in a single location as opposed to over multiple store accounts across the internet.</li><li><strong>Easy access to order tracking and reordering</strong><br>Allow shoppers to reorder or buy new products throughout Bolt’s Order Tracking using saved Bolt account information.</li></ul><h3>How It Works</h3><div class="raw-html-embed"><iframe src="https://fast.wistia.net/embed/iframe/5e9z4wpkrc" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><p>With SSO Commerce, Bolt accounts work with your existing store accounts so you never need to compromise your brand. Shoppers can now simultaneously create Bolt and store accounts with a simple checkbox. That means retailers acquire more customer accounts, lengthy registration processes are replaced, and shoppers have a single, unified account experience. Ensure your customers always get a unified account experience and the best of what both you and Bolt have to offer.</p><p>To learn how to get started with SSO Commerce, learn more <a href="https://help.bolt.com/merchants/references/checkout-features/sso/">here</a>.</p>