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<p>As <a href="https://bolt.com/">Bolt</a>’s Senior Director of Retail Advocacy, I’m obsessed with seeing our merchants succeed. I worked on the merchant side of ecommerce for six years, so I know the challenges on that side of the business firsthand. Now that I’m on the software as a service (SaaS) side, I apply the lessons I learned in my former life to our one-click checkout software platform every single day.</p><p>As the pandemic has forced more shoppers and merchants online over the last 18 months, one-click checkouts have become increasingly important. With all of the payment options that are now available, customers are at risk of experiencing payment paralysis.</p><p>As a merchant, if you’re able to offer an aesthetically pleasing checkout solution that’s tied into a network of previous checkouts, you have a much better chance of converting consumers. Essentially, the easier merchants can make a checkout experience, the better.</p><h3>Adding Value Beyond A Speedy Checkout: Gateways vs Platforms</h3><p>While adding a <a href="https://bolt.com">one-click checkout option</a> is a great first step toward building a better checkout experience, it’s still only the first step.</p><p>To go deeper, merchants should distinguish between checkout systems that offer gateways and those that offer full platforms. For example, <a href="https://www.apple.com/apple-pay/">Apple Pay</a> and Amazon Pay are gateway payment systems. They provide a static option to pay quickly, and that’s pretty much it.</p><p>A checkout <i>platform</i>, like Bolt, provides additional value beyond the one-click checkout. This applies to both the merchant and the customer.</p><p>These additional services include fraud prevention, order tracking, aesthetically pleasing designs, creative copy, single sign-on, and abandoned cart notifications. Checkout platforms also link together an ever-expanding network of consumers and merchants, which helps foster trust and familiarity with the payment system.</p><p>Suffice to say, adopting a checkout platform that adds services to the checkout experience will be much more valuable in the long term than using a one-step checkout solution in the form of a payment gateway.</p><h3>Finding the Right Checkout Platform</h3><p>When selecting a checkout platform, merchants should ask a few questions.</p><p>The first is, “What is your product roadmap?” This helps merchants understand how this checkout service envisions its future and the value it will continue to provide to those who adopt it.</p><p>“Who makes up your <a href="https://www.bolt.com/blog/launching-the-bolt-network/">merchant network</a>?” is another good question to ask.</p><p>It's valuable to know what other brands are using the platform and whether they provide the kind of association that makes sense for your brand and your customers.</p><h3>Wrapping Up: The Democratization of One-Step Checkout in Ecommerce</h3><p>You might think comprehensive checkout processes are just for big companies, but that’s not true. Whether you have one customer or a thousand, adopting an effective checkout platform and getting creative about improving the customer experience is a smart move.</p><p>There’s a lot of competition out there, so to stay on top of it and ensure high conversion rates by thinking beyond simple solutions.</p><p>Until now, the conversation surrounding one-step checkout has been centered mostly on speed. While this is an important aspect, it’s just one of many. A comprehensive checkout experience will also provide support to the merchant on the backend as well as evolving services and a solid network of users and merchants.</p><p>If you’re a merchant, you should be paying attention. This is your chance to improve your marketing, customer experience, and overall sales.</p><p><i>These thoughts on the importance of one-click checkout were taken from my conversation with Chloe Thomas on the Keep Optimizing podcast. Listen to the full episode below.</i></p><div class="raw-html-embed"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 170px;" src="https://player.captivate.fm/episode/d82fedc8-eb4d-40b1-868c-1ace49a1ccdc" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" seamless=""></iframe></div>