Checkout as a Guest vs. Registering an Account: A Deep Dive

The average documented online shopping cart abandonment rate in 2023 is over 70%, which is a devastatingly high number for eCommerce store owners. You’re so close to closing these sales, yet so frustratingly far.

While there are many factors at play for cart abandonment, one huge one is the site’s usability. More specifically, you can give users the option of using guest checkout or account checkout.

Want to know which one’s better for your site? Then read on to find out what the pros and cons are regarding checkout as a guest vs. registering an account.

Checkout as a Guest: Pros

Checkout as a guest is a popular option for customers. They only need to enter minimal information, meaning they can complete their purchases quickly without going through the whole registration process. This makes it very convenient, especially for customers who are only making a one-time purchase since they won’t have to remember login credentials.

Because there are fewer steps, there are also fewer potential points of friction. This encourages users to follow through with their purchases.

In addition, some people are concerned about sharing personal information. Often, this data is misused, so they’re hesitant to share more than what’s necessary. Guest checkout offers them a sense of anonymity and comfort.

Checkout as a Guest: Cons

This type of eCommerce checkout is a huge disadvantage to store owners since you won’t have access to customer data. This becomes a roadblock when you want to perform future marketing or send personalized offers.

Plus, it’ll be more difficult to follow up on user experiences and ask for feedback. You won’t be able to notify them about promotions or updates either. As a result, you’ll have missed opportunities for customer retention.

For your customers, they won’t be able to track their past orders. This also means they won’t have a streamlined reordering process, as they’ll have to start over from the beginning.

Registering an Account: Pros

Both you and your customers can benefit when they register accounts. You’ll gather valuable data to use for personalizing the shopping experience, as you’ll be able to recommend products based on their past purchases.

This paves the way for tailored marketing too, as you’ll be able to send targeted marketing campaigns, newsletters, and notifications. This will increase customer engagement and retention.

When they log in to their customer account, users can easily track their order history, making it simpler to track shipments. In addition, it’ll be easier and faster to reorder things.

Registering an Account: Cons

Creating a customer account does take extra time, even if it’s only a few minutes. This can cause users to abandon their carts, especially if they’re making a one-time or impulse purchase.

Also, they may not want to go through the hassle of password management. It can be frustrating to remember login credentials or reset passwords when they’re in a rush.

Lastly, if they’ve never used your site before, then people may be hesitant to share personal information. Today’s internet users are more savvy about data breaches, so many won’t want to register an account unless absolutely necessary.

How to Convince Users to Use Account Checkout

It won’t be easy to convince users to create an account for eCommerce checkout, but it’s not impossible. Mainly, you’ll have to create a seamless, value-driven, and trustworthy experience to get them to take a leap of faith.

Here are some effective strategies you can try.

Offer Tangible Benefits

Incentives are a fantastic way to give customers a much-needed nudge to make an account. For the best results, offer clear and compelling benefits.

For example, you can give exclusive discounts, rewards, or freebies that are only for account holders. Make it so it’s irresistible to join this “members-only” club.

Streamlined Checkout Process

If the checkout process is cumbersome, then you can bet that users are going to opt for checking out as a guest. You’ll want to provide a streamlined checkout experience so it’s quick, easy, and painless.

Minimize the required fields during registration. Plus, provide the option to autofill information to further reduce friction.

Highlight the Advantages

On the checkout page, highlight the advantages so customers fully understand what they can get from taking extra time to make an account.

Benefits to clearly communicate to readers include:

• Order tracking
• Order history
• Personalized recommendations
• Ability to save favorites
• Wishlist creation

Showcase Security Measures

To make users feel more at ease about entering personal data, address their concerns by displaying trust signals. Some good ones include SSL certificates and security badges.

Give your personal assurance that their data will be handled securely.

Use Gamification and Rewards

Gamification techniques will make the registration process fun and rewarding. People can’t resist participating when things feel like a game, so make registration more alluring by offering badges or points for completing the process and performing other interactions on the website.

These points can then be redeemed for rewards such as discounts or freebies in the future. This will encourage customers to make repeat purchases.

Have Guest Checkout With Optional Registration

Offer the best of both worlds by having a guest checkout option. However, give users the option to create an account after creating their purchase.

Again, make sure to highlight the advantages of doing so to convince them to cross to the other side.

See Success With Checkout Champ

As you can see, there are many pros and cons to checkout as a guest vs. registering an account. Although account registrations are typically better for eCommerce shop owners, it’s not always the case.

To make sure, you’ll need to test each scenario and learn from real-world data. And with Checkout Champ, you can do exactly that.

If you’re interested in what we offer, then book a demo with Checkout Champ now.