Check out the best Checkouts of 2020

There are decades where nothing happens, and there are weeks where decades happen.

2020 has been a wake-up call to brands who have previously pushed their digital presence to the side. With forced shutdowns nationwide, retailers had to look at their business models in the mirror and reevaluate their online presence.

Legacy brands like Century 21, J.C. Penny, Modell's, Lord and Taylor, J. Crew, Neiman Marcus, and Brooks Brothers have all filed for bankruptcy this year, highlighting the need for retailers to pivot how they are engaging with their customers.

On average, I examine between 25-30 checkouts a day. You easily can see which brands are embracing their digital presence. A handful of sites are clean, seamless, and easy to navigate. However, the majority are reminiscent of the early days of the internet - in need of a digital facelift.

One thing is for certain: working in the eCommerce industry has opened my eyes to the brands that are living in the 21st century, ready to win.

So how can you join the ranks?

Don't say that you care about your customers, show that you do.

When dissecting what makes a website's checkout great, it is important to stress the dirty word often brought up in technology circles: friction.

Frictionless checkouts are the name of the game. Your customers navigated your site, tossed a few items in their basket, and are now heading for the 'door'. Let's make sure they are literally able to take it home.

So how do we reduce friction?

Here are my five indicators of a strong checkout:

1. Guest Checkout Option: Imagine in the real world you were asked to give your personal information before even interacting with the cashier. If I have to create an account before purchasing my first item, I'm mentally and literally exiting out of the tab.
2. Essential Information Only: You've done the hard part by getting the customer to your site and ready to purchase. But then you ask them to perform a song and dance in the checkout... Keep it simple by requiring Billing, Shipping Information, and Payment Method only. Everything else is just fluff.
3. Clear Delivery Information: I can't be the only one who has made an error when typing out my street, city, state, country, and zip code. Don't let fat-fingering be an issue and provide a solution that can auto-populate my address so I won't have a failed delivery.
4. Mobile Experience: Have you ever received an email that looks completely different on your desktop versus on your cell phone? Exactly! The mobile customer experience should be at the top of a brand's to-do list as over 50% of online shopping will be done via cell phone by the end of 2021.
5. Speed: I have left the final stages of a purchase due to slow loading pages and unreliable payment processes. If you are not fast, your competitors will be.

Now let's check out some highly efficient checkouts:

Nike:

Nike's checkout is a perfect representation of their "Just Do It" mantra - straight to the point. Their 3-part ordering process is clear, welcoming, and easy for customers to navigate. As a user, their checkout flow is particularly pleasant given their type-ahead, one-line address field, avoiding any opportunities to misspell my address.

Uber Eats:

Uber Eats has a wonderful checkout on both their desktop and mobile app. Their checkout is highly detailed, but not overwhelming. From this screenshot alone, I am able to choose how and when I want to receive my order, get an estimate of my food's arrival, and am rewarded with a $0 delivery fee if I place my order under a time threshold. This is a perfect example of the idea that "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts", where each feature isn't particularly unique, but together makes a wonderful checkout experience.

Crate & Barrel

When you search for "Frictionless Checkout" in my imaginary eCommerce dictionary, you will find Crate and Barrel as the example given. A clear display of how far along you are in their checkout process is given atop. Additionally, their team follows my #1 commandment of a frictionless checkout: "Thou shall allow customers to enter thy checkout as a guest." Kudos, Crate & Barrel.

Sonos

Pardon the long scroll on this one, but Sonos nailed their checkout. Sonos designed a single page checkout with an accordion design. By using this layout, their customers don't have to worry about slow loading pages in between payment information and billing. Speaking of billing, their layout of payment options is nicely laid out, where I can easily toggle between my choice of payment. I particularly like the note at the top, inviting you to create an account after their checkout.

Hello Fresh

The UX team should toss on a chef's hat and blow a kiss to the camera for nailing their checkout. In my list of features to avoid, distracting your customers while inputting information must be at the top. However, HelloFresh made me reassess my opinion with their eco-enlightened quick facts you receive throughout the 4-step process. As a consumer, I was excited to continue to the next page knowing I was going to get hit with more net-positives of why purchasing my meals with this specific meal-kit company was the right choice. HelloFresh, more like 'Hello, Fresh checkout'.

QVC

Sometimes the simple checkouts in life are the most wonderful. When you enter QVC's final steps, you won't get blown away by their UX, but what you will find is a company that knows its customers (ranging between the age of 35-64). Their checkout smartly takes you across the 3-step process with easy access and visibility. Both their desktop and QVC app checkouts highlight why they are THE flagship shopping channel.

We are lucky to be living during a time where we can order nearly anything at the push of a button. Great checkout experiences require countless hours of dedication and unreasonable amounts of fierce effort from our favorite brands to save us seconds of our day. Here’s hoping that these six checkout best practices will help usher your business into the “World of Great Checkouts” where it deservedly belongs.

Thanks for checking out my article.

__________________________________________________________________________*This article is an appreciation post to the Product Managers, eCommerce Directors, and UX Designers who check under every digital rock and stone to create a frictionless checkout.