• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, May 28, 2018

 According to MultiChannel Merchant, speaking to “Shopping Experience” reported by Daniela Forte, “as a consumer navigates her way through the purchase journey to the checkout area of a website, retailers are close to closing the deal, so it’s imperative that they provide a seamless experience at this crucial point in the buying process, says the report. Yet each year, online retailers are losing enormous amounts of revenue due to shopping cart abandonment.”

 “Retailers have to do all they can to ensure that each shopper doesn’t forget the cart, and the relationship is kept alive.” Mark Sieczkowski, Senior Product Manager for Vertex, says “The beauty of online shopping is no lines, so the shopping cart experience needs to be quicker than a three-person line at checkout, and today this is not the case.” 

 Sieczkowski said “Retailers need to replace the shopping cart with alternative solutions that allows buyers to purchase without the heavy checkout process. Full shopping carts should have one-click strategies and confirmation by text or email. Consumers shouldn’t need to wait for onscreen confirmation that an order has been placed.” 

 Phil Minix, Executive Vice President of apparel and accessories seller Rod’s Western Palace, said one of the biggest trends he’s seeing is a reduction in checkout steps. Minix said “…we continue to think about adding ways to checkout and create an account more quickly with things like Amazon Pay.” 

 The report goes on to say that “… in March, Macy’s launched checkout in its mobile app in order to speed up the in-store process, with plans to roll it out nationwide by the end of 2018. First tested in Macy’s, Woodbridge, it leverages the app’s in-store mode to power the self- service feature. To use this service, customers have to down load the Macy’s app and join the free WiFi network…” 

 The report continues “…customers can browse the assortment, scan items they want to purchase using their phone camera and the app’s built-in scanner, and head to a mobile checkout counter near the exit where associates verify the purchase, remove security tags and bag items.” 

Bloomingdale’s will soon begin testing mobile checkout at its SoHo location in New York, concludes the report.