One-Click Checkout for Shopify: How It Works and Why It Boosts Conversions

One-click checkout and digital wallets reduce cart abandonment by removing complexity, forced registration, and surprise fees. Prioritize mobile wallet buttons, show costs early, and integrate Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal via apps. Streamlined, pre-verified payments cut steps and errors, lift conversion rates, and speed purchases across devices.

Written by Chris Behier

Dec 07, 2022

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What Is One-Click Checkout?

One-click checkout (also called express checkout or accelerated checkout) allows returning customers to complete a purchase with a single tap or click, without re-entering their payment and shipping information. It works by storing customer details after the first purchase — either in the merchant's system or through a third-party network — and retrieving them automatically on subsequent visits.

Why It Boosts Conversions

The biggest conversion drop at checkout is the gap between "I want to buy this" and "I've finished entering all my details." One-click checkout eliminates most of that gap for returning customers. Studies consistently show that reducing the number of steps and form fields required to complete a purchase directly increases completion rates. For mobile shoppers — who face the additional friction of typing on a small keyboard — the impact is even more pronounced.

One-Click Checkout Options on Shopify

Shopify merchants have several one-click and accelerated checkout options available:

Shop Pay — Shopify's own accelerated checkout, with the largest network of stored customer details across all Shopify stores. Shop Pay's checkout completion rate consistently outperforms standard checkout.
Apple Pay — available to customers on Apple devices using Safari; completes checkout with Face ID or Touch ID confirmation.
Google Pay — available to customers with a Google Pay account on Chrome and Android; completes checkout with a single tap.
PayPal Express — allows PayPal account holders to check out using their saved PayPal details without entering card information.

Placement Strategy

Express checkout buttons should appear at the highest-intent points in the customer journey: on the product page (above the fold if possible), in the cart flyout or drawer, and prominently at the top of the checkout page — before the standard payment form. Customers who see express options before they start manually entering information are significantly more likely to use them.

How to Get Started

For Shopify stores using Shopify Payments, Shop Pay, Apple Pay, and Google Pay can all be enabled in the Shopify admin under Payments settings with minimal configuration. For Shopify Plus merchants, these buttons can also be placed on product pages and in cart drawers using Storefront API or Checkout Extensibility, maximising their reach throughout the buying journey.

One-click checkout is the finish line — our Shopify Plus team helps you build the whole race track.

Get Shopify Plus Checkout Development Support →

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