Designing a one-click purchase flow might seem like a simple thing. However, when Amazon first implemented this idea, the rules of the game changed forever. Amazon’s philosophy was to focus on the customer, not on the website. That ultimately means knowing the people who buy your products or services, which is why customer accounts are essential to one-click purchasing. In other words: there cannot be a one-click purchase flow without knowing your customer.
What are customer accounts?
Customer profiles are “types” created to represent the users of a product or service. They are also essential for making customer-focused decisions without being affected by personal opinion. Customer profiles differ from buyer personas in that they are not fictional representations, but genuine profiles.
However, it’s not about just understanding what products or services your customers buy or how they use them. Nowadays, eCommerce businesses have access to very specific data such as names, addresses, credit card details, previously-purchased products, ratings, reviews, opinions, etc. From the login name and password to the latest published opinion, everything is part of the customer account.
The customer account is the space where customers can see their history, keep track of their order activity and save their data for future purchases. It is essential for online stores to improve customer experience by simplifying processes and working on customer profiling to improve marketing and sales strategies.
Segmentation leads to personalization
Knowing what your customers want and how they interact with your products or services is important. Also, having a good idea of the demographics allows for a better targeting definition. A better understanding of the different groups of people within your customer list and site visitors leads to more accuracy. This makes it possible for companies to better adapt their strategies to their customers and to individualize them.
In other words, segmentation is the first step towards personalization. Whenever we want to buy a product, the first thing that we see is usually a reminder that we should log into our account. Every eCommerce site or app we use often is going to ask us for our login credentials.
If you really want the shopping experience to be as easy as possible, group segmentation is not enough. It is practical and helps companies adjust their strategy, but it’s not enough to persuade customers to buy in just one click.
Customer accounts: the key to one-click purchases
In order for the one-click purchases to happen, the minimum you have to know is:
- The customer’s full name.
- Delivery address and billing address.
- Phone number in case there is any issue with the delivery.
- Payment method (PayPal ID, credit card number etc.)
If you want to get the most out of that click, then you might also want to :
- Remind customers that they left something in the cart last time.
- Let them know that there are other similar products they might be interested in
So, you need to know history and opinions, meaning you have to be able to identify customers individually. There is basically no way for the 1-click purchase to happen without creating a customer account.
Add to cart or buy now?
Something very important to remember is that while one-click purchasing makes everything easier, you still need a cart. You should also have a “guest option” for people who don’t wish to create an account for their purchase.
Having a cart allows you to know what people are thinking about buying, either ecause they need it or because they want it. The cart gives you additional information. Without a cart, there’s no cart to abandon. Nor are there cross-selling or upselling opportunities. More importantly, there is no way to test one-click purchasing to measure how much instant purchases cannibalize from the standard checkout.
The success of one-click purchase deepens when customers update their information. Regular newsletters will frequently inform customers about products and information that interest them. And as much as you focus on improving one-click purchasing, don’t forget to give your customers the option to add items to the cart.
What are customer accounts?
They are customer profiles that represent the user of a service or product. They provide information about the customers such as name, address, credit card, opinions, or the products they’ve bought.
What do I need to design a 1-click purchase flow?
In order to implement 1-click purchases you need to know the name of the customer, their delivery address, phone number or any form of contact and their payment method.
