Update (March 2024): We put together one-page checkout optimization guide focused solely on the new (reduced) layout.
Update (October 2023): The one-page checkout is now live and available to all merchants. See our article for more details and information how to enable it.
During the Editions Winter 2023, Shopify announced over 100 product updates. The one which probably caused the most excitement was the one-page checkout.
There is an old thread from 2019 about this topic on the Shopify Community forum. The thread has over 200 responses, but until recently, there wasn't a proper solution to one-page checkout.
In this article, we'll explain what it is, how it looks, and how you can implement it in your Shopify store.
What is one-page checkout
One-page, sometimes called single-step or one-click, checkout is a simplified checkout process that is merged into a single page/step.
It typically contains fewer fields and is optimized to be as simple as possible. The assumption is that the fewer steps, the smaller the drop-off and hence a higher conversion. But is it true? It depends...
One-page vs. multi-page checkout
Many merchants only pursue the one-page checkout because they think it's "better". The problem is it's not better for every business. For some companies, the multi-page checkout actually converts better.
The general rule of thumb is that one-page checkout is better for a younger audience, lower AOV products, and mobile traffic. It also depends on the geography – some nationalities tend to checkout faster without much hesitation (i.e. North America and South America). In contrast, others take time and carefully consider each field/step (i.e. Japan, Germany).
The standard multi-page checkout on Shopify is divided into four steps:
- Information – Step to enter all relevant customer details like name, email, address
- Shipping – Step to select one of the shipping methods
- Payment – Step to select one of the payment methods
- Order confirmation – Page displayed as an order confirmation. Sometimes also called thank you page. Great for offering post-purchase upsells.
It can also offers one-click payments via express payment methods like Shop Pay, PayPal, Google Pay, Apple Pay, or Amazon Pay. Once clicked customer only needs to login into the existing account and the whole checkout process is basically skipped. This is a good hybrid between one-page and multi-page checkout – it combines best of both.
So it's really down to your business segment, but also how well is the checkout optimized. We have seen so many one-page checkouts on different e-commerce platforms which were just overloaded with information and fields.
How to get one-page checkout on Shopify
Update (October 25, 2023): The one-page checkout is now live and available to all merchants. See our article for more details and information how to enable it.
The native Shopify one-page checkout is currently available only to selected merchants, and you can submit your store to be chosen for early access here (scroll all the way down).
It's unclear whether the one-page checkout will be available for all Shopify plans, but our guess is it will start with a progressive roll-out from Shopify Plus plans.
There are a few alternative solutions in terms of third-party apps, but in reality, many of the "one-click checkout" apps simply redirect customers to the standard checkout.
The only solution was a custom checkout by Magebird, which looked like a Shopify checkout combined into one page. Unfortunately, this solution is no longer available as Shopify doesn't allow any external checkouts to be used.
Live examples
There aren't many live Shopify stores with the implemented native one-page checkout. One of the few is Supreme, where you can experience the one-step checkout yourself. It's designed uniquely to match the rest of the site, but you can clearly see it's the one-page checkout.
The other one is the official Shopify Supply store.
Conclusion
One-page checkout isn't better than a multi-page checkout. It can be better for some businesses, but it should always be properly A/B tested, not just from the conversion point of view but also from the AOV.
Until the new checkout is released to all merchants, we recommend optimizing the standard Shopify checkout and enrolling for early access.
