Mobile Money Network (MMN) has released the results of a piece of research into customer behaviour in online and mobile checkouts. The research, carried out by customer data platform QuBit, analysed 18,000 shopper journeys to investigate where and why they ‘drop out’.
The research concludes that the number one issue for buyers is the fact that they are required to go through lengthy account creation processes in each digital retail environment with multiple retailers before they can complete a purchase. The total amount of revenue currently being lost by users exiting at the checkout as a result of an inefficient purchasing process, says MMN, is £2.4bn, of which £470m is due to the required registration process.
The report notes that there has been little innovation in the checkout experience over the last 16 years, and says that the point of transaction is due a major upgrade. With the emergence of new technologies, the retail industry is in a state of flux, with mobile technology in particular completely changing the game for consumers, allowing them to transact wherever and whenever they choose.
“The key issue is none of the players in the market are creating a simple payment mechanism that transcends all channels – online, mobile as well as more traditional marketing channels,” says MMN managing director, John Milliken. “We strongly believe that mobile is not a discrete channel, and used properly, it is an enabler to improve sales conversion in all channels. Retailers need to reduce the amount of revenue lost due to making it too difficult for consumers to buy from them. That is the challenge we took on when we launched MMN 18 months ago.” 
MMN’s vision is to drive improved sales conversion for retailers by putting an instant mobile checkout anywhere a retailer has a communication with a customer. Retailers that have integrated MMN’s instant mobile checkout ‘Simply Tap’ at various consumer touchpoints include Carphone Warehouse, Thorntons and Liam Gallagher’s fashion brand Pretty Green. The touchpoints include in-store posters, eCommerce and mCommerce sites, catalogues, outdoor poster advertising, print advertising and social media sites such as Facebook.
“The goal is to make it as easy and as quick as possible for consumers to buy from retailers wherever they see a product,” says Milliken. “However, the majority of retailers don’t give consumers an opportunity to instantly buy, for example, on social media or from an advert, and still require shoppers to go through lengthy, complicated registration and payment processes when they do have something in their basket. This is akin to standing in a shop queue and not being allowed to go to the cashier without giving up your email address and setting up a password.”
Mobile Money Network believes there are four pillars of checkout innovation required to ensure retailers halt the revenue haemorrhage they are currently experiencing. The first is a simplified checkout process, with less steps from purchase intent to transaction completion. Number two is centralised information, with one single log-on, regardless of the retailer you are buying from. Three is retailer collaboration, with no need for competitive advantage in the checkout. The fourth need is for a cross-channel approach, with a uniform process across all retail and marketing channels.
