Solution: 'Passive registration'
The problems above show that new customers can get confused if certain parts of the registration process are too prominent during checkout. Amazon.com avoids this problem by "registering" new customers automatically when they make their first purchase. Amazon quietly creates the account during the regular checkout, without explicitly asking customers to create an account. We call this process "passive registration."
For new customers, Amazon's first-time checkout process involves the following steps:
- Enter an email address
- Enter a shipping address
- Choose a shipping method
- Choose a password
- Enter a credit card number
- Confirm a billing address
- Review order and submit
The Amazon checkout process is successful for several reasons:
- Nowhere in the Amazon checkout process are new customers required to "create an account," choose an "account type," or even asked to choose a "personal question."
- The process is front-loaded with steps that make sense: entering an email address (as discussed above) and the shipping address and method.
- Only in the fourth step are new customers asked to choose a password. By that time customers are halfway through with the checkout process and less likely to abandon the site.
Overall, Amazon gives customers the benefit of an account -- an easier checkout process on the return visit -- without subjecting customers to unnecessary obstacles in creating the account. This focus on the customer experience makes Amazon's checkout a success.
