21% of transactions on Boxed.com use a quick checkout method. Google’s new payment API could increase conversion, especially on smartphones, Boxed says.

Quick payment buttons work: They make checkout faster.

Boxed Wholesale estimates that an expedited checkout button can save anywhere from 15 seconds to 1 minute during checkout, and that’s why the web-only merchant implemented Google Inc.’s latest quick payment method Pay with Google, says Boxed’s chief technology officer, William Fong.

Boxed, No. 326 in the Internet Retailer 2017 Top 1000, is an online retailer of groceries and household products, often sold in bulk.

The Pay with Google payment method allows consumers using retailer’s Android apps or visiting an e-commerce site using the Google Chrome browser to check out with a credit or debit card that was previously saved to their Google account, such as a card saved in mobile payment app Android Pay, in the Google Play Store, in YouTube or in the Chrome browser.

Reducing any typing will help.
William Fong, chief technology officer
Boxed Wholesale

Google announced its new payment application programming interface in May and it’s now available to online retailers. E-commerce is still a huge opportunity for Google, Alphabet Inc. CEO, Sundar Pichai told investors on the company’s earnings call last week, according to a transcript from SeekingAlpha.com. “[Retailers] are already advertising partners,” he said. “They’re beginning to work with us much more closely on driving a seamless shopping experience.”

advertisement

Merchants can offer the “Pay with Google” button on their site so consumers can check out quickly with any of their saved cards.

Google sends the retailer the shopper’s payment information and shipping address using the information saved in her Google account, which means the shopper does not have to type any information if she wishes to use her data that’s stores with Google. Retailers that have Android Pay as a payment option still need to set up a separate API for Pay With Google.

About 21% of transactions on Boxed.com go through a quick payment method, such as PayPal, Apple Pay or American Express Checkout, says Fong, who adds that the percentage of quick payment is higher on mobile devices, at 38% on iPhones specifically. And more consumers are using such methods.

“Quick payments’ share of total mobile payment methods is almost 9% higher than during the same period last year,” Fong says.

advertisement

Mobile shoppers will likely be the biggest beneficiaries of this new payment platform, Fong says.

“Mobile checkout processes can be tricky because the screens are smaller and people generally don’t like typing on their phones, so reducing any typing will help,” he says.

Because the button saves time and typing, Fong expects conversion rates to increase among consumers using Pay with Google.

Darren Hill, CEO and co-founder of e-commerce technology provider WebLinc LLC, parent company of e-commerce platform provider Workarea, says if merchants and consumers buy into this payment method,  it could significantly increase conversions.

advertisement

“Where we see drop-off the most on mobile is when people must enter their address and credit card. If this solves that issue, it could be great,” Hill says.

The Pay with Google integration took about two or three weeks for Boxed, but development time was only  about three days worth of work, Fong says.

“It did take a fair amount of testing since we have to make sure financial data is handled securely,” Fong says.

Mobile app platform Branding Brand is offering the Pay with Google option for online retailers. 56 retailers in the Top 1000 name Branding Brand as a mobile commerce vendor they use, according to Top500Guide.com. For one undisclosed Branding Brand client, adding a quick checkout button doubled its conversion rate.

advertisement

 

Favorite