Forced registration before a purchase is one of the biggest conversion killers at checkout: according to research, around a quarter of customers cite it as a reason for abandoning. A customer who just wants to buy quickly does not want to create an account, enter passwords, and commit to a relationship they do not yet know. Guest checkout removes this barrier, while account creation after the purchase still lets you build a long-term relationship with the customer. Below is how to open checkout to everyone, not just registered users, and still gain accounts.
Guest checkout as the default option
Make guest checkout the default and clearly visible option, not hidden under a login form. A visible "Continue without registration" or "Check out as guest" button at the top of checkout tells the customer at once that they do not have to create an account.
This simple change often saves a large share of otherwise abandoned purchases - stores that remove forced registration typically recover a noticeable share of previously lost carts. This is especially important for first-time buyers, with whom you have not yet built trust.
Easy login for existing customers
Offer existing customers an easy login so they do not have to re-enter details you already have. The password recovery process should be simple, and registration should not burden the customer with unnecessary password requirements.
Login via an existing account (for example Google or Apple) helps a great deal too, saving the customer entering a password and speeding up the path to purchase. Research shows that such one-click login significantly reduces abandonment compared with forced registration.
Account creation after the purchase, not before it
Do not require an account before the purchase, but offer it afterwards. Since the customer has already entered their name, email, and address during the purchase, creating an account is reduced to a single action - setting a password. The customer gets an account with practically no extra effort.
This approach works considerably better than forced registration: a "Save your details for faster checkout next time" offer after the purchase is accepted by a large share of customers, while the same request before the purchase puts many off. That way you preserve conversion and at the same time gain registered customers.
An incentive to register
To make the customer actually create an account after the purchase, offer a clear benefit: faster future checkout, order tracking, a discount on the next purchase, loyalty points, or early access to new products and promotions.
It is important that the benefit is concrete and instantly understandable. A generic "create an account" works worse than "create an account to track your order and check out faster next time".
How to set it up in Magento
Magento supports guest checkout by default, which you enable in the checkout settings, and automatic account creation from the guest order details. So after the purchase you can offer the customer to merely confirm the account by setting a password.
For login via external accounts (Google, Apple, Facebook) or a more elaborate post-purchase registration offer with an incentive, a dedicated module is often required. Such a module simplifies login and registration and places them at the right moment.
How to measure whether it works
The main indicator is the share of started checkouts that are also completed, and the abandonment rate at the login or registration step itself. If more customers complete the purchase after introducing guest checkout, the change has succeeded.
At the same time, track the share of customers who still create an account after the purchase. The goal is twofold: as many completed purchases as possible and as many registered customers as possible, gained at the right moment, that is after the purchase is done.
