User accounts

Most customers want to buy without registering, so guest checkout should be the default. Still, there are cases where registration is required. Among them are purchases of virtual items or downloadable items.

If a user wants to access such items, they must also have access to a user account. In this way, we enable the customer to download content multiple times.

There are also several other examples where registration is required:

• Ordering items with recurring payments (e.g., magazine subscription, monthly food delivery, etc.),
• Ordering digital items that require access to files for download or editing and access to purchased licenses, etc.,
• Ordering to multiple addresses, where the user wants to have address information stored and available for quick orders or online access to all past purchases for viewing data or easier reordering,
• When a user wants to edit the list of items or wishlist for future purchases,
• In cases where users gain various benefits from purchases (e.g., loyalty points for each purchase) and store them in their user accounts for later use,
• For access to restricted store content, if it's a store where VIP pages are reserved for regular customers who have priority in purchasing over other visitors or have special purchase benefits,
• User accounts are also needed in stores with special user groups (e.g., wholesalers) that shop with individual benefits, and
• In the case of specific stores, you can allow users additional access to content with user accounts, for example, offer wholesalers access to all items and their data so they can use them in their business.

There are more use cases, but the ones listed above can help you decide whether to enable registration and user accounts on your online store.

Most customers want to complete a purchase without registering, so guest checkout should be the default and account creation offered after the purchase (one click on the thank-you page). An example from our practice: a store was losing purchases with mandatory registration, and after introducing guest checkout the number of completed purchases increased.

How to Convince Visitors to Register for a User Account?

Having more registered customers means more data on user accounts, and thus more information about your customers. To convince customers to register, you can offer them some benefits:

• Special access to free content: e-books, digital content,
• Option to purchase with special benefits: discounts for registered store members,
• Additional benefits: earning loyalty points that can also be given at registration in the store.

Why Would You Want to Offer Purchases Without Registration?

If you follow the statistics of purchases and study the behavior of visitors in an online store, you will soon realize that most customers want to complete their purchase as quickly as possible, and each additional step in the process reduces the percentage of successfully completed purchases. In certain cases, registration can even prevent a user from making a purchase because they may not have access to an email account at that moment, may not understand instructions, or may be hindered by some other factor. Make signing in easier with sign-in using a Google or Apple account, a one-time link sent by email, or passkeys, which replace passwords with a fingerprint or face. Fewer passwords mean fewer forgotten passwords and fewer abandoned purchases. 

AuthorAnže Voh

My name is Anže, I am a certified Magento solution expert and the maker of several award-winning online stores. I am the architect of all Degriz projects.

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