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E-commerce checkout has become better and quicker for shoppers, thanks to merchant features such as auto-fill forms and new payment options. But customer expectations are higher than ever.
There’s a disconnect between merchant and customer perceptions of checkout experiences, as detailed in an April 2025 Forrester study commissioned by PayPal of e-commerce decision makers and shoppers in North America and Europe, including the United Kingdom.
"41% of UK customers surveyed reported experiencing difficulties with basic tasks such as entering payment information.1"
But only 14% of UK merchants recognised that basic tasks such as entering payment information were a challenge to customers during online checkout.2
Accelerated checkout is 1 path to improving the checkout experience. These solutions allow customers to auto-fill payment and shipping information to complete a purchase. Checkout features that reduce friction can help to enhance customer satisfaction, boost repeat purchases, and drive revenue growth.
Customers are much more focused on the checkout process than on other e-commerce experiences. This is logical, because checkout is often where the buying process becomes muddied.
A streamlined checkout process, with as few steps as possible, is important or extremely important, outweighed factors such as personalisation or product recommendations,3 and highlights the need for low-friction buyer journeys.
75% of UK respondents said that a checkout experience with minimal steps is important or extremely important.4^^
This shopper-retailer perception gap starts with new account creation. While 34% of UK shoppers found this step challenging,5 only 10% of UK e-commerce decision makers did.6 Likewise, 38% of UK shoppers found it challenging to enter shipping information,7 while only 11% of e-commerce respondents did.8
45% of UK merchants surveyed said that accelerated checkout would positively influence the customer experience.9
When sluggish checkout slows down a purchase, customers can be quick to go elsewhere. Of UK shoppers surveyed:
And checkout is a make-or-break moment for UK shoppers and merchants.
When asked to rank the checkout features that were most important to them, UK shoppers chose auto-filling personal information securely, followed by the ability to use their digital wallet for payments.14
In the survey, UK brands and shoppers are aligned on 1 thing: checkout must be improved.
Merchant respondents widely recognise that quick, seamless checkout is important for driving revenue and building brand loyalty. Shoppers want accelerated checkout. They believe that creating accounts and typing in address and payment information gets in their way. To keep up with customer expectations, merchants should offer quick, easy-to-use guest checkout.