Guest Checkout
Our Challenge
As we refined our e-commerce experience, one pain point stood out: checkout friction.
Data showed a sharp drop-off between the shopping cart and order completion — only 15.5% of users made it through. The culprit was clear: the mandatory account creation step.
We needed to design a checkout experience that prioritized ease, trust, and flexibility, allowing customers to complete their purchase without unnecessary barriers while maintaining data security and business value.
The Opportunity
Industry benchmarks (Baymard Institute) revealed that up to 35% of shoppers abandon checkout when forced to create an account. This presented a direct opportunity to reduce friction and recover millions in potential revenue by introducing a Guest Checkout option — a faster, user-first path to purchase that aligned with our growth and experience goals.
The Approach
We adopted a “launch and learn” strategy to move quickly while managing risk. With limited engineering bandwidth, we prioritized a Phase 1 “button” solution — a simple, discoverable entry point to Guest Checkout that could be validated through data before deeper integration.
After the first launch, early results indicated low engagement (~$4K revenue plateau) due to poor visibility. Partnering closely with our Senior Product Designer and Frontend Architect, we implemented rapid optimizations within one week:
Replaced a hidden link with a prominent button for better visibility
Added a sticky navigation bar to keep Guest Checkout always accessible above the fold
Improved form error messaging for clearer user guidance and smoother completion
These iterative changes transformed the user experience — without redesigning the entire flow.
OUTCOME AT A GLANCE
💵 +$17.6M annual revenue, exceeding projections by 2×
📈 10× increase in engagement (from $4K to $40K within one week post-optimization)
⚡ 1-week design iteration drove major growth impact
🧩 Frictionless checkout flow without requiring account creation
🚀 Foundation for Express Checkout integration in next phase
Design Solution
Phase 1 involves launching a button solution, with subsequent phases focusing on implementing best practices.
Results Q3 8/23 launch
Usage plateaued at approximately $4k, signaling a lack of discoverability. After collecting a week's worth of data, I convened with the product design and engineering architect and spearheaded quick optimization efforts to address the issue. Execution for optimizations took one week.
Optimizations
Opting to transform the link into a button and building a sticky navigation proved to be a swift and effortless method for enhancing the discoverability of guest checkout. The sticky nav kept the button above the fold exposing it to users 100% of the time. Additionally, refining the error messaging within the email form provided users with clearer guidance on resolving issues, facilitating smoother progression through the flow.
Impact
After optimization, engagement surged — validating our hypothesis that discoverability was the main barrier. Revenue climbed from $4K to $40K weekly, proving that micro-interactions can deliver macro results.
Within one year, Guest Checkout generated $17.6M in annual revenue, more than double our original estimate of $8.8M.
This initiative not only streamlined the path to purchase but also demonstrated the power of incremental design — proving that a small, agile team can drive measurable business outcomes through focused UX improvements.
Final Results
Key Learnings
Guest Checkout reinforced a simple truth: design doesn’t always need to be perfect — it just needs to remove friction.
By experimenting quickly, aligning closely with engineering, and making thoughtful UI adjustments, we transformed a single button into a multi-million-dollar growth lever.
The next phase will integrate Guest Checkout directly into the login experience and expand into Express Checkout, advancing our vision of a truly seamless, flexible payment ecosystem.