Most businesses spend significant time and money getting customers to a product page.

Then they lose them at checkout.

According to the 2025 World Wide Worx Online Retail Report, checkout friction is now the leading cause of cart abandonment, cited by 37% of retailers.

For years, businesses focused on driving more traffic. Today, the bigger opportunity is converting the traffic they already have.

The question is simple:

How quickly can a customer go from “I want this” to “I’ve bought it”?

Why checkout friction matters

The traditional online checkout journey hasn’t changed much in years:

Product → Cart → Checkout → Enter Details → Payment

The problem is that every additional step creates another opportunity for customers to leave.

A distraction. A slow page load. A lengthy form. A second thought.

Modern consumers are used to ordering food, booking transport and subscribing to services with a few taps. E-commerce is increasingly being measured against those experiences.

The fastest buying journeys often generate the highest conversion rates.

Mobile changed customer expectations

Checkout friction becomes even more noticeable on mobile.

Typing card details and billing information on a smartphone is time-consuming, especially when customers are browsing on social media, watching TV or multitasking.

The longer the checkout process, the greater the chance they’ll abandon it.

Why wallets are becoming the preferred way to pay

Digital wallets like Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay remove unnecessary effort from the checkout experience.

Instead of manually entering payment details, customers can pay using credentials already stored on their device and authenticate with Face ID, a fingerprint or a passcode.

The result is a faster, more trusted payment experience that benefits both shoppers and merchants.

Benefits include:

• Faster checkout experiences
• Better mobile conversion
• Stronger customer trust
• Fewer abandoned purchases

The next evolution: Embedded Express

If wallets reduce friction, Peach Payments’ Embedded Express removes even more of it.

Rather than sending customers through a traditional cart and checkout flow, Embedded Express allows them to purchase directly from the product page using their preferred wallet.

The journey changes from:

Product → Cart → Checkout → Payment

to simply:

Product → Buy Now

It may seem like a small change, but removing clicks can have a significant impact on conversion.

Why Embedded Express works

Captures intent immediately

The moment a customer decides they want a product is the moment they’re most likely to buy it. Embedded Express shortens the gap between intent and payment.

Reduces cart abandonment

Long forms, account creation and multiple checkout steps are common reasons customers leave before completing a purchase. Embedded Express removes much of that friction.

Improves mobile conversion

Wallet-powered checkout allows customers to authenticate with a face scan or fingerprint and complete purchases in seconds.

Builds trust

Customers often feel more comfortable paying through Apple Pay or Google Pay than entering card details into an unfamiliar website.

Increases the value of every click

Whether traffic comes from Google, Instagram, TikTok or email campaigns, Embedded Express creates the shortest possible path between product discovery and payment.

Where Embedded Express delivers the biggest impact

Flash sales and limited drops

When inventory is limited, speed matters.

Social commerce

Customers arriving from Instagram or TikTok want to buy quickly, not navigate a lengthy checkout process.

Single-item purchases

If customers typically buy one product at a time, a multi-step cart journey often creates unnecessary friction.

Digital products and subscriptions

Online courses, memberships, software and digital content are ideal candidates for one-click purchasing.

The best checkout is the one customers barely notice

As ecommerce continues to grow, merchants will keep investing in traffic acquisition and customer acquisition.

But many of the biggest conversion gains won’t come from attracting more visitors.

They’ll come from making it easier for existing visitors to buy.

Customers don’t usually abandon purchases because they don’t want the product.

They abandon purchases because buying it became harder than it needed to be.

Wallets and Embedded Express are helping merchants solve exactly that problem.

To learn more about Embedded Express, view our Developer notes.