Make it Big Podcast: Optimizing the Checkout Experience with Bolt

Welcome to The Make it Big Podcast, a bi-weekly audio series about all things ecommerce by BigCommerce.

In this episode, BigCommerce CEO Brent Bellm speaks with Bolt founder and executive chairman Ryan Breslow about checkout optimization. What does one-click checkout mean for merchants and their customers when the entire experience is streamlined to focus on conversions?

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The Make it Big Podcast: Episode 17

Brent Bellm: Let’s go into detail. How does it actually work? What is the consumer checkout experience with Bolt? 

Ryan Breslow: “So the way Bolt works is simple. You install Bolt on your site, which by the way, now can be done with two clicks, with our new core partnership with BigCommerce. We’ve always had a partnership, but now we’ve done the work to marry our two technologies. So you could turn it on instantly. And once it’s on your BigCommerce checkout stays BigCommerce check out, but it’s just accelerated if our network can help.

“So the first two fields of checkout are email and phone. If either of those match a Bolt user on our network, we log them in for an accelerated checkout experience with all their information stored. The user has had to have opted into Bolt in the past.

“In addition, we put an opt in at the end of the checkout for you just to register for Bolt accounts plus merchant site accounts. And so this increases registration rate of account enrollments and increases conversion rate.

“If Bolt is able to one-click somebody from our network, they see a 50% higher first-time conversion rate. More importantly, we find if someone has a one-click experience on your site, they’re more likely to repurchase and they have a 66% higher repurchase rate. So we’re so excited to bring those benefits to the BigCommerce ecosystem.”

BB: So in other words, you get an Amazon-like one-click experience, either as a consumer returning to that  same merchant that you already bought from once, without having to create an account and a password with that merchant or any other merchant that’s in the Bolt network that you land on. So, think of that, an Amazon like one-click experience everywhere you shop, where Bolt is accepted. Is that accurate?  

RB: “That’s spot on. And I like how you called out for your customers too, for your customers, for getting the Bolt network, if they’re coming to your site and you have Bolt installed, they can, without a password, create an account and have one click repeat experiences.

“And then part two, as you acutely said, Brent,  you also benefit from the rest of the Bolt network. If we’ve seen anybody anywhere else, they also get the one-click experience.”

BB: And of course, one of the things that seems to be going on are network effects. Right? The more consumers you have in your network, the higher the percentage of experiences on a merchants checkout, are going to get that one-click accelerated experience. Of course, any customer going back to  that merchant the second time on Bolt is one of those getting the fast experience and being in the network. How big is the consumer network today at Bolt? And how fast is it growing? 

RB: “We have crossed 10 million shoppers. So within the teens right now, if you’re listening, depending on  when you listen to this, it may be a lot bigger. In the next 18 months, we should cross over a 100 million shoppers.

“And so we’re seeing merchants who install Bolt in day one, anywhere from five to 15% of their  shoppers can one click, even with [sic] none of the preexisting shopper is creating accounts there. Right? So day one, we can accelerate five to 15% of your shoppers to be one clicking on your site.

“And then as our network grows and as your own user base grows, that percentage climbs up to whereby we now have some merchants where 50% of all of their transactions are one click.”

BB: Yeah, over time, of course, all of your repeat customers are going to get that experience. 

RB: “Exactly.”

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