Retail Brands Risk Losing Billions When Checkout Processes Fall Short

Global eCommerce players focus on user experience, brand loyalty and speed, but they often overlook payments.

No matter how sleek a front-end experience is, a failed or clunky checkout can undo every strategic effort that led to the sale. PYMNTS Intelligence findings from the May Payments Optimization Tracker® Series, “Going Global: How Payments Optimization Can Power an International Commerce Strategy,” a collaboration with Worldpay, found that 84% of shoppers consider one-click checkout an “important” factor in their purchasing decisions.

The feature enhances user experience and can increase authorization rates by over 10%. As global eCommerce competition increases, optimizing payments is no longer just a technical challenge but a growth imperative.

Cross-border commerce is booming, projected to surpass $10 trillion in value by 2030. But hidden behind the optimistic forecasts is a troubling statistic. According to the report, 72% of merchants report higher failure rates in cross-border payments compared to domestic ones.

Checkout Optimization as a Strategic Lever

Historically, payment processing was viewed as a back-end function — a cost center rather than a growth lever. But today, companies should see checkout as a product, deserving of dedicated teams, KPIs and ongoing investment.

Checkout failures can derail all that. The main culprits behind common checkout failures are outdated fraud filters, rigid banking infrastructure and a lack of localized payment options.

The highest share of customers abandoning purchases — 55% — do so when multiple transaction attempts are required of them. Such failed payment attempts could quickly eat away at revenue.

Today’s consumers have been trained to expect payment to be invisible. The moment they must think about how to pay, the merchant loses them. With customer acquisition costs rising and advertising return on investment falling, merchants must turn their focus inward. Optimizing checkout isn’t a tech fix. Done right, it can unlock revenue and long-term loyalty.

The right payments infrastructure can help boost authorization rates, reduce fraud and chargebacks, enhance user experience, increase global conversion and support improved cash flow.

Companies like Amazon and Shopify already know this. Beyond eCommerce giants, small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are beginning to understand the power of checkout optimization. Tools that enable intelligent payment routing, real-time fraud analysis and dynamic user interfaces can improve outcomes.

In the race for global eCommerce dominance, the battlefield isn’t just in marketing or logistics — it’s at the checkout. By reducing fraud-related chargebacks, minimizing transaction fees through smart routing and improving cash flow with faster settlements, companies can enhance margins. It’s a compelling argument for chief financial officers and chief operating officers.

Moreover, smoother payments reduce the burden on customer service teams. Many inbound support calls relate to failed payments, refunds or processing delays. Solving the root cause upstream frees up resources downstream.

As digital and physical commerce continue to blur, the next frontier is invisible payments — experiences so seamless that they feel automatic. From auto-renewing subscriptions and tokenized cards to in-store biometric payments and artificial intelligence-powered fraud prevention, the payment layer is becoming more sophisticated and central to the brand experience.

Another aspect of payment optimization that is often ignored is localization. What works in New York might not fly in São Paulo or Berlin.

However, invisibility doesn’t mean opacity. As consumers demand greater transparency, control and data privacy, companies must strike the balance of being seamless enough to be effortless, but trustworthy enough to be transparent.