Bolt Helps FWRD Enter World of In-Person Shopping

Digital-first fashion retailer FWRD has debuted a pop-up store powered by checkout tech company Bolt.

The Los Angeles-based store, announced in a news release Friday (June 9), will let customers check out items using a QR code, thanks to Bolt’s Checkout Links. First introduced last year, this tool for retailers lets shoppers check out with a single click whether they’re buying online or in-stores.

“Not only does this typically result in higher conversion and reduced checkout friction, but shoppers associate their positive experience with FWRD, reinforcing their loyalty to the brand,” the news release said.

The partnership marks a reunion of sorts between Bolt and Revolve, FWRD’s parent company, as Revolve was among the first Bolt clients to use Checkout Links. The companies teamed up during Fashion Week in New York City last year.

PYMNTS spoke to Bolt CEO Maju Kuruvilla around that time about his company’s channel- and ecosystem-agnostic approach to one-click checkout.

“People are buying at the point of inspiration,” he said. “People like to buy things online and they don’t want to be constrained with a lot of steps. We have to simplify that and provide a very simple, one-click checkout that works across all the different brands and all the different surfaces. So the future of checkout is the ability to buy things with one click, pretty much everywhere on the internet.”

PYMNTS Karen Webster noted that it could be argued that existing buy buttons already fill that function, but Kuruvilla countered that many of these solutions are essentially hardwired to certain platforms and marketplace ecosystems, and that does nothing to provide one-click to consumers wherever they shop.

And that could leave those customers frustrated, which is bad news for retailers, as shown in PYMNTS’ recent collaboration with Checkout.com, “Building a Better Online Checkout Experience: The Key Features That Matter to Customers.”

That report found that the biggest obstacle preventing smooth, seamless checkout online is an overall frustrating process when customers get to the finish line.

“To maximize sales, eCommerce merchants need to ensure that shoppers can easily and seamlessly complete checkout — no matter whether they shop on an app, via social media or on a traditional website,” PYMNTS wrote. “And smooth checkouts can help online businesses win, and retain, repeat customers.”

The report found that 91% of consumers said a satisfying checkout experience significantly affects their willingness to keep patronizing a merchant.