Salesforce Commerce
1-Click Passwordless Checkout
Eliminating the friction that costs conversions - account creation walls, repeated logins, and multi-step forms - by designing a seamless passwordless checkout experience that gets shoppers to purchase faster.
A faster path from cart to confirmation
A quick and seamless checkout is critical for conversion. With passwordless registration and login lending to 1-Click Checkout, we aimed to eliminate multiple sources of friction in the shopper journey - reducing form fatigue, removing account creation barriers, and letting returning shoppers breeze through with saved information surfacing automatically.
This project spanned two releases. In 248, we piloted the experience within Pay Now payment links, getting a real-world read on the pattern before scaling it. In 250, we brought the full vision to life - registration as a frictionless opt-in, OTP via SMS, and a checkout that does the heavy lifting in the background so shoppers don't have to think about it.
Checkout friction is a conversion killer
Checkout abandonment is one of the most expensive problems in e-commerce - and most of it is self-inflicted. Long forms, premature account creation prompts, and passwords that shoppers can't remember all compound at the exact moment purchase intent is highest.
- Guest shoppers expect account creation during or after checkout - not before. Leading with it disrupts the primary goal of completing the purchase.
- Keeping account creation as a final step lets shoppers focus on checkout first, reducing drop-off from premature friction.
- Communicating tangible benefits of creating an account (saved addresses, order history, faster future checkouts) meaningfully increases opt-in willingness.
The market had already validated the direction. Shop Pay, Bolt, and Link had all moved toward passwordless OTP flows, auto-fill saved information, and seamless post-purchase account creation. Speed and simplicity were the expectation - our checkout wasn't meeting it.
Create a modern and quick 1-Click Checkout experience that converts shoppers to purchase.
From pilot to platform
Rather than building the full vision upfront, we staged it. 248 gave us a real-world pilot to learn from - a contained surface where we could prove the passwordless pattern worked before committing it to the full checkout. 250 was where we applied those learnings at scale.
Passwordless login in Pay Now
Introduced passwordless login and registration within LCC Pay Now payment links. Well-organised multi-step checkout form with minimum required fields. Automatic login after sign-up. The experience was functional but felt like a "boring" checkout - it worked, and it taught us where to go next.
Opt-in at end of checkout
Account registration moved to a simple opt-in checkbox at the end of checkout - frictionless by default, optional by design. Registration happens in the background. OTP via SMS becomes the preferred login channel, so returning shoppers never touch a password.
A key decision throughout was where to surface the opt-in. Early explorations placed it upfront, inline with contact information. Testing made clear that this pulled attention away from completing the purchase. Moving it to the final confirmation step - after the shopper had already committed - dramatically reduced the perceived cost of signing up.
I designed four scenarios to cover the full range of shopper states the experience needed to handle:
Guest shopper opts in to create an account at end of checkout. Registration happens silently in the background.
Returning shopper authenticates via OTP. Saved addresses, payment methods, and contact information surface automatically.
First-time shopper opts in to account creation but hits a reCAPTCHA false positive. Error handled gracefully - order still completes successfully.
Existing shopper who already has an account chooses to enable passwordless login - streamlining all future checkouts.
What shipped
The final experience centres on two interactions: a lightweight opt-in at the end of checkout for new shoppers, and a smooth OTP authentication for returning ones. Neither interrupts the purchase flow - they extend it.
For first-time shoppers: a single checkbox after order placement offers to save their information for next time. Opting in triggers background registration - no new screen, no redirect, no password to create. The confirmation page doubles as the account creation confirmation.
For returning shoppers: entering a recognised email surfaces their saved information automatically. An OTP sent to their phone is all that's needed to authenticate - no password required, no "forgot password" dead ends.
Edge cases were designed with the same care as the happy path. The reCAPTCHA false-positive scenario - where a legitimate shopper gets blocked by an automated check - was given a specific recovery flow that preserves the completed order while surfacing a clear, non-alarming error state.
Fewer barriers, more completions
The 248 pilot validated the core hypothesis: presenting passwordless registration at the end of checkout, rather than the beginning, meaningfully reduced drop-off without sacrificing account creation rates. Shoppers weren't resistant to creating accounts - they were resistant to being asked before they'd decided to buy.
The 250 rollout extended that learning to the full checkout surface. Returning shoppers authenticated faster, saved information reduced form completion time, and the OTP channel proved to be the right call - SMS-based login required no app, no password manager, and no prior setup beyond an email address.
Because this launched in stages, the signals I'd watch to judge success are clear: checkout completion rate, passwordless opt-in rate, and time-to-authenticate for returning shoppers. The design intent throughout was to make account creation feel like a benefit the shopper opts into - not a tax they pay to check out.