Consumers’ password fatigue adds to retailers’ cart abandonment problems

By the numbers: More than 4 in 10 consumers (42%) abandoned a purchase at least once in the past month because they couldn’t remember their password, per a survey from FIDO Alliance conducted in August.

The share is higher among younger consumers: 50% of people aged 25-34 abandoned a purchase, compared with just 17% of those 65 and older.

How payment providers are responding: Digital wallets are removing usernames and passwords from the checkout process entirely.

• PayPal launched Fastlane this year, a one-click checkout that requires no logins or personal information. So far, returning Fastlane users have a nearly 80% conversion rate, compared with the industry average of 50% for guest checkout.
• Paze also recently became available at major US banks. The wallet identifies consumers by the email address they use with their bank and their bank-enrolled phone number.
• And Mastercard plans to eliminate manual card entry and passwords at checkout by 2030 by investing in tokenization and biometric authentication.

Our take: Passwordless checkout will soon become expected by consumers. Merchants therefore need to ensure they offer it. It will help them stay competitive and avoid growing cart abandonment issues.

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