Customers don’t abandon sales at the home page or product page; they abandon sales at checkout. The cart abandonment rate is between 60% and 80% depending on the industry, and is higher for high-risk merchants[1]. So whether you’re selling supplements, digital downloads, or thousand-dollar coaching programs, knowing how to increase ecommerce revenue starts with minimizing friction within your checkout experience. In addition, for those merchants who have a high-risk e-commerce merchant account, your setup has to be that much more secure to ensure trust and reliable cash flow.
Why High-Risk Ecommerce Needs More Focus on Checkout Optimization
In e-commerce, losing sales at checkout is costly. In high-risk ecommerce, it’s fatal. When a customer gets caught up in an overly complicated process, or their payment doesn’t go through, or they’re uncertain if they were charged, there are cart abandonments, chargebacks, and damage to reputation[2]. High-risk merchants, from CBD and nutraceuticals to adult items and ecommerce services, need a checkout process to facilitate optimal conversion while still adhering to regulations required by their high-risk ecommerce merchant account provider.
Simple Page Layouts and Minimize Clutter
The more complicated your checkout process is, the more likely someone will abandon their cart and leave. Eliminate unnecessary fields, eliminate distractions, and keep columns single-spaced for the easiest use. For high-risk ecommerce, time is of the essence immediately for better conversion rates, but also for the reduction of chargebacks. If customers are confused, they’ll either leave or come back to dispute a charge later. The cleaner it is, the better for your high-risk e-commerce merchant account to reduce chances of refunds and chargebacks.
Provide Guest Checkout Options
Forced account creation can kill all momentum and then some. Not all shoppers are looking to make an account just to purchase one item. Providing guest checkout options simplifies the process for one-time visitors trying to achieve what they need and get out. This is one of the best ecommerce tips on the list of how to increase ecommerce sales, especially if the nature of your product is an impulse buy. For high-risk industries, asking for too much personal information could turn shoppers away anyway, giving them even less reason to proceed.
Optimize for Mobile Payment
Over 50% of all ecommerce traffic comes from mobile, and yet, ecommerce checkout isn’t always optimized for mobile use. High-risk e-commerce sites need to do more than create a responsive site to ensure the checkout experience involves thumb navigation, auto-populate features and shortened load speeds. Mobile optimization ensures fewer abandoned carts and a professional presence that fosters consumer trust—something your high-risk e-commerce merchant account processor will appreciate.
Provide Multiple Payment Options
Shoppers expect payment options. If you only provide one or two payment options, you’ve lost a sale right then and there. Support major credit cards, digital wallets and ACH or crypto options whenever your payment processor allows. With high-risk ecommerce merchant accounts, this can be difficult, but always remain flexible, compliant and secure. Payment option diversification means no sale will be lost due to incompatibility.
Place Trust Indicators Above the Fold
When consumers are shopping in high-risk industries, they’re extra cautious. Help them know you can be trusted. Place SSL badges, third-party review snippets, PCI compliance logos and reminders of your return policy above the payment fields. Trusted environments are transparent and allow buyers to feel good about their purchasing decisions instead of second-guessing. These trust indicators, placed in the right places, not only help boost e-commerce sales but also reduce chargebacks and keep your merchant account healthy[3].
Provide One-Click or Auto-Fill
For your repeat customers, let them check out easily by giving them the option to save payment methods or use Shop Pay, Apple Pay or Google Pay. These features vastly improve the consumer experience and foster loyalty. While even high-risk ecommerce merchants can save customers’ payment information, they should consult their high-risk ecommerce merchant account provider to ensure legality when tokenizing or storing payment information on the backend. When done properly and legally, one-click payments improve customer LTV and increase conversion times.
Integrating with The Right High Risk Ecommerce Merchant Account
Not all processors are created equal—and that’s key during the checkout process. Many traditional processors will either decline high-risk merchants or apply rolling reserves, high fees, delayed payouts and more. It’s essential to find a high-risk e-commerce merchant account that integrates with your e-commerce software at checkout and services your particular niche. Look for processors with high-risk experience in your industry, fraud prevention abilities and customizable checkout options that evolve with your high-risk ecommerce.
Analytics to Improve Checkout Process
Analytics are also key to developing the perfect checkout. Heatmaps, form analytics and funnel tracking can all assess user abandonment. Comprehending what works and what needs fixing is half the battle. For example, merchants in high-risk situations can assess failed transactions through analytics and review assessment to note red flags of friction before they happen. Once they diagnose their issues with a proper high-risk e-commerce merchant account, they’ll position themselves for shorter sales cycles and lower dispute rates[4].
Importance of Speed for Improved Checkout Conversion Rate
Speed is another overlooked factor for effective checkout. A 1-second delay in time can equate to a 7% decrease in transactions completed. Ensure images are compressed, scripts are limited, and a CDN is secured to make checkout as speedy as possible. For example, those in high-risk merchant situations experience customers who might be wary of the possibility of being duped. A slow checkout may indicate to them that you’re trying to scam them since they’re along for the ride. These minutiae in the research of how to improve e-commerce sales can be remedied quickly for better immediate revenue and customer trust.
FAQ
Q: How do I improve my high-risk ecommerce checkout experience?
A: Trust, simplicity and mobile optimization. There’s no friction you want to offer. Fewer fields to process will go a long way, and a high-risk ecommerce merchant account that sells through reputable channels with supplementary revenue declines will go a long way. Refund policies often help reduce cart abandonment if disclosed during checkout. Trust badges should be clear and visible on the entire site.
Q: What’s the best way to prevent cart abandonment?
A: Make checkout as easy as possible—guest checkout available, multiple payment options, and limited click-throughs necessary to close a sale. Features like auto-fill and mobile-first can tremendously reduce abandonment rates as well.
Q: Can I offer Buy Now, Pay Later with a high-risk merchant account?
A: A handful of high-risk e-commerce merchant accounts have recently started to offer BNPL functionality through certain third-party integrations. Speak to your processor to assess if they allow such features and are compliant to offer to your consumers.
Q: Where in the checkout process creates the most friction?
A: The most friction occurs when accounts must be created without guest checkout options, when form fields are overly extensive, when costs are hidden and when load speeds are delayed. Removing this friction improves the customer experience and increases e-commerce sales in almost no time.
Q: How does checkout affect customer trust in high-risk industries?
A: The simpler and clearer the checkout process is, the better. The easier customers find that it’s secure and on the up-and-up, the less likely they are to abandon carts and seek chargebacks. For high-risk industries, trust during checkout is everything.
Q: Should I build a custom checkout or go with my e-commerce platform’s hosted solution?
A: It’s situative. If you’re a start-up, you can get away with using the standard checkouts offered through Shopify, WooCommerce and other platforms. When you scale, however, look for options to customize or use headless commerce integrations for better performance and suitability with your high-risk e-commerce merchant account[5].
Conclusion
When checkout flow becomes a growth strategy, it’s something you need to adopt if you want to grow. For high-risk ecommerce merchants, it’s not about aesthetics and UX, it’s about trust, compliance and conversion. Learn how to increase ecommerce sales today and work with the Payment Nerds, the best high-risk ecommerce merchant account, to promote long-term growth, minimize abandonments, and have an insurance policy against future business growth obstacles.
Sources
- Baymard Institute. “Cart Abandonment Rate Statistics.” Accessed August 2025.
- Shopify. “How to Improve Your Checkout Experience.” Accessed August 2025.
- Visa. “Best Practices for High-Risk Merchants.” Accessed August 2025.
- Forrester. “The Role of UX in Ecommerce Checkout Optimization.” Accessed August 2025.
- Merchant Maverick. “Top High-Risk Merchant Account Providers.” Accessed August 2025.
