Checkout

The term checkout describes the digital action users take to finalize a purchase on social media platforms or via social media-integrated e-commerce. It is the final step in the buyer's journey on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest. Unlike the majority of experiences on these platforms, which are largely about content consumption, checkout is about content interaction, where the user is fully engaged in an experience that, ideally, will lead to a purchase.

Often integrated into a post or ad, checkout enables users to interact with the platform in a way that mimics a traditional e-commerce site. There's a level of convenience here that could— and should—make e-commerce on social media nearly frictionless. Yet seamlessness doesn't guarantee users will convert; in fact, it hasn't thus far.

As we will see, checkout has features that make it a strong purchase funnel, while its strong conversion doesn hinges on features that make it a trust funnel.