This is part 3 of 5 in a series called The Deadly Sins of Online Giving. We discuss the most common obstacles to online giving that LIMIT your givers’ generosity and how to easily fix them.
You can download a copy of the entire series for free and we’ll notify you as new information is published.
New givers may be moved to contribute to a ministry opportunity, but requiring them to create an ACCOUNT and share confidential information such as their email, phone number and/or address is one of the reasons 83% will abandon their online gift.
When guests visit your church, they need time to get comfortable before trusting you with details about themselves. Most churches respect this by welcoming attendees to participate in services, programs, events or ministry opportunities without requiring formal membership commitments. And when the offering plate passes, you certainly don’t turn down a newcomer’s financial gift.
You might be surprised, then, to realize that this is what your online donation platform is doing to your guests.
Studies show that 23% of those who fail to complete their online transactions blame their decision on mandatory account creation. That number rises when you add in those who complain about too many fields in online checkout forms.
Requiring givers to set up an account creates a hard stop for givers for several reasons:
An early case for online giving for churches was that Millennials don’t carry checks or cash. That’s true, but are Millennials your main givers?
It turns out that Seniors are almost as digital as teenagers, with 66% of people over 50 in the US routinely purchasing from online retailers. Plus:
However, this age group is more cautious online than younger people who have been online their whole lives:
Seniors have the greatest wealth and are more cautious online. What if the givers most likely to abandon their gift because they have to first create an account are the ones most likely to afford a more generous gift?
In online commerce, mandatory account creation results in such a high rate of dropped transactions that 66% of retailers now offer guest check-out, including Nike, Adidas, Home Depot and Nordstrum. Plus smartphone shoppers are 20% more likely to choose guest checkout when it is offered and, as mentioned, 23% will abandon their gift when it’s not.
When people are ready to make repeated purchases (or recurring donations), they’ll happily set up an account and enjoy the benefits of doing so. Until then, guest checkout is their preferred option.
Your biggest “selling point” for online giving is how easy, safe and convenient it is. Yet the obstacle of mandatory account creation adds unnecessary fields and steps to perform, and can trigger concerns about online privacy among those most likely to be generous.
Demanding a commitment online puts limits on generosity. But even if you’re sold on the idea of guest checkout, most online giving software for churches don’t offer it.
Easily fix this obstacle with Vision2, which supports guest checkout for online giving and lets givers control their personal information.
Sign up for a demonstration today to see Vision2 in action!
