A few years ago, Thinkific introduced its performance checkout. This, combined with TCommerce and Thinkific Payments, gives you access to a whole host of features designed to increase conversions.
Key Takeaways:
- Thinkific Payments is the platform’s native payment processor
- TCommerce facilitates sales tax remittance on your behalf
- Offer a range of payment options, including digital wallets, BNPL, gifting, and group orders
The TCommerce Performance Checkout Explained
Depending on when you initially signed up to Thinkific, there may be a couple of checkout options available to you.
If you signed up before February 2022, you still have access to the two-step checkout, which has separate steps for account creation and entering payment details. However, you can opt into the newer performance checkout if you want, or you can stick to the two-step option.
Those who signed up after this date are automatically given the performance checkout and cannot use the older two-step version.
In my opinion, if you have the choice, it’s better to go for the performance checkout.
Although it’s limited in terms of customization, it does provide a better experience for your customers and minimizes the amount of information required from them. The layout is clean and simple, anyway, so it doesn’t really need editing.
Plus, it works out of the box, so you don’t have to spend time trying to set it up properly.
At the end of the day, it’s all about getting that revenue in. So, I’ll take convenience over better customization any day!
The Benefits of Using TCommerce for Your Thinkific Checkout
Using the performance checkout also means you get to use TCommerce and Thinkific Payments.
Thinkific Payments is the platform’s native payment processor, so it eliminates the need to mess around with third-party integrations.
TCommerce refers to the suite of tools you get to manage sales and payments.
“Out-of-the-Box” Solution
Like the performance checkout, TCommerce is ready to go and already set up. It’s perfect for those who consider themselves “non-techy.”
It gives you access to loads of useful features that you can apply at the checkout stage to help with your conversions.
The tools are also designed to help you with all that pesky backend admin stuff, like bookkeeping and reporting.
As far as payment processors and features go, it’s pretty easy to use, which means you can set it all up and get selling ASAP.
Automatic Sales Tax
Applying the right sales tax is the bane of my existence, so I was very happy to discover that TCommerce dealt with it all for me. After all, who has time to go through each transaction, trying to work out how much to pay?
It only applies to sales made in the US, Canada, the UK, and the EU, but still, it removes a lot of the headache for me.
Besides remittance, TCommerce will also automatically determine the tax category the sale belongs to and whether or not the customer has been verified as tax-exempt.
No Additional Fees
You may be thinking, “Why not use Stripe, since I already have an account and Thinkific supports it?”
Using Stripe would be a huge mistake because it’s going to cost you a whole lot more.
To encourage you to sign up for Thinkific Payments, the platform has introduced an unpleasant fee for using third-party services.
This is as much as 5% on each sale if you’re on the Basic plan, gradually reducing to 0.5% on the Plus plan. And don’t forget, this is in addition to the standard transaction fees you already pay.
So, while I don’t like that Thinkific is essentially forcing you into using its payment processor, I still prefer to save the money by avoiding those extra fees.
Strong Security and Compliance
Thinkific Payments is built right on top of Stripe’s infrastructure and frameworks. And since Stripe is one of the most reliable payment processors in existence, you can be assured that all your transactions are safe and secure.
Stripe has some of the strongest security protocols going, plus Thinkific has a dedicated team that ensures its system has an uptime of 99.95%.
Also, thanks to the automatic sales tax remittance, you don’t have to worry about being non-compliant in this area. So, you can sell without the added stress.
10 Tools to Increase Thinkific Checkout Page Conversions and Revenue
1. Add Customer Testimonials
Providing more reassurance at the checkout stage can go a long way toward convincing someone to make a purchase.
To aid this, Thinkific pulls in your most recent reviews so potential buyers can see what other people thought of your products. They’re dynamic, too, and only the most recent ten approved reviews will be displayed.
While that means you can’t cherry-pick reviews, it does mean they are always up-to-date.
2. Abandoned Cart Reminders
Abandoned carts are a common issue, but there’s a way to recover them using TCommerce.
The system automatically sends a reminder to nudge people into completing the purchase. All you have to do is customize the subject line and email heading of the email, and Thinkific will do the rest.
You can also view the analytics of incomplete purchases, which might give you some valuable insight into why people aren’t following through with their orders.
3. Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL)
This feature allows customers to get their hands on your product right away but spread the cost over a series of interest-free payments.
Best of all, you get the entire amount upfront, so you don’t have to wait to receive the revenue.
Thinkific can facilitate BNPL through Affirm, Afterpay, Clearpay, and Klarna. The ones displayed at checkout will depend on their location.
This option works particularly well if you’re selling big-ticket items. The high cost can be off-putting, even if a customer really wants your product.
BNPL offers a more affordable way to pay without leaving you temporarily out of pocket.
4. Group Orders
If you design learning products for other businesses, you’re going to appreciate this feature.
At the checkout stage, the customer can purchase multiple seats simultaneously rather than running a separate transaction for each seat required.
So, team managers or business owners can purchase a course for their entire team or workforce in one simple move. Then, they can share the signup link so each student can create their account.
5. Gifting
What if a customer wants to purchase your products as a gift for someone else?
Well, all they have to do is check the “This is a gift” box at checkout. They’ll then be prompted to add the recipient’s information and email address and write a personalized message.
A gift invitation email will go directly to the recipient, while the buyer receives a gift order receipt.
6. Bank Redirects
To add to the list of convenient payment options, Thinkific allows bank redirects.
Instead of requiring a credit or debit card, the system can automatically redirect the customer to their bank’s website, where they will be prompted to complete the transaction.
Many people prefer this because redirects offer a secure way to pay, helping prevent the risk of fraudulent activity.
You’ll also be pleased to hear that this method helps with regulatory compliance, particularly if you have European customers. The PSD2 framework requires strong authentication for any payments made online, and bank redirects fall in line with its requirements.
7. Digital Wallets
Amazon Pay, Google Pay, Apple Pay, and other similar services are all known as digital wallets.
They are possibly the most frictionless way to pay for something, so it makes sense to offer them on your checkout page.
Most crucially, they are a popular payment method for mobile users. And since a lot of purchases happen on a mobile phone, you’re losing out if you don’t offer payments via digital wallets.
8. Coupons
Who doesn’t love a discount?
While a discount promotion might mean you get less revenue per sale, you’ll likely find you’ll end up with more sales than if you offered the product at its full price.
People like to get a deal, so consider offering coupons, especially if you’re trying to gain traction on a new product.
Thinkific lets you create coupons with either a percentage-based discount or a monetary one. You can then share the code as needed so people can take advantage of it.
Coupons are also great for offering free trials for subscription or payment plan-based products. All you do is create a 100% discount coupon and specify how many months it lasts when activated.
And, since we’re all about reducing checkout friction, you can send customers to your checkout page where the coupon code is automatically applied. The customer doesn’t have to lift a finger to get their deal!
9. Order Bumps
Order bumps are a tried and true method to boost the value of a sale.
They are additional, low-value offers that get displayed right before the “order” button of your main offer.
Just be sure that your order bump is an easy decision and highly relevant to your main offer. Adding it to their order should be a no-brainer for the customer.
Once the customer checks the order bump box, they can proceed to pay for it along with the main offer in one transaction.
10. Subscriptions and Payment Plans
I’ve mentioned subscriptions and payment plans throughout this article. If you want to secure a steady revenue stream, consider using them.
Subscriptions are ongoing payments (like your Netflix membership), so they’re perfect for paid community products and membership sites where you regularly add fresh content (you’ve got to give them a reason to keep paying!).
Payment plans are a set number of payments that occur on a weekly or monthly basis. You can use these for recurring products like monthly coaching sessions or to break down the cost of a high-ticket item into manageable chunks.
Again, it’s all about providing easy ways for customers to pay on your checkout page.
Thinkific Checkout Tools: Which Plan Do You Need?
The great news is that most checkout features are available on all Thinkific plans. There are only a few features where an upgrade is required:
| Feature | Basic | Start | Grow | Thinkific Plus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TCommerce & Thinkific Payments | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Customer testimonials | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Abandoned cart | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| BNPL | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Group orders | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Gift orders | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Bank redirects | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Digital wallets | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Coupons | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Order bumps | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Subscriptions | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Payment plans | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Accept PayPal | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
Thinkific Checkout Page Customization
Now, for the main downside of using Thinkific’s checkout. It’s not exactly customizable in terms of design and aesthetic.
It’s possible to add a header and your logo, adjust the font and brand colors, but that’s your lot. If you want to rearrange the layout, add more images, or make other changes, then you’re out of luck.
A solution to this is to integrate Thinkific with CheckoutJoy, since this app has highly customizable checkouts that you can add to your Thinkific products.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Thinkific Have a Shopping Cart?
No, Thinkific does not have a shopping cart function on its checkout page. Customers can only purchase one course at a time. A solution is to offer product bundles or add order bumps to the checkout page.
Can Customers Purchase Courses Using the Thinkific App?
It’s not currently possible for customers to purchase courses via the Thinkific app. They can only access courses or communities they have already purchased.
Can Thinkific Change Currency During Checkout?
No, customers can’t change currency during the checkout stage of a Thinkific product. The currency you initially set is the one that will be displayed on the purchase page.
