Accessibility and simplicity are the real frontiers of checkout optimisation
Most checkout optimisation conversations focus on the same familiar levers: fewer form fields, guest checkout, saved cards. What this piece from Forbes Technology Council usefully surfaces is a broader set of friction points that merchants in the Netherlands and Belgium routinely overlook, particularly around accessibility and expanding transaction types.
The point about screen readers and cognitive accessibility deserves serious attention. An estimated 15 to 20 percent of the population lives with some form of disability, yet the vast majority of checkout flows are tested exclusively on able-bodied users using desktop or mobile browsers in standard configurations. If your checkout cannot be completed by a screen reader user, you are not just losing a sale, you are likely in breach of the European Accessibility Act, which becomes enforceable for online retailers from June 2025.
On the UX side, the case for embedded financing at checkout is also gaining traction. Buy-now-pay-later grew partly because it reduced the cognitive load of large purchases, but the next step is deeper integration: financing options surfaced contextually within the checkout flow rather than bolted on as an afterthought. Dutch and Belgian merchants who present instalment options early in the funnel, rather than only at the payment step, consistently see higher conversion on high-ticket items.
The identity management point is equally relevant for stored-credentials UX. Customers are increasingly willing to save payment details, but only when they trust that their data is protected. Transparency around encryption and clear visual trust signals at checkout directly affect the willingness to store credentials, which in turn drives repeat-purchase conversion.
The practical takeaway for merchants: audit your checkout with an accessibility tool such as axe or Lighthouse, test with a screen reader, and map where financing or instalment options currently appear in your funnel. Both are quick wins with measurable conversion impact.
Source: councils.forbes.com
