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For an online retailer getting users to complete the order is the most critical step. That we can all agree on.
What’s harder to agree on is the phrasing: is it checkout (one word) or check out (two words)?
From a grammar perspective Writing Explained has a solid explanation:
Check out is a verb phrase that means to sign for something or to observe something. Checkout means a place to buy things or the process of leaving a hotel as a noun, and it describes qualities of these things as an adjective.
Writing Explained
Based on the definition above I’m leaning towards declaring checkout is the way eCommerce retailers need to use it on their sites.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t help when the two largest retailers on this planet don’t see eye to eye:
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FURTHER READING
We hope you enjoyed this article that talked about the right usage of checkout or check out.
We’ve spent the last 13 years in our marketing lab, experimenting with ways to optimize conversion rates and grow sales. If you’re interested we’d like to share the key lessons we’ve learned:
— The most important page on your site is the product page. Why is that and why focus on product pages?
— On the product page (also called PDP) the most important element is the product description. This is where we present our product sales pitch (also called product story). This product story presentation needs to be perfect. We have just one chance to convert this visitor (only 15% of visitors ever return). Learn how to construct the perfect product story.
— The opening of your product description really matters. We call it the art of the start and it’s covered in this article: The Art of The Start.
— The Myth of the Perfect Product Page
— Once the basic product story has been developed you need to rewrite it to influence the psychology of the buyer you are trying to convince. Because shoppers are exposed to so many ads they rely on a mental checklist to decide if they should consider a brand, or not. We’ve identified these 9 checklist items and developed a conversion copywriting process to influence them. That knowledge is revealed (with examples) in our most important article of all: Conversion Copywriting: How to Craft a Product Story That Converts.
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Comments 3
Apple’s “Check Out” button is a verb phrase, and thus has a space – equivalent to a button that reads “Go Home”.
Amazon’s “Proceed to checkout” uses checkout as a noun – equivalent to a button that reads “Proceed to aquarium”.
There’s no inconsistency, and both “check out” and “checkout” are correct, depending on verb vs noun usage. There’s no *single* spelling that applies to all contexts.
Now I will jumpoff a bridge.
Author
Please don’t jump off anything. You are right about both being correct.
I went shopping at Frys and now I cannot check out.