First-Time Buyer Checkout Benchmark: Shopify, Stripe and Square Online (US, Mobile Web)

Interpretation: I benchmarked the first-time, guest buyer path from the cart to the order confirmation, for US English on mobile web. The products are Shopify Checkout, Stripe Checkout and Square Online. The goal is to cut drop-off on a B2B invoicing tool's payment step. Headline finding: all three products win by removing typing before payment (wallets, saved-details networks, optional fields), and none of the three documents a required step that a B2B invoice payer would not already face. Most of the evidence is vendor documentation, not live screen captures, so several screens are marked "Not evidenced" below.

Step table

Every row below comes from a page I fetched on 2026-10-06. Vendor help pages carry no publish date, so they are logged as "undated, accessed 2026-10-06". Merchant settings change what a buyer sees, so treat each row as a default or a configurable option, not a guaranteed screen. [A/B] marks a likely variation by store configuration or plan.

Step #	Product	Screen/step	What the user sees and does	Required inputs	Pattern used	Friction or risk	Source and date
1	Shopify	Cart or checkout top	Express buttons such as Apple Pay can appear in the cart. In one merchant example, Shop Pay, PayPal and Google Pay sit above the form.	none	Wallet button	[A/B] Buttons disappear if the merchant forces sign-in or makes Company name required (Shopify Help).	Shopify Help, checkout form options and Shopify guest checkout guide, undated, accessed 2026-10-06
2	Shopify	Contact	Buyer enters an email (default on new stores) or chooses phone or email. A "Sign in" link sits beside the Contact heading. A marketing checkbox may show.	Email, or phone or email	Guest checkout with sign-in link	Email checkbox can be preselected in some regions, so a buyer must opt out ([A/B], [Locale]).	Shopify Help, checkout form options and Shopify guest checkout guide (Sign in link), undated, accessed 2026-10-06
3	Shopify	Delivery	First and last name are separate fields by default. Address line 2 and phone are optional by default. A "Save this information for next time" option is offered.	First name, last name, address; others optional	Optional-field defaults, browser-cached autofill	Shipping step is skipped when no item needs shipping. Making line 2 required can block some buyers.	Shopify Help, checkout form options, undated, accessed 2026-10-06
4	Shopify	Payment	The guest path reaches "contact, delivery, and payment fields". Some countries show extra tax fields after the payment details. Card field layout on mobile: Not evidenced.	Not evidenced	Not evidenced	[Locale] Extra tax fields in some countries.	Shopify guest checkout guide (footer shows "Updated on Jul 14, 2023") and Shopify Help, checkout form options (tax fields), accessed 2026-10-06
5	Shopify	Order confirmation	Guest reviews the order, pays, and receives a confirmation. The order status page can show a prompt to download the Shop app.	none	Post-purchase account invite	none observed	Shopify guest checkout guide and Shopify Help, checkout form options (Shop app prompt), accessed 2026-10-06
1	Stripe	Form opens	The merchant creates a Checkout Session and the embedded form shows a payment form on the merchant's site. The docs describe a single-page layout.	none	Embedded single-page form	A multi-step compact layout exists only in private preview, so not generally visible.	Stripe Docs, How Checkout works, undated, accessed 2026-10-06
2	Stripe	Details and payment (new customer)	The form can collect payment details for 100+ methods, express wallets, billing and shipping address, shipping options, tax details, currency and custom text fields. The merchant picks which.	Merchant-configured; exact default fields: Not evidenced	Wallet button, configurable fields	[A/B] Field count depends on merchant setup.	Stripe Docs, How Checkout works, accessed 2026-10-06
3	Stripe	Link autofill (returning Link users)	Logged-in Link users get saved payment details autofilled, even if saved at another business. In sandbox, authentication uses a 6-digit one-time passcode.	Email; one-time code for Link users (inferred from the sandbox test table)	Saved-details network	A first-time buyer without Link sees no benefit (inferred).	Stripe Docs, Link with Checkout, undated, accessed 2026-10-06
4	Stripe	Completion	After payment, a webhook triggers fulfillment. The buyer-facing success screen: Not evidenced.	none	Not evidenced	none observed	Stripe Docs, How Checkout works, accessed 2026-10-06
1	Square Online	Add to cart or Buy now	Merchant picks Add to cart or Buy now, which skips the cart for a single item.	none	Skip-the-cart option	[A/B] Merchant setting.	Square Support, checkout options, undated, accessed 2026-10-06
2	Square Online	Fulfillment	Shipping, Pickup or Local delivery, with a merchant-chosen default preselected.	Fulfillment choice	Preselected default	none observed	Square Support, checkout options, accessed 2026-10-06
3	Square Online	Customer inputs	Optional note to seller and optional marketing opt-in. Buyer address is collected for chosen fulfillment types, and always for gift orders.	Address when required by fulfillment; name and contact fields: Not evidenced	Optional-field defaults	Page does not say whether the marketing box is preselected.	Square Support, checkout options, accessed 2026-10-06
4	Square Online	Tip	For pickup, local delivery and QR orders, three preset tip percentages show, optionally with one preselected. Customers can change or remove it.	none	Preset tip buttons	Orders under $10 show whole amounts, over $10 percentages ("Smart tips"). A preselected tip is a risk if left on by default.	Square Support, checkout options, accessed 2026-10-06
5	Square Online	Payment	Card payments work by default. Apple Pay, Google Pay, Afterpay, Cash App Pay and gift cards are optional. Buyers can opt in to Square Pay by giving email and mobile number.	Card details (fields: Not evidenced); email and phone for Square Pay	Wallet button, saved-details opt-in, buy-now-pay-later	[A/B] Apple Pay appears only in Safari. Afterpay covers $1 to $2,000 by default.	Square Support, payment options, undated, accessed 2026-10-06
6	Square Online	Confirmation	Order details, order type and status, shipping or pickup details, items and store policies. Shipping and return policies are also shown during checkout.	none	Policy disclosure	none observed	Square Support, checkout options, accessed 2026-10-06

Product summary

Product	Total steps	Required fields	Standout strength	Main tradeoff
Shopify Checkout	5 evidenced (+gaps: payment screen)	Email or phone; first and last name; address (card fields not evidenced)	Optional-by-default fields and a sign-in link that does not block guests	Forced sign-in or required Company name removes wallet buttons
Stripe Checkout	4 evidenced (+gaps: default fields, hosted page, success screen)	Not evidenced (merchant-configured)	One embedded form with wallets and Link saved details	Gains depend on the buyer already having Link or a wallet
Square Online	6 evidenced (+gaps: name and card fields)	Not fully evidenced; address only for chosen fulfillment types	Many merchant switches, including skip-cart and Square Pay	Tip and fulfillment steps add decisions that a B2B payer would not need

Ideas to borrow (ranked for a B2B invoice payment step)

Make every non-essential field optional or absent (Shopify step 3). Shopify defaults phone and address line 2 to optional (Shopify Help). Baymard reports that the average US checkout shows 23.48 form elements by default, against an ideal as low as 12. For an invoice, the amount, payer and method are already known, so adaptation cost is low.
Show wallet buttons above the form (Shopify step 1, Stripe step 2, Square step 5). All three vendors support Apple Pay or similar. Adaptation needs wallet enablement and a check that the button survives your own sign-in rules, since Shopify hides them when sign-in is forced (Shopify Help).
Offer saved details across merchants (Stripe step 3, Square step 5). Link autofills details saved at other businesses, and Square Pay saves name, address and card against an email and phone. This suits repeat B2B payers. Adaptation cost is medium and depends on whether you use Stripe or build your own vault.
Keep sign-in beside the form, not in front of it (Shopify step 2). Shopify's own guide says to give guest checkout the primary button and keep sign-in close, citing Baymard's finding that 62% of sites fail to make guest checkout most prominent. This is a vendor guide quoting Baymard, so confirm with Baymard directly.
Offer account creation after payment (Shopify step 5). The guide recommends an optional invite on the confirmation page (Shopify guest checkout guide). Low cost, and it protects the first payment.
Preselect sensible defaults (Square step 2). Square preselects a fulfillment method (Square Support). For invoices, preselect the payer's saved method or the cheapest bank option.
Show policies before payment (Square step 6). Square shows shipping and return policies during checkout (Square Support). Adapt this as payment terms and a receipt preview. Baymard's data, as quoted by Shopify, says 19% of non-browsing abandoners left over card trust.

Patterns to avoid

Preselected marketing consent (Shopify step 2). Shopify can preselect the email consent box by region, so a buyer must opt out (Shopify Help). On a payment step it adds a decision and weakens trust. Not a recommended pattern for you.
Preselected tip (Square step 4). A default tip percentage can be preselected (Square Support). It is a pre-checked add-on, so skip it.
Required optional-looking fields (Shopify step 3). Shopify warns that requiring address line 2 can stop some buyers from buying (Shopify Help).
Forced sign-in before payment. Shopify notes it hides accelerated options when on (Shopify Help), and Shopify's guide cites Baymard saying 18% of shoppers abandoned because they did not want to create an account.
Long, complicated checkout generally. Baymard finds 17% of US online shoppers abandoned an order in the past quarter because checkout was too long or complicated. Note this is consumer retail, not B2B invoices.

Do next

Capture each product's real mobile guest flow on a device and record field counts. This run found docs, not screen captures.
Test the Stripe hosted Checkout page in a sandbox account (you create the account, not me) to fill the Stripe field gaps.
Count your own payment step's fields against Baymard's 12-element reference.
A/B test wallet-first against form-first on invoice pay pages, with completion rate as the metric.
Run an accessibility pass (labels, focus order, error announcement, target size) on your own page. I could not verify any of these for the three products from documentation alone.

Open items

Date conflict: Shopify's guest checkout guide shows "Updated on Jul 14, 2023" yet cites 2025 Baymard data and a 2025 IDC survey, so the footer date is unreliable. Treat it as undated.
Baymard figures differ by source: Baymard's article gives 23.48 form elements for the average US checkout (14.88 if only fields are counted), while Shopify's guide quotes 19.9 from a Baymard guide. I did not open Baymard's checkout UX guide, so I could not confirm the 19.9 figure; I use 23.48 from Baymard's own page. A related Baymard page I fetched (average form fields) gives a third average, 11.3 form fields in 2024, which counts fields only. Baymard's page is labelled "2026 data" but shows "Updated Feb 2, 2025".
Single-source claims: Shop Pay lifts of "up to 50%" and Princess Polly's 4.1% are Shopify marketing claims, so I did not use them as findings.
Accessibility: no accessibility evidence for any product was found in the pages fetched. Limited to what documentation shows.
B2B gap: Shopify says its customer-information settings do not apply to B2B checkouts (Shopify Help), but B2B payment drop-off research was not found in this run.
Possible experiments: Stripe's multi-step layout is in private preview, so some buyers may see it.

Coverage

Unreachable: Shopify's Shop Pay customer help page returned a 403 block. Not fetched: Mobbin or Page Flows captures, YouTube walkthroughs, app store listings, product changelogs, and Nielsen Norman Group articles (a search surfaced an NN/G mobile checkout article but I did not open it). Findings are therefore documentation-based.