Amazon is now providing online businesses with the opportunity to let their shoppers check-out using Amazon.com’s trusted check-out service. Just like PayPal has done for years, and Google checkout has started popularizing, Amazon is jumping on the third-party checkout train.
“Checkout by Amazon” (CBA) allows people with Amazon.com accounts to make online purchases on third-party sites without having to leave that merchant’s site. During this checkout process, you can choose to ship your purchase to anyone within your Amazon address book as well.
And this could create significant competition in this market. Because, historically, as one of the original giant online retailers, Amazon is also one of the most trusted Web companies out there. And for an online shopper who might hesitate providing their credit card information through a weird 3rd-party shopping cart they’ve never heard of before, the Amazon tie-in may prevent shopping cart abandonment.