by Patricia Lundy

Having an eCommerce strategy is table stakes in today’s COVID-19 digital economy. Online transactions are booming. According to a new study by IBM, we’ve accelerated the shift to digital shopping by 5 years due to the pandemic. With this huge increase in growth, eCommerce leaders need to be ready to manage the legal terms and conditions associated with these transactions. 

Aragon recommends eCommerce leaders adopt clickwrap, and a clickwrap transaction platform, to securely manage this boom in new transactions. Read on to learn what clickwrap is, and why a clickwrap transaction platform could be a strategic investment for your organization. 

Clickwrap vs. Browsewrap

Clickwrap replaces electronic signatures with the act of clicking to check a box or clicking on a button that includes acceptance language (such as “I Agree” or “Accept”). It’s faster and less time-consuming than electronic signatures, which is why it’s popular among consumers. It’s sometimes lumped together with browsewrap, which differs because it does not actually make the user agree through an electronic signature—it says that agreement is implied. For example, it might be a statement such as, “by viewing this website, you agree to our terms and conditions.”

Clickwrap is the next logical step eCommerce leaders should take when it comes to making their online transactions process even more seamless.

When it comes to digital transactions, however, browsewrap is not enough. This is because  your organization needs to be able to prove that the transactions that took place on your eEcommerce website were actually agreed to. Ensuring this happens as an eCommerce leader is essential to protecting the integrity of your brand, maintaining growth, and pleasing customers. 

Understanding the Benefits

The benefits of clickwrap are numerous. Some of them include:

• Easier transactions for your customers: less time signing
• More secure transactions
• More legal protection: tracks each transaction, parties, time/date, how the transaction was enacted, and how communications between the parties occurred.
• Allows for both traditional e-signature and/or approval of contract terms by checking a box
• Supports a mobile-friendly experience and is embeddable into apps
• Higher conversions: when there is a separate signing process, there is a direct impact on purchase conversion that is measurable and has effects on the speed and friction of getting customers to buy

To manage the transactions associated with clickwrap, Aragon recommends leveraging a clickwrap transaction platform (CTP). CTPs automatically ensure that the right set of contractual terms are presented at the right time to the specific buyer that is looking for a specific set of services or products. They combine digital transaction management, content management, workflow, and content automation together into one platform, making it easy to manage all of your digital transactions. 

Industry Use Cases

If you have a high-volume, eCommerce-based retail environment today, using a clickwrap transaction platform to manage your digital transactions is a must. 

In retail, you need to have an automated approach that allows for seamless commerce, but that also has protections built-in when it comes to returns if you want to compete with titans like Amazon.

If you’re in a highly regulated industry like financial services, records of transactions and the details of those transactions need to be recorded and archived. 

In software and high tech, online agreements that often need to be generated dynamically based on the configuration of the actual piece of equipment can be supported by CTPs. 

In field service, there is often the need to agree to terms and conditions before the technician is dispatched. CTPs can help initiate and manage this process. 

In human resources, Aragon expects that CTP offerings will have an impact due to the need for different types of work that is changing daily. Mini-agreements could also be tied to performance.

These are just some of the use cases in a variety of industries where clickwrap could be proven to be beneficial. We outline more use cases in our recent research note on this new market. 

How to Get Started

As an eCommerce leader, ensuring a great customer experience that is also secure, legally protected, and easily managed is critical to the growth of your business. Getting started with clickwrap should be a priority—make it your new year’s resolution! 

Begin by assessing your current document and contract processes to understand the size and scale of your current online contracting processes. Aragon Research can help you with this process, and help you assess which CTP provider is best for your business and industry needs. Talk to us to get started.