Making passwordless ecommerce accounts easier to use

Passwordless ecommerce removes the password from the customer account journey. Instead of creating and remembering another credential, the customer verifies access with a one-time email link or code and continues to the order, return or account task they came to complete.

A customer rarely visits a website because they want to log in. They want to check the status of a service, confirm an appointment, request contact, find a document, manage an order or continue a conversation with a business. Login is a step on the way to those tasks.

Passwords can delay that work. Customers forget which password they used, fail complexity rules, reuse credentials or leave to complete a reset. That can lead to a support request or cause the customer to give up.

We are implementing a simpler approach: the customer enters an email address and receives a one-time verification link. There is no password to create, remember or reset. Once verified, the customer can continue with their account task.

Shopify is making passwordless access the default

Shopify provides a useful signal for where customer accounts are heading. Its current customer accounts use a six-digit code sent by email instead of a password. The platform has deprecated legacy password-based customer accounts, and that older version is no longer available to new stores.

A sign-in session can persist for up to 365 days. One successful login then gives the customer access to the connected account features without asking them to verify themselves before every ordinary action. Shopify describes this as one sign-in powering the full customer account experience.

That direction matters beyond Shopify. It reflects a broader product principle: authentication should be proportionate to the interaction. The safest path should also be simple enough that people will use it.

A customer account is more than a purchase history

Customer accounts can support ongoing work between a customer and a business, including services outside ecommerce.

For a service company, it might show the progress of a request, the date of an appointment or the next action required. For a membership business, it might hold documents, preferences and renewal information. For a sales-led company, it might let a prospect submit a brief, request contact and return to an open enquiry. For a retailer, it can bring together orders, returns, credit and repeat purchases.

Customers have a reason to return when the account helps them complete these tasks. Faster access makes that easier.

Making it easier for customers to return

Customers need a reason to return beyond an easy login. Once the account offers something they need, authentication should help them reach it.

In client projects where we have made account access faster, we have seen more customers use their accounts and return to complete tasks. This also gives the business more opportunities to provide service and personalise the account experience.

The operational benefit matters too. Removing stored customer passwords also removes password-reset flows, locked-account conversations and one common category of support work. The business can spend less time helping people enter the account and more time improving what they can do inside it.

Convenience without another social identity

Passwordless does not have to mean signing in through Google, Facebook or another social platform. Those options may be appropriate for some products, but they also introduce another identity provider and another data relationship into the journey.

We prefer direct email verification for these everyday customer interactions. It is understandable, broadly accessible and can be explained clearly in the business's privacy policy. It verifies that the person has access to the email address already associated with the customer relationship without requiring a separate social profile.

Security should follow the risk

A one-time email code is not the right security model for every possible action. It is a practical choice for many ordinary customer interactions, but access to the email account remains important and codes can still be exposed through phishing or a compromised inbox.

Higher-risk actions should receive stronger checks. Changing sensitive details, accessing valuable data or authorizing a significant transaction may justify an additional verification step. Shopify's current authentication guidance makes the same argument: add friction when the risk increases rather than imposing it on every interaction.

Good authentication is not the most demanding login a team can design. It is the right level of confidence for the action the customer wants to take.

Start with the experience after login

New Shopify stores already use the platform's latest customer accounts. For existing Shopify stores still using a legacy login, the immediate opportunity is to upgrade and decide which account experiences should be available once a customer is inside.

The same thinking applies to a custom website or application. Start with the job the customer needs to complete. Decide what information and actions belong in the account, what level of verification each action needs and how long a trusted session should last. The login method should support that design, not define it.

At Ambedo, we build Shopify stores, customer portals and custom systems around the tasks customers need to complete. Passwordless access can make it easier for them to reach those tasks.