Challenge

When a business promises nationwide two-day delivery for custom apparel orders of any size, customers expect a seamless checkout experience to match that speed. That’s why Philadelphia-based RushOrderTees needed a payment processing system as efficient and reliable as its production line.

The company started using Stripe to process online orders in 2019, a relationship that helped the company grow roughly 128%. But with the ongoing evolution in payment methods and customer preferences, RushOrderTees needed to ensure its checkout page had the flexibility to continually adapt to those changes. The company wanted to make it easier to offer multiple payment methods—such as digital wallets and instant bank transfers—and to streamline the payment experience so it could capture orders as quickly as possible, whether customers are shopping on a computer or a mobile device.

As customer payment preferences evolved beyond traditional credit cards to include digital wallets and instant bank transfers, RushOrderTees recognized the need for a more adaptable checkout system. The company’s priority was to build a streamlined payment experience that would work seamlessly across all devices while supporting multiple payment methods. This flexibility would help RushOrderTees capture sales quickly and prevent losing customers during checkout.

“Speed is really our big focus,” said Matt Satell, director of ecommerce at RushOrderTees. “A lot of customers come to us at the last minute, and they need a rush job.”

Solution

In 2023, RushOrderTees upgraded its existing Stripe implementation by adopting the Optimized Checkout Suite, which combines prebuilt payment UIs such as Stripe Elements, easy access to 125 payment methods, and Link—a wallet built by Stripe.

Embedding the Payment Element into its site allowed RushOrderTees to offer multiple payment methods—including credit and debit cards, Klarna, and digital wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay (especially popular with customers using mobile devices)—with a single, no-code integration. AI models built into the Optimized Checkout Suite determine which payment methods to present to each customer using more than 100 signals, providing a dynamic and personalized checkout experience.

RushOrderTees also added Link to further streamline the checkout experience. Link makes it easy for customers to pay with their cards or directly from their bank accounts using Instant Bank Payments, a new ACH payment option. With just a few clicks, customers can check out smoothly, and payments are confirmed instantly, settling within two business days—just like card transactions.

For credit card purchases, RushOrderTees continues to benefit from Stripe Payments’ powerful authorization optimizations. Adaptive Acceptance uses AI models to optimize payment requests and automatically retry false declines in real time, while Stripe’s card account updater ensures that stored payment information remains current—even when customers receive new cards.

These tools are particularly valuable for both sides of a transaction: customers save time by avoiding payment errors, while RushOrderTees captures more revenue by preventing abandoned carts after a decline.

Results

Optimized Checkout Suite delivers 3.50% conversion uplift

By leveraging AI to dynamically present the most relevant payment methods to each customer, the Optimized Checkout Suite has increased RushOrderTees’ conversion rate by 3.50%. The AI models built into the Optimized Checkout Suite personalize which payment methods appear and in what order. This real-time optimization directly translates to increased revenue as more customers are more likely to use their preferred payment options to complete purchases.

Link drives faster checkout, with 80% of Link users choosing it when it’s presented as an option

With 58% of RushOrderTees customers already having a Link account, the accelerated checkout solution has become a cornerstone of the company’s payment strategy. When Link is available at checkout, over 80% of existing Link account holders choose to use it, allowing them to complete purchases in one click using their saved payment information. The addition of Instant Bank Payments—which are accessible through Link—has further expanded payment options beyond cards, with significant adoption in its first week of availability.
“There’s a lot of friction with having to input your credit card number or pull it out of your wallet. The more we can do to streamline that process to reduce the amount of manual work, the higher our conversion rate is,” said Satell.

Payments’ authorization optimizations boost success rate 2.25%, leading to 98% authorization rates

Activating authorization optimizations such as Adaptive Acceptance and the card account updater increased RushOrderTees’ payment success rate by 2.25%, delivering more revenue to the company’s top line while allowing its team to focus on its core business. RushOrderTees now sees a 98% overall authorization rate.