Amazon’s ‘1-Click’ Patent Expired This Week

On Monday, Amazon.com’s patent for “1-Click” ordering expired, ending its exclusive hold on one of the most contentious patents on the internet. GeekWire reports Amazon won the patent back in 1997 when the nascent company was still just an online book retailer. The patent allows returning shoppers who have already entered billing and shipping info to purchase items with just one click of a button. Rather than trying to go head-to-head with Amazon, many retailers, such as Apple, decided to license the technology in 2000 so customers could purchase products from the Apple Store with one click, which led to this historic exchange.

Total Retail's Take: The expiration of Amazon's 1-click patent, thus making the technology available to all online retailers, is a game changer. According to NPR, tech titans like Microsoft, Google and Facebook are considering creating internetwide one-click ordering between sites.

"With the expiration of Amazon’s 1-click buying patent, retailers are left with a significant opportunity to leverage similar technologies, a functionality that can help reduce cart abandonment," said Casey Gannon, vice president of marketing at Shopgate. "For mobile users, in particular, cart abandonment is one of the most prevalent challenges retailers face. With abandonment rates estimated by some to be as high as 95 percent, retailers must utilize every means possible to ensure completed checkouts. Timeliness is the single most vital aspect of the decision-making process, and mobile retailers should adopt one-click checkout processes, as well as leverage deep links, social login, and other streamlined payment options to most effectively capture the mobile user in the right moment — the exact moment they’re browsing.”