How VDCs Are Transforming Customer Experience

Every business strives to provide its customers with the best possible experience. A significant challenge, however, is identity friction. This issue does not stem from a lack of effort but rather from the fact that traditional identity systems were not designed for today’s digital-first environment.

There is encouraging news. Verifiable digital credentials (VDCs) are already helping organizations create seamless customer experiences. Below is an overview of how VDCs are addressing long-standing challenges and enabling business success.

Understanding the Customer Experience Challenge

Research consistently shows that identity friction is one of the largest barriers to customer satisfaction in the digital age. 70% of global shoppers abandon their online carts across the board, but when forced to create an account, 26% of U.S. shoppers specifically drop off due to that friction point. When businesses fail to reduce barriers at critical moments like onboarding, checkout, or account recovery, they risk not only losing immediate sales but also eroding long-term customer trust and loyalty. This is where verifiable digital credentials can make a measurable difference.

How VDCs Are Creating Better Customer Experiences

Verifiable digital credentials provide a fundamentally different approach to identity management. Instead of requiring users to repeatedly prove who they are, VDCs enable a single credential that can be used across services. This allows for instant verification without friction while giving users complete control over the information they share.

The technology behind VDCs offers cryptographic security for assurance, real-time verification capabilities, and interoperability across systems. Most importantly, VDCs are designed with user-friendly interfaces that make advanced security processes seamless and unobtrusive for end users.

How are VDCs Being Used in the Wild?

Age Verification at Checkout
When a shopper adds an age-restricted product to their cart, the system can instantly request proof of age via a verifiable digital credential. Instead of uploading an ID or typing in sensitive details, the customer shares only a simple confirmation - “Over 18” or “Over 21.” The purchase moves forward without unnecessary exposure of birthdate or address, keeping checkout fast and private.

Ticket and Booking Confirmation
During checkout for flights, concerts, or sporting events, customers can present a digital credential linked to their booking. At entry, that same credential confirms validity in seconds, no paper tickets or manual lookups needed. This reduces fraud, shortens wait times, and makes the overall customer flow smoother.

Insurance or Payment Eligibility
In a healthcare checkout or appointment booking flow, a patient can present a digital credential that proves both identity and insurance eligibility. This replaces lengthy form-filling and card uploads, allowing check-in and payment confirmation to happen in one click. The result: less administrative friction, faster processing, and a better overall experience.

The Customer Experience Transformation

These use cases highlight key areas where VDCs generate significant business value.

• First, they eliminate friction through one-click authentication processes that replace password reset frustrations with instant verification.
• Second, VDCs build trust by ensuring security and empowering users with control over their data.
• Third, they increase conversion by reducing abandonment and accelerating onboarding, leading to higher completion rates and improved engagement.
• Finally, VDCs lower operational costs by reducing support overhead and automating verification, freeing resources for company growth initiatives.

Explore VDCs for Your Brand

The customer experience opportunity is not only about fixing inefficiencies, but about unlocking new possibilities. VDCs improve security while enabling businesses to deliver seamless, trustworthy experiences that meet modern customer expectations.

The key question is not whether businesses can afford to implement VDCs, but how VDCs can strengthen customer experience and drive long-term success. Organizations that adopt VDCs are not simply solving technical challenges. They are building competitive advantages that will define the future of digital engagement.

If your organization is ready to explore how VDCs can transform customer experience and create opportunities for growth, SpruceID can help design and deploy systems that enhance customers' interactions with your brand.

About SpruceID: SpruceID is building a future where users control their identity and data across all digital interactions.