Online retail sales are growing steadily, but customers’ needs in terms of the shopping experience are also changing. The simpler, safer and more flexible this is, the higher the likelihood that customers will complete their purchase. Merchants can make a decisive contribution to this with PayPal’s “Pay Later” offer.
The “Pay later” offers at a glance
Flexible payment offers give merchants the chance to get bigger shopping carts and a higher conversion rate without any additional effort or costs. This includes, for example Installment payment from PayPal, with which customers can conveniently and easily pay for their purchase in monthly installments *. With a shopping cart value between 99 and 5,000 euros, customers can flexibly pay the purchase amount in 3, 6, 12 or 24 monthly installments.
If a customer buys something via PayPal installment, the merchant receives the full amount immediately. PayPal takes care of the transaction with the customer and bears the entire risk. Merchants can also draw attention to PayPal installment payments in their shop with free dynamic PayPal banners. In some cases, retailers were able to triple their installment sales. ** In addition, retailers can offer their customers 0 percent financing for a fee. ***
In the coming months, PayPal will also introduce the new option Pay after 30 days. Customers can choose to pay after 30 days after logging into their PayPal account. The dealer receives the purchase price directly. PayPal will collect the payment from the customer’s account by direct debit after 30 days. The “Pay later” offers are automatically available when paying with PayPal: PayPal installment payments and payment after 30 days are free of charge for the retailer, and integration is not necessary.
In the coming months, PayPal will be introducing a “Pay later” button so that merchants can draw attention to the available financing options early in the payment process. Merchants can easily integrate this in their online shop and offer their customers in addition to the well-known PayPal payment button. By clicking on the button, PayPal customers can go directly to the “Pay later” offers in their PayPal account.
E-commerce pioneer ALTERNATE: higher shopping baskets through financial flexibility
The e-commerce pioneer ALTERNATE shows the advantages of using “Pay Later” offers for retailers and customers. In 1997, ALTERNATE was one of the first companies in Germany to open up the new online shop as a sales channel. “At that time we mainly sold IT products. As a result, our target group was very tech-savvy, ”recalls Thorsten Albers, Sales Manager at ALTERNATE. “That is why we were one of the first providers to decide that we would go online with our range.”
ALTERNATE was also a pioneer when it came to “Pay later” offers. As one of the first retailers ever, ALTERNATE offered the installment payment option from PayPal and thus used the opportunity for considerable sales growth. “We achieved a volume within two weeks that would normally take us two months,” says Albers. The option to pay in installments has led to a significant increase in the average shopping cart value – many other retailers are also experiencing this. Because customers expect a consistently smooth payment process that is tailored to their individual needs, which PayPal will support in the future with an even wider range of financing options.
* Subject to credit checks.
** PayPal merchant case study 2020 with 180 merchants
*** PayPal payment in installments is not available for some industries, for example for tickets, vouchers and digital content
