Message #102 From:
NewsBot Date: March 8, 2008 08:48:27 PM
PayPal and Leading Analyst Firm Reveal New Online Consumer Shopping Trends
Payment Security and Payment Choice Most Influential in Driving
Purchase Decisions
A new JupiterResearch and PayPal study revealed that consumers value
payment security and payment choice more than rewards when making
purchases online. PayPal partnered with independent research firm
JupiterResearch to develop a series of survey questions focused on how
the U.S. population uses payment methods when shopping online. According
to the research, when consumers are confronted with two merchants who
offer the same product at the same price, the two most influential
factors when choosing where to buy are payment security and payment
choice.
The study showed that security influences online shopping behavior more
than typical merchant incentives like rewards and discounts. In fact,
more than half of the survey respondents consider the security of their
financial information as the deciding factor when they make purchases.
An additional two thirds of shoppers feel more secure when they don’t
have to enter financial information at all, even at merchant Web sites
they trust.
The types of payments accepted by merchants influence whether or not
consumers will shop on their Web sites. The study showed that more than
half of online shoppers think about the payment method they will use
before they click on the merchant’s checkout
button. Sixty-six percent of consumers prefer e-commerce sites that
offer multiple payment methods, and about half of online shoppers prefer
the convenience of using alternative payment methods.
“Today’s consumers
demand security and convenience when they shop online, and merchants
must answer with an extremely safe, fast and easy buying experience,”
said Cliff Hopkins, senior director, PayPal merchant services. “When
merchants offer PayPal on their sites, they allow 141 million customers
around the world to shop with peace of mind because they don’t
have to share their financial information online.”
The study revealed the following consumer preferences when paying online:
66 percent of consumers prefer online stores that offer multiple
payment mechanisms.
62 percent of purchasers feel more secure when they do not have to
enter credit card information online, even at merchants’
sites that they trust.
61 percent of online shoppers choose sites that offer both credit and
debit card payment options.
55 percent of consumers think about payment methods they will use
before they click on the checkout button.
48 percent of all online adult shoppers prefer the convenience of
alternative payment methods.
One third of online shoppers want to avoid filling out name, address
and credit card details.
One in eight consumers thinks about how he or she will pay even before
deciding what to buy.
PayPal will discuss these results during a five-city tour in March
reaching Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas, Chicago and New York. The
sessions will feature JupiterResearch, local merchants and professors
from the University of California at Berkeley, the University of
Southern California, New York University, Loyola University and SMU’s
Cox School of Business. Speakers and panelists will explore best
practices for online merchants to increase sales in the current economy.
For additional information, visit http://www.bmmreg.com/paypal/.
About PayPal
PayPal is the safer, easier way to pay and get paid online. The service
allows anyone to pay without sharing financial information and gives
consumers the flexibility to pay in any way they prefer, including
through credit cards, bank accounts or account balances. With more than
141 million accounts in 190 markets and 17 currencies around the world,
PayPal enables global ecommerce. PayPal is an eBay (Nasdaq:EBAY)
company. More information about the company can be found at https://www.paypal.com.
