PayPal Reports Online Consumer Shopping Trends

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/.