What Is  PayPal Express Checkout, and Does It Help With Sales?
When it comes to completing checkouts, speed and efficiency are of critical importance. Currently, the general industry-wide cart abandonment rate sits at 70 percent. This means every additional step and friction point could be the barrier that sends a customer away from the final conversion.Â
Understanding the importance of a smooth and quick experience, PayPal Express Checkout offers streamlined payment processing to encourage complete checkouts. Not only does PayPal Checkout offer customer benefits, but it may very well help businesses boost their sales too. Discover the biggest benefits and potential challenges when choosing PayPal Express Checkout.
How PayPal Express Checkout Works
PayPal Express Checkout streamlines the checkout process by removing several input steps for PayPal users.
- At the checkout screen, a customer selects payment type: PayPal.
- A Paypal popup window appears, allowing customers to stay on the merchant site for the entire transaction.
- The customer reviews their billing and shipping information and final cost.
- The customer then authorizes the payment on PayPal.
- The customer returns to the merchant site and completes the final checkout steps.
The Benefits of PayPal Checkout
While integrating a payment method that temporarily routes customers off the core site might sound intimidating, PayPal offers many more advantages than disadvantages.
It Saves Customers Time
As mentioned in the steps above, when customers select PayPal Checkout, they are routed to PayPal to finish their transaction. This allows customers to quickly grant access between the business site and their PayPal account, saving them time and the need to re-enter their billing and shipping information. This improvement may seem small, but it is essential to encouraging completion. Research has shown that the number of forms a customer must fill out more strongly impacts their likelihood of abandonment, and the fewer fill-out sections, the better. PayPal Checkout removes fill-out sections altogether.
It Limits the Number of Sites With Their Payment Information
Some customers become wary of sharing their private billing information with new sites, especially international sites or sites they may never have shopped before.Â
While this may sound unreasonable to some, 18 percent of users have reported abandoning checkout for this very reason. PayPal Checkout grants customers peace of mind by limiting the number of sites they must directly type their personal information into.
Mobile-Friendly
With 50 percent of web visits coming from mobile devices, businesses should always ensure their mobile checkout is as smooth and efficient as their desktop checkout. With flexibility in mind, PayPal Express Checkout is built for both mobile and desktop use, meaning customers coming in through their smart devices can just as easily complete checkout in a few taps.
Global Accessibility and Reach
For businesses with an eye toward expansion and accessibility, payment processors with global reach can be critical. PayPal Checkout is offered in hundreds of countries, allowing customers to seamlessly check out from anywhere in the world. Additionally, offering PayPal opens the door to millions of consumers—literally! As of March 2022, 429 million people used PayPal to make transactions. Adding PayPal to your site caters to and streamlines the process for millions of users, helping boost sales.
Potential Challenges of PayPal Checkout
While PayPal offers plenty of advantages, be aware of some challenges. Understanding potential hurdles can help businesses navigate PayPal’s nuances more effectively.
Transaction Fees
Like every payment gateway, there are fees for every transaction made through PayPal Express Checkout. PayPal charges different amounts depending on the type of transaction. For example, the fee for a standard credit card is not the same as a customer using PayPal Checkout. Find out more about payment gateway fees and how PayPal compares against competitors here.
Technical Integration
Adding any new payment method to checkout on a site requires a new integration. For some business owners, this technical setup can be daunting. However, certain tools and partners can make adding a new payment platform a breeze. Find out how Payment Plugins can help you integrate PayPal Checkout onto your site.
Integrating PayPal Express Checkout into Your Business
Integrating a brand new payment platform onto your site requires time and attention to detail. Business owners should ensure any new payment process is integrated correctly from the start to avoid missed transactions and angry customers. 13 percent of customers have reported abandoning their transaction after running into a site error. Think of all that lost revenue!
Payment Plugins is a verified partner of PayPal. We offer a versatile and easy-to-use plugin to make integration easy and stress-free. Our plugin is a direct result of working with the PayPal engineering team. Find out more about how our WooCommerce PayPal plugin can help you.
