How to increase your online reach for the new normal
Without a doubt, Covid-19 has changed the way that we live and the way that we shop. Many businesses in sectors like hospitality, entertainment and the arts, and physical retail suffered badly as people were unable to go out and do the things they normally enjoy. Global restaurant dining has decreased by 27%1 while income for the travel and tourism industry is expected to be 42% lower than in 2019.2 Offline, non-food retail is expected to decrease by 20%, year-on-year.3
All over the world, even before the Covid-19 pandemic, consumers had shifted to shopping more online. By the end of May 2020, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), reported that online orders had more than doubled in North America, grown by 70% in Asia-Pacific and by 50% in Europe.4
Many businesses are responding to this change by reinventing or rebalancing their sales towards online.
But is selling online right for your business?
You don’t need to have a physical retail store to benefit from selling online. In fact, you don’t even need to sell physical goods. The pandemic has made many businesses think creatively about how they can sell online and meet customer’s changing expectations.
If you sell offline, adding an online channel can help you sell products that are already in your inventory, as well as catering to your customers preferred payment methods.
If you sell services and don’t have a physical product, is there an opportunity for you to offer that service online? For example, many training businesses have moved their classroom training to online facilities like Zoom. Consider whether you can sell gift certificates, vouchers or other future-package offerings.
If you already sell online, you can look to maximise your reach by using new channels, targeting different markets or adopting new digital strategies.
“I wanted to disrupt the packaging industry by creating a natural alternative to single use plastics. Ecoware makes 100% biodegradable food packaging. COVID has severely affected consumer demand. We operate in the F&B packaging space and our customers in hospitality, travel and catering were the first casualties of COVID - and will probably be the last to recover. We export to over 15 countries, but during the pandemic logistics were impacted. However, there’s hope. With many working from home, families are eating in more. As a result, we are seeing increased B2C demand, via our e-commerce site. In the long run we hope this will increase awareness of our products and drive sustainability from the ground up.”
Rhea, Owner of Ecoware
Whether your business is just starting its ecommerce efforts or already has an online presence, it makes sense to consider every opportunity to reach new customers. Here are a few suggestions as to how you can get started.
Explore new channels.
If you sell products or services to your customers, it’s worth exploring as many ways as possible to reach those customers; on your own website, on marketplaces, and on social media. Each has its advantages and often appeal to different markets.
1.) If you already have your own website, whether it is hosted on an ecommerce platform or not, you can enhance the shopping experience you offer – and reach new customers – by making sure your site is optimised for global shoppers and giving them a faster way to pay.
Adding PayPal as a payment option to your checkout or product page is a quick way to increase your sales and get higher conversions on your website. Research shows that when PayPal is presented as a clear option on product and cart pages, half of shoppers spend more at checkout, leading to a 23% increase in incremental sales on both desktop and mobile.5
By streamlining your checkout experience with PayPal, you can make it easier for customers to buy from you locally or abroad without the need to type in personal or payment details every time. Simply copy and paste a few lines of HTML code into your website editor to get PayPal Checkout working on multiple platforms.
2.) If you need a website, consider starting with an ecommerce website builder or an ecommerce platform. This may be a faster way to get a website up and running compared to creating and coding one from scratch.
- Owning and building your brand credibility
- Gaining a wider demographic and geographical reach
- Managing the customer experience and relationships
- Building loyalty with customer lists and referrals
Check out the various partners that PayPal works with to help get your website site up and running as quickly as possible.
3.) Online marketplaces have millions of users around the world and can be a quick way to reach new markets. They are fast to set up, have international reach and a ready-made audience. Often, they can also help you with logistics and promoting your business.
4.) Social media is becoming a popular sales channel, social commerce is growing rapidly with 1 in 3 consumers, and the same proportion of businesses, saying they use it.6 In India, 57% of shoppers say they have used social commerce recently.7 If your business has an established social media following, consider selling there too. Creating and using a PayPal.me makes it simple and secure for your customers to pay on social media.
“I founded The Atelier & Co. 7 years ago. I‘ve planned some of the most elaborate events this part of the world. The COVID situation has heavily impacted how we function. A large part of what we do is dependent on gatherings and travels, both of which are currently restricted. We've pivoted and have since switched our focus to our e-commerce floral gifting arm, investing heavily in our web store. Personally, and professionally, I’ve streamlined and done away with non-essentials. The team and I are forging ahead with the realisation that you actually need very little to thrive”
Lelian, Owner of The Floral Atelier
Reach a global audience.
Global cross-border online sales are growing at twice the rate of domestic online sales8 and even before Covid-19, the market was worth an estimated US$412 billion.9
As countries continue to face restrictions into next year, we can expect online shopping and sending gifts overseas to be the new normal way to connect with loved ones afar, especially across big holidays and celebrations such as Christmas, Chinese New Year, Singles Day, Diwali or Three Kings Day. This can open new opportunities for businesses to target international sales.
However, cross border shoppers may not feel confident if they are unable to pay in their preferred currency or unfamiliar with the payment option provided. In recent research, 1 in 5 consumers said they had abandoned a purchase because their preferred payment method wasn’t available. The largest percentage of mobile shoppers said they use PayPal for purchases via mobile (53%) followed by the next most-used payment type: credit card (44%).10
Furthermore, online shoppers are significantly more likely to buy abroad if they can do so in their own currency.11 Many payment providers allow you to list prices in different currencies, so opt in if you have the option. With PayPal, you can accept payments in over 25 currencies, helping you to become an instant global business and connecting you with over 340 million PayPal customers across the world when you add PayPal Checkout to your site.
Whichever markets and channels you choose to increase your online presence, consider the following when setting your business up for success in the new normal.
Plan ahead. Proactively set aside time on how best to increase your online presence in a way that meets the needs of your chosen market. 2020 was a very reactive year for many businesses. Think about your available budget, how much money, time and resources you might need to manage the different online aspects of your business. Consider the software and payment providers you need to provide the online experience you want.
Make it easy for people to pay. Reach all types of customers by enabling frictionless payments and letting them pay the way they want to pay, whether that be online, mobile or within an app.
Look for simple and single integration. Some payment solutions are complicated and time-consuming to implement on your website. With PayPal Checkout, all that’s required is one integration that keeps it up to date from there, so there’s nothing else you need to do. It can be as simple as copy/pasting a line of code which you or your developer can do. Or you can easily integrate it on your shopping cart through an ecommerce platform if you’re not technically minded.
Not on PayPal yet? Sign up now and get PayPal Checkout for your site.
To get started with PayPal Checkout
[2] Statista (2020), https://www.statista.com/forecasts/1103426/covid-19-revenue-travel-tourism-industry-forecast
[3] Forrester (2020), https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/forrester-retail-will-see-a-2-1-trillion-loss-globally-in-2020-due-to-coronavirus-pandemic-301050089.html
[4] OECD (2020), Connecting Businesses and Consumers During COVID-19: Trade in Parcels, https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/connecting-businesses-and-consumers-during-covid-19-trade-in-parcels-d18de131/
[5] Forrester Total Economic Impact study, Q1 2018
[6] PayPal (2019), PayPal mCommerce Study. https://www.paypal.com/stories/us/paypal-mcommerce-study-mobile-trust-social-buying-top-of-mind
[7] PayPal (2019), PayPal mCommerce Study. https://www.paypal.com/stories/us/paypal-mcommerce-study-mobile-trust-social-buying-top-of-mind
[8] OECD (2020), Connecting Businesses and Consumers During COVID-19: Trade in Parcels, https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/connecting-businesses-and-consumers-during-covid-19-trade-in-parcels-d18de131/
[9] PayPal (2020), PayPal Borderless Commerce Report, https://www.paypalobjects.com/marketing/brc/shared/lead-nurture/pdf/PayPal_Borderless-Commerce-Report_SG.pdf
[10] PayPal (2019), PayPal mCommerce Study. On behalf of PayPal, Ipsos interviewed a quota sample of c.2,000 (22,000 total) consumers (aged 18-74) who owned or used a smartphone and c. 300-500 (4,602 in total) business influencers or decision makers who sell or take payments online to Consumers (and businesses) in 11 countries (UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Australia, India, Japan, US, Mexico and Brazil). Interviews were conducted online between July 23 and August 25, 2019. Data was weighted in Australia on age and income to replicate study conducted previously. No other weighting was applied. https://www.paypal.com/stories/us/paypal-mcommerce-study-mobile-trust-social-buying-top-of-mind
[11]PayPal commissioned Ipsos MORI PayPal Insights 2019. N=34,000, 31 markets. Online survey of adults (aged 18+) between March – May 2018.
Frequently asked questions.
Here are some features and benefits of Website Payments Pro – Hosted Solution:
- Easy integration with popular shopping carts.
- Keep your customer engaged with your site through the checkout.
- Accept credit and debit cards in 16 currencies.
- Accept payments over the phone, fax, or mail orders with Virtual Terminal.
What exactly is PayPal changing?
PayPal historically supported the capability for some merchants to allow users to amend orders in the context of checkout to add (or remove) services like shipping fees or taxes. While the user consents to the final amount in the merchant Checkout, this wasn't completed in a session with PayPal.
Example:
Merchant sends the buyer to PayPal to authorize a transaction of 100.00 EUR.
Consumer reviews and authorizes the transaction at PayPal for 100.00 EUR.
Consumer returns to the merchant site where the transaction amount increases to 110.00 EUR due to the addition of shipping, taxes, FX conversion, etc.
Effective April 2022, PayPal will obtain an authorization from each customer for the maximum amount of transaction before redirecting a customer to the merchant. If the merchant captures more than the authorized amount, the transaction will be declined.
This will impact all global merchants (for both domestic and international transactions) that sell to PayPal buyers from the countries subject to PSD2 (i.e., EEA).
Why is PayPal making this change?
Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) requirements, which are part of the Second Payment Services Directive (PSD2) mandate additional authentication measures and restrictions to be performed on electronic transactions involving consumers (buyers) from the PSD2 countries.
The changes are in response to the below principles set by The European Banking Authority (EBA) for transactions where the final amount is unknown.
The final transaction amount can't be higher than the authenticated amount: “If the final amount is higher than the amount the payer was made aware of and agreed to when initiating the transaction, the payer’s PSP shall apply SCA to the final amount of the transaction or decline the transaction.”
The final transaction amount may be lower than the authenticated amount: “If the final amount is equal to or lower than the amount agreed in accordance with Article 75(1) of PSD2, the transaction can be executed and there is no need to re-apply SCA, as the authentication code would still be valid in accordance with Article 5(3)(a) of the [RTS].”
What regions are impacted?
This impacts Merchants globally (for both domestic and international transactions) selling to buyers from the EEA (PSD2 countries).
My business is not based in EU, why do I have to comply?
Any merchant who is selling to buyers from the EEA region (PSD2 countries) will be impacted. The impact is determined on the consumers (or buyers) country and not on the merchant country.
Does this impact all my PayPal, Venmo, Braintree transactions?
The current impact is only on PayPal wallet transactions, i.e. merchants who are integrated on PayPal Branded XO. This can be direct PayPal integration or through Braintree. There's no impact for Venmo transactions because Venmo is not offered to EU consumers.
For direct card transactions (Unbranded DCC), the card issuer will automatically be rejecting transactions above what was approved by the consumer during the 3DS review.
When will this change take effect?
PayPal is perusing a slow ramp starting from April. Some merchants may start seeing declines for sales to buyers where PSD applies, if the final captured amount is more than the buyer authorized amount.
I over charge regularly as part of my business model, what should I do now?
To minimize the declines, PayPal will leverage in-house machine learning algorithm estimate for a higher amount and authorization the consumer for the same. Only if the merchant requested amount is higher than the estimated authorized amount would the transaction be declined.
In case of a decline, PayPal would be returning an existing error code (refer below table) requesting the merchant to send the buyer for a re-review and this review would happen with the new amount. Post the successful buyer review the merchant can reattempt the capture.
In future, we encourage you to initiate the transaction with an amount inclusive of shipping, tax, etc. so that PayPal wouldn't have to decline the transaction later during the payment lifecycle.
Decline Error Codes When Requested Amount Exceeds What Was Consented
Legacy NVP & SOAP integrations
DoExpressCheckoutPayment API | Error Code: 10486 SHORT: This transaction couldn't be completed. LONG: This transaction couldn't be completed. Please redirect your customer to PayPal. |
DoAuthorization API DoReauthorization API DoCapture API | Error Code: 10610 SHORT: Amount limit exceeded. LONG: Amount specified exceeds allowable limit. |
Payments V1 integration
POST /v1/payments/payment//execute | HTTP Code: 400 Name: PAYER_ACTION_REQUIRED Message: Transaction cannot be completed successfully, instruct the buyer to return to PayPal. |
POST /v1/payments/orders//authorize
POST /v1/payments/authorization//reauthorize | HTTP Code: 400 Name: AUTHORIZATION_AMOUNT_LIMIT_EXCEEDED Message: Authorization amount exceeds allowed order limit. |
POST /v1/payments/orders//capture
POST /v1/payments/authorization//capture | HTTP Code: 400 Name: CAPTURE_AMOUNT_LIMIT_EXCEEDED Message: Capture amount specified exceeded allowable limit. |
Orders V2 and Payments V2 integration
POST /v2/checkout/orders//capture
POST /v2/checkout/orders//authorize
POST /v2/checkout/orders//save | HTTP Code: 422 Error: UNPROCESSABLE_ENTITY Error Description: The requested action could not be performed, is semantically incorrect, or failed business validation.
Issue: PAYER_ACTION_REQUIRED Issue Description: Transaction cannot be completed successfully, instruct the buyer to return to PayPal. |
POST /v2/checkout/orders//authorize
POST /v2/payments/authorizations//reauthorize | HTTP Code: 422 Error: UNPROCESSABLE_ENTITY Error Description: The requested action could not be performed, is semantically incorrect, or failed business validation. Issue: AUTHORIZATION_AMOUNT_EXCEEDED Issue Description: Authorization amount specified exceeded allowable limit. Specify a different amount and try the request again. Alternately, contact Customer Support to increase your limits. Overcharges are not allowed for consumers from PSD2 countries due to local regulations. |
POST /v2/payments/authorizations//capture | HTTP Code: 422 Error: UNPROCESSABLE_ENTITY Error Description: The requested action could not be performed, is semantically incorrect, or failed business validation. Issue: MAX_CAPTURE_AMOUNT_EXCEEDED Issue Description: Capture amount exceeds allowable limit. Please contact customer service or your account manager to request the change to your overcharge limit. The default overage limit is 115%, which allows the sum of all captures to be up to 115% of the authorization amount. Overcharges are not allowed for consumers from PSD2 countries due to local regulations. |
Do I need to make any integration changes?
No immediate integration change is needed, as long as merchant is redirecting the buyer back to PayPal for a re-review in the event of PayPal declining the transaction with the above-mentioned error codes.
What is PayPal doing to reduce impact to my business?
PayPal would use inhouse algorithms to detect impacted merchants, compute the potential overage for the transaction and disclose maximum amount (cap) to the consumer during payment authentication on PayPal.
The computation of the overage is based on multiple factors like transaction amount, previous overage trends, zip code of the consumer and merchant, etc.
Once the consumer consents to the higher amount cap at PayPal, the merchant would able capture up to that amount.
If the merchant requested capture amount exceeds the consumer consented maximum amount, then PayPal would decline the request using existing error codes and the merchant would need to send the consumer to PayPal for a rereview or attempt a capture with the previously approved amount.
How do I know what over charge threshold PayPal have presented to my customer?
Merchant won't have visibility on the maximum amount threshold their customers will be presented with.
If a payment is declined, what should I do?
What error codes will I receive?
We're reusing existing Decline error codes when the requested amount exceeds what was consented by buyer. Details below:
Legacy NVP & SOAP integrations
DoExpressCheckoutPayment API | Error Code: 10486 SHORT: This transaction couldn't be completed. LONG: This transaction couldn't be completed. Please redirect your customer to PayPal. |
DoAuthorization API DoReauthorization API DoCapture API | Error Code: 10610 SHORT: Amount limit exceeded. LONG: Amount specified exceeds allowable limit. |
Payments V1 integration
POST /v1/payments/payment//execute | HTTP Code: 400 Name: PAYER_ACTION_REQUIRED Message: Transaction cannot be completed successfully, instruct the buyer to return to PayPal. |
POST /v1/payments/orders//authorize
POST /v1/payments/authorization//reauthorize | HTTP Code: 400 Name: AUTHORIZATION_AMOUNT_LIMIT_EXCEEDED Message: Authorization amount exceeds allowed order limit. |
POST /v1/payments/orders//capture
POST /v1/payments/authorization//capture | HTTP Code: 400 Name: CAPTURE_AMOUNT_LIMIT_EXCEEDED Message: Capture amount specified exceeded allowable limit. |
Orders V2 and Payments V2 integration
POST /v2/checkout/orders//capture
POST /v2/checkout/orders//authorize
POST /v2/checkout/orders//save | HTTP Code: 422 Error: UNPROCESSABLE_ENTITY Error Description: The requested action could not be performed, is semantically incorrect, or failed business validation.
Issue: PAYER_ACTION_REQUIRED Issue Description: Transaction cannot be completed successfully, instruct the buyer to return to PayPal. |
POST /v2/checkout/orders//authorize
POST /v2/payments/authorizations//reauthorize | HTTP Code: 422 Error: UNPROCESSABLE_ENTITY Error Description: The requested action could not be performed, is semantically incorrect, or failed business validation. Issue: AUTHORIZATION_AMOUNT_EXCEEDED Issue Description: Authorization amount specified exceeded allowable limit. Specify a different amount and try the request again. Alternately, contact Customer Support to increase your limits. Overcharges are not allowed for consumers from PSD2 countries due to local regulations. |
POST /v2/payments/authorizations//capture | HTTP Code: 422 Error: UNPROCESSABLE_ENTITY Error Description: The requested action could not be performed, is semantically incorrect, or failed business validation. Issue: MAX_CAPTURE_AMOUNT_EXCEEDED Issue Description: Capture amount exceeds allowable limit. Please contact customer service or your account manager to request the change to your overcharge limit. The default overage limit is 115%, which allows the sum of all captures to be up to 115% of the authorization amount. Overcharges are not allowed for consumers from PSD2 countries due to local regulations. |
This is going to impact my merchant significantly. Can my business be excluded?
What reporting is available for me as a business to monitor the impact of increased declines?
No new dashboards have been built as part of this program.
I need technical support; how do I access it?
Please reach out to your Customer Success Manager/Integration Engineer/Customer Service for support.
You can learn more about the second Payment Services Directive (PSD2) regulation here.
Item Not Received claim
When responding to an Item Not Received claim you can provide evidence that the customer received their item.
Physical Item:
- Tracking number:
- Be sure it can be verified online and shows delivery to the address the customer provided in the transaction details.
- If the transaction is over $750 USD (or currency equivalent), signature confirmation must be included.
- If the online tracking doesn't show delivery, you’ll need to upload a document from the postal company confirming delivery.
Service/Virtual item:
- The evidence must be linked to the buyer (i.e. name, address, email address, PayPal transaction ID, or some other identifier that we can find in our transaction details - such as an invoice ID).
- The evidence must clearly show the fulfilment of the transaction and that the customer either benefitted from the transaction or had the opportunity to do so in accordance with the terms and conditions of the service.
- The evidence provided must come from standard systems or procedures previously in place and must not be created ad hoc in response to the claim.
- For digital downloads: The date and time of the download or delivery of the goods should be included. If available, you may submit additional proof to show that the website was accessed for services after the transaction was completed and any evidence of qualifications issued.
Bookings:
- The evidence must show that the ticket or confirmation email was sent to the buyer.
- Tickets should include details like booking ID and buyer’s name. If available, for airline and rail tickets, include info on additional payments made for seat upgrades, extra baggage or purchases on-board.
- For accommodation, the document must include the property name, buyer’s name, check-in and check-out dates. If available, include proof that the buyer stayed in the accommodation along with info on additional charges for upgrades such as minibar facilities.
- You must include an explanation indicating which section in the supporting document is relevant as evidence and how it verifies that the booking was delivered.
Significantly Not As Described claim
Here are some helpful tips on what documents you can submit as evidence for your claim:
- Provide a short (one or two sentences) overview of your business model and process. This description can be reused for every claim.
- Respond to all questions raised by the buyer in their claim describing why the claim is unwarranted and a refund isn't due. Provide details of the terms and conditions the buyer agreed to when making the purchase that apply to this situation.
- Send any documentation, including pictures, that would be helpful in resolving the claim. Please don’t send stock photos.
- Provide any correspondence you had with the buyer in question as they attempted to resolve the issue directly with you.
PayPal Seller Protection helps protect sellers in the event a buyer lodges a claim that the payment was unauthorized, or a buyer lodges a chargeback with their card issuer claiming they did not receive the item. Unless already available in your market, for all transactions made on or after 13 April 2020, Seller Protection will be extended to intangible items such as travel, ticketing services and digital goods. With PayPal Seller Protection, you may be protected for the full amount of all eligible transactions.
Below are some of the main requirements you need to meet to benefit from Seller Protection:
- The transaction must be marked as eligible or partially eligible for Seller Protection on your Account Transaction Details page.
- Your account must be in good standing.
- You must respond to our requests for documentation and other information within the required timeframe.
For physical goods:
- You must ship the item to the address on the Transaction Details page.
- You must provide proof of shipment, proof of delivery, or signed delivery confirmation where applicable.
For intangible or digital goods:
- You must provide compelling evidence that the intangible item or digital good was delivered or provided as described, or that the service was completed as described. Compelling evidence can include any evidence available to prove that your buyer received the goods or services or benefited from the transaction.
- You must comply with any terms and conditions that apply to the purchase.
- You must comply with all technical integration requirements that were specifically notified to you by PayPal.
Seller Protection will not apply to:
- Claims or Chargebacks submitted on the basis the item was ‘Significantly Not as Described’
- Items that you deliver in person, including at a retail point of sale
- Items equivalent to cash, including but not limited to gift cards
- Donations
- Financial products or investments of any kind
- A payment sent using PayPal’s friends and family functionality
- A payment made using PayPal’s Account Optional (or Guest) Checkout, PayPal Payouts, Mass Pay, PayPal Direct Payments, Website Payments Pro or Virtual Terminal Payments, PayPal Business Payments and PayPal Here
- For shipped items, any item that is not shipped to the recipient's shipping address on the Transaction Details Page. We recommend that you do not use a shipping service arranged by the buyer, so that you will be able to provide valid proof of shipping and delivery.
There are no limits or caps associated with Seller Protection. However, PayPal reserves the right to withdraw Seller Protection if the Seller abuses the privileges offered. In the event of withdrawing Seller Protection, PayPal will communicate the same before taking any action.
For full eligibility requirements, see the full Seller Protection Policy terms in the PayPal User Agreement, but please note that we will not update the User Agreement immediately when making this change.
Depending on when you view the User Agreement it may still indicate that intangible items services and digital goods are ineligible, which will no longer be correct, however all other exclusions will remain in effect.