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Businesses, especially online start-ups can improve their offerings withPayPal services. This was the case for streetwear and sneaker store, Shelf Life.
Shelf Life started as a bricks-and-mortar store in 2006 on Cape Town’s Longmarket Street and added an e-commerce channel in 2009. Since partnering with PayPal in 2012, it is now one of the few suppliers of limited edition sneakers of top brands, worldwide.
PayPal was key in allowing the company to sell to a global audience. Most consumers have reservations when it comes to online transactions; they want to make sure the products are authentic and are concerned about technology and security of payments. PayPal’s technology and security offering, such as its Buyer Protection, ensures that if anything goes wrong, the consumer’s eligible purchases are protected. It also helps build trust in the authenticity of Shelf Life products.
Customers around the world are reassured when purchasing in-demand, premier products from a country they might never have visited, if PayPal is available as a payment method.
"PayPal’s Buyer Protection is a way to prove to our customers that if they don’t get what they ordered, PayPal can help them to get their money back. This gives them the confidence to buy from us,” says Nick Herbert, owner of Shelf Life.
PayPal also helps businesses fight fraud by automatically screening all the transactions going through the platform. PayPal processes hundreds of billions of dollars in payments each year, allowing it to continually perfect its anti-fraud protections technologies, and it has been doing so for over 15 years.
Furthermore, PayPal is also an easier method of payment to use and saves crucial time as customers do not need to retype their personal and financial information that is already stored in the account when checking out. “PayPal is simply the easiest way to make a payment online,” says Herbert. “Many of our customers only use PayPal for international payments, so we would lose customers if we didn’t offer it," adds Herbert. The repeat business using PayPal shows that consumers are satisfied with the service.
Payments with PayPal can be made and accepted in most major currencies, making it easier to deal with international customers. Also, the withdraw service from a PayPal account to a bank account is available for all merchants in South Africa, via the PayPal FNB withdraw service - even for those who don’t bank with FNB.
By changing the way business is done, Shelf Life has now successfully tapped into a global market. The store is looking to source more brands to meet local, and international demand and a second bricks-and-mortar store is on the cards.
Have any questions? Contact PayPal
