PayPal will pay online shoppers' return shipping costs

PayPal's return shipping cost refund service has previously been tested in 40 markets including Australia, Spain, France and Italy, and millions of online shoppers have opted-in to the 'Return Shipping on Us' service.

A study by PayPal, along with Ipsos, found that high return shipping costs were discouraging online shoppers from making repeat purchases, and nearly half (48%) of U.S. shoppers believe free return shipping is a necessity when shopping online.

As well as providing consumers with a free option to return goods purchased online, the PayPal refund service will also help eliminate cross-border barriers to sales for online retailers. Shoppers can request a refund on return shipping costs up to a value of $30, which must be requested within 14 days of the mailing return.

"Return Shipping on Us can save consumers money, and give them more confidence when they shop knowing they will not incur return shipping costs if their purchase was not quite right," Jo Lambert, vice president of Consumer Product & Engineering, at PayPal said.

"By providing this option, we are also supporting our merchants who are not already providing this type of service a potential lucrative revenue driver that can help grow their customer base to shoppers that may not have purchased from them previously, out of concern over shipping costs," Lambert added.

Image via Shutterstock

Tags: cross-border, ecommerce, online shopping, retail, returns