Macy’s is boosting its mobile payments strategy by rolling out PayPal as a payment option in-store, online and on mobile, including the service’s new streamlined One Touch capabilities.

Once the new service goes live by the end of this month, Macy’s, Macy’s Backstage, Bloomingdale’s and Bloomingdale’s Outlet customers will be able to shop and checkout across all channels using PayPal. The integration will enable One Touch capabilities, which were recently launched by PayPal, meaning customers who opt-in can checkout online and on mobile without having to type in any payment credentials, usernames or passwords.

“With PayPal One Touch, merchants can enable their customers to checkout with a single touch across merchants, online and on mobile,” said Robert Clarkson, vice president and general manager for PayPal’s merchant and retail solutions in North America.

“Currently, more than 50 percent of the IR 500 and hundreds of thousands of merchants around the world have One Touch enabled and millions of consumers around the world have opted-in to One Touch,” he said.

“One Touch has led to as much as 50 percent or greater increases in conversion of PayPal for some merchants. Shoppers love using PayPal for the convenience it offers, and they enjoy the same fast and smooth purchasing experience across channels.”

Streamlining mobile experiences
A growing number of merchants have enabled One Touch from PayPal, including Eat24 and Overstock.com.

Services such as One Touch are important as mobile shopping grows since they help deliver more seamless experiences that reduce the amount of information shoppers have to input on small screens.

In-store, customers will be able to checkout via PayPal using Payment Code on the PayPal application or on the Macy’s app. This enables shoppers to scan a QR code on their mobile device to complete a purchase in-store.

User trust
Macy’s is quickly ramping up in mobile payments and already accepts payments via Apple Pay and Android Pay.

While some questions have arisen regarding PayPal’s viability following its spinoff from eBay, the service continues to sign up some big name merchants. In addition to Macy’s, PayPal also recently added Subway and Shell in Britain to the list accepting PayPal payments.

PayPal, which has been around much longer than Apple Pay or the newly launched Android Pay, offers some significant advantages, according to an executive from Beyond the Rack speaking at this week’s Mobile Marketing Summit: Wearables and Holiday Focus 2015 in New York.

Per Richard Cohene, director of marketing at Beyond the Rack, PayPal boats an affluent customer base that has significant trust in the platform. This helped the merchant drive some important metrics when it introduced PayPal as a payment method (see story).

“Every holiday season we see reports of mobile commerce growing, but in-store shopping remains the bulk of holiday purchases,” Mr. Clarkson said. “Everyone has their own personal preference on how to pay and where to do their shopping, which is why we believe in giving people choices at the checkout.

“People looking to shop at retailers like Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s this holiday season will be able to have the same great buying experience across multiple different platforms and contexts – in-store, online and on mobile,” he said.

Final Take
Chantal Tode is senior editor on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York