Dive Brief:

• BJ's Wholesale Club announced that BJs.com now supports online and mobile payment via PayPal, PayPal Credit and PayPal OneTouch in a bid to streamline the transaction process through its website, according to a press release from the wholesale club.

• The integration of PayPal and PayPal Credit will allow BJ's members to skip the process of manually entering other payment card credentials while paying for their purchases. PayPal OneTouch, meanwhile, enables shoppers using the same device and browser to skip the process of entering an e-mail address or password when paying on BJs.com, the press release stated.

• Also, for purchases of $99 or more, BJ's members can select PayPal Credit to pay for purchases, and not be charged interest if the debt is paid in full within six months.

Dive Insight:

What a difference a year makes. In early 2017, BJ’s Wholesale Club was well behind competitors Costco and Sam’s Club, and with few options for growing its market position, was rumored to be a possible acquisition target of Amazon.

Since then, BJ’s has made a strong online and mobile push, enhancing its core website and launching a new mobile web presence. It also implemented a buy online/pick up in-club capability.

Among other enhancements, last fall BJ’s announced a new mobile app that allowed club members to save coupons in-app directly to their membership cards to be automatically applied to purchases. That capability is all about taking friction out of the purchasing and payment process, and so is this one. Broadening the forms of payment accepted always seems like a good way of reaching more customers, and there may be no better way of expanding digital options than going with PayPal, and the features it supports to streamline the purchasing and payments process.

This announcement also comes less than two weeks after BJ’s Wholesale Club performed well in its initial public offering (actually a return to public trading after going private back in 2011), surging more than 25% above its opening price. The wholesale club is directing the funds raised toward debt repayment, but going public again also raises BJ’s profile at a time when competitor Sam’s Club is perceived to be weakened by downsizing.

The digital improvements, including the PayPal integration, could prove valuable in BJ’s efforts to take advantage of changes in the wholesale club market, though the biggest change may still be on the horizon as Amazon looms large. BJ’s can now woo more members, close more sales and make existing members happier.