PayPal Can Crush Amazon's Offline Strategy
20.05.12
Amazon ( AMZN ) and Ebay's PayPal ( EBAY ) are both taking a page out of the Apple ( AAPL ) play book: Let's make the virtual a reality. Both titans of the online shopping and payment industries have stepped into the physical world, offering consumers the ability to use their online billing accounts in real stores. While both these companies are voraciously growing their offline market, my prediction is that only PayPal will succeed based on historical example and present leadership strength.
What Is Happening
A San Jose Home Depot ( HD ) has already adopted the technology that allows customers to pay with their PayPal account. Like much in the world of competitive business, this innovative service was swiftly copied by several other area hardware stores.
This innovation came after market testing in partnership with two Swedish developers Accumulate and Point. PayPal completed its 'in-store payment' experiment in two Swedish retailers last month, an electronic store and a sports equipment store. Users were able to download a PayPal in-store iOS or Android app that gave them access to special discounts at the retailers. When users visited the store, they received an NFC sticker, which allowed them to pay at the retailer point of sale systems with the payments deducted from their PayPal accounts.
Source: Seeking Alpha