PayPal Canada, in partnership with Canada Post, has launched PayPal and Canada Post Solutions for Small Business, an integrated payment and shipping solution for entrepreneurs, small businesses, and casual sellers.
PayPal said in the past, sellers would receive orders, and have to manually write labels and visit a Canada Post outlet to ship their parcels. With its new integration, online sellers can track their orders, print shipping labels, and pay for shipping using their PayPal accounts. Users can also schedule a parcel pick-up time from Canada Post, which PayPal said will save them time by not having to personally drop off parcels to customers locally or internationally.
In addition, the new integration will send tracking information and delivery confirmation alerts to both sellers and customers once a shipping label has been created.
PayPal Canada said this integration is meant to make ecommerce “more accessible” for small businesses, especially as a recent survey by PayPal indicated that 83 percent of Canadian small and medium-sized businesses do not currently sell online.
“Shipping and order fulfillment is one of the most challenging aspects of ecommerce in Canada,” said Paul Parisi, president at PayPal Canada. “Our small business customers have shared that it’s one of their top concerns and often keeps them awake at night. With today’s new solution with Canada Post, we are solving a major pain point for our customers and helping them grow.”
“Shipping and order fulfillment is one of the most challenging aspects of e-commerce in Canada.”
– Paul Parisi
By launching a new payments and shipping solution, PayPal is catching up to companies like Shopify. The Ottawa-based company introduced Shopify Shipping in September 2015, a feature that also allows merchants to buy and print discounted shipping labels within the Shopify platform. Similar to PayPal, Shopify Shipping allows users to schedule a free home pickup from United States Postal Service or drop prepaid shipments off at USPS offices without having to wait in line.
In recent months, Shopify has shown that it’s increasingly focusing on tackling issues around payments for merchants, through solutions like Shopify Pay, which lets customers save their shipping and credit card information to reduce the amount of time it takes to purchase with Shopify Merchants.
PayPal said its new integration will allow sellers to link their PayPal and Canada Post Solutions for Small Business account, and be eligible to receive savings on domestic and international shipments. Eligible businesses can also save an additional 15 percent on Expedited Parcel when shipping within Canada until July 31.
“Canada Post and PayPal are committed to growing ecommerce in the country and this is the start of a strategic partnership between the two companies to deliver innovative and convenient solutions for Canadian online sellers and retailers,” said Lise Côté, general manager of consumer and small business marketing at Canada Post.