John Kim 
Anyone who has shopped or even browsed online knows that PayPal is one of the primary methods of payment utilized by countless merchants around the globe; it’s been a staple of eBay commerce for years, and it’s even a viable checkout option on Nikestore. PayPal has always acted as a wallet “cloud” of sorts, with a debit or credit account being connected with a personal PayPal account to make paying for goods as easy as possible. But what was once an online only option has switched to actual stores, as Foot Locker and PayPal team up to launch PayPal’s Offline Payment shopping solution in its 1,200 stores nationwide. PayPal account holders can access their personal accounts by entering the phone number connected with the account while “checking in” to Foot Locker to access VIP memberships (no need to look for ’em in your wallet).
So how’s this different from, say, cash or a credit card? Aside from the convenience of “checking in” and not having to search for your Foot Locker VIP card, you don’t need to be carrying around actual credit cards or wads of cash to pick up your favorite sneakers – a secure feature on those raucous sneaker releases. In addition, parents can either give their PayPal account info to their children to safely make purchases in-store, or create a joint account to give the young customer a little more control. Sneaker News was given an opportunity to experience the PayPal Offline Payment in-store, and we must say – it’s pretty darn easy. PayPal won’t stop at Foot Locker either, as it aims to become a payment option at over two millions stores by the end of 2013. Your thoughts on this development? Does this make sneaker purchases easier for you? Let us know.
