To help engage customers, PacSun enlisted a 3D-graphics artist to create a disruptive and digital activation in store windows and is partnering with influencers and content creators to spread the word on social media. | Photo courtesy of PacSun
TECHNOLOGY
PacSun Partners With BitPay to Accept Cryptocurrencies
Recently,Anaheim, Calif.–based PacSun announced a partnership with leading blockchain payment provider BitPay that will allow the Southern California–lifestyle brand’s customers to pay for their purchases with cryptocurrency.
The partnership makes PacSun the first major brand in the fashion-and-retail space to accept cryptocurrency. Atlanta-headquartered BitPay allows retailers to receive settlement the next business day directly to their bank accounts in its local fiat currency so businesses don’t have to hold the cryptocurrency and can avoid price volatility. Crypto payments are push-versus-pull payments, which eliminate risks typically associated with card-based transactions.
Using BitPay, customers will be able to pay for their purchases with 11 different cryptocurrencies: bitcoin, bitcoin cash, ethereum, wrapped bitcoin, dogecoin and litecoin. Five different stablecoins pegged to the U.S. dollar—GUSD, USDC, USDP, DAI and BUSD—will be accepted. In addition, PacSun will support several different crypto wallets and exchanges. The company took a balanced and diversified approach when deciding on the types of coins to accept.
Although there are concerns surrounding security and price volatility, cryptocurrency has become increasingly popular among Millennial and mainly Gen Z audiences. A May 2021 study found that14 percent of American adults, or around 21 million people, owned cryptocurrency, and 20 percent of people who have never owned cryptocurrency are likely to buy within the next year.
“PacSun’s decision to accept crypto follows many other major brands that believe in this new and modern pay option. Crypto payments help businesses attract a new customer segment while lowering payment costs and eliminating fraud chargebacks. These benefits are the buzz that are attracting more businesses to adopt, and the more companies that adopt crypto the quicker crypto goes mainstream,” said Bill Zielke, CMO of BitPay.
“To quantify the benefits to new businesses, BitPay worked with leading research and advisory firm Forrester Consulting for a study entitled ‘The Total Economic Impact of Accepting Bitcoin Using BitPay.’ There are four main findings based on interviews with four merchants that accept bitcoin and other cryptos. First, up to 40 percent of customers that pay with crypto are new to the merchant. Second, purchase amounts are twice that of credit-card purchases. Third, crypto is less expensive than cards, and lastly there are no fraud-related chargebacks,” said Zielke.
PacSun and BitPay share a common customer base in Gen Z, with a recent study finding 54 percent of current or former cryptocurrency holders are Gen Z. As online shopping and digital sales continue to rise and with PacSun as an example, more companies will begin to see cryptocurrency as an acceptable form of payment. PacSun President Brie Olson said the company has a genuinely positive outlook on blockchain technology, so entering the crypto space was a natural alignment.
“The crypto space has super-strong network effects. It is a lifestyle, a community in itself, and allowing for seamless integration of shopping is a critical component of enabling our consumer to engage with PacSun as a brand. Our consumers find a sense of community and fun engagement in the crypto space. Nearly one-third of Millennials have half of their wealth in crypto, and half own NFTs [non-fungible tokens]. This is a natural space for Pacsun to coexist in and align with our core consumer. As online sales accelerate, we do believe that cryptocurrency will play a larger role in the expansion and inclusion of a broader community of consumers. More customers who have crypto currency may be attracted to PacSun and use it on our site—people who are looking for new places and new ways to spend,” Olson said.
The brand initially teased accepting cryptocurrency on social media prior to the announcement and received an overwhelmingly positive response. To help engage the customer, the brand enlisted a 3D-graphics artist to create a disruptive and digital activation in store windows and is partnering with influencers and content creators to spread the word on social media.
PacSun plans to further its involvement in the crypto space by launching NFTs with key brand partners as well as offering special deals around the holidays geared toward customers who choose to pay with cryptocurrency.
BitPay recently partnered with Verifone to provide its blockchain payment technology to enable cryptocurrency payments on Verifone’s in-store and e-commerce cloud-service platforms in the United States. Verifone provides end-to-end payment and commerce solutions to retail brands, major financial institutions and directly to more than 600,000 merchants.
