The service will now be available to PayPal users in the United States, in addition to the nearly 40 markets in which it already exists. The service has already been successfully tested across the globe in countries such as Australia, France, Italy, Spain and others, with millions of PayPal users opted-in to enjoy the benefits of Return Shipping on Us.

“Options like refunds on return shipping costs, formerly considered a perk or promotional tool offered by retailers, are now integral to getting a consumer to click that buy button online.”

This offering comes at a critical time with the start of the holiday shopping season. For the last several years, PayPal’s transaction data saw spikes occurring on September 30th indicating that shoppers are starting their holiday shopping much sooner than Black Friday.

According to a PayPal and Ipsos’ cross border study, overall e-commerce spending is expected to grow by 10 percent in 2015 to $50 billion, but many shoppers are discouraged by added shipping costs. High return shipping costs are discouraging more than half of online shoppers globally from making repeat purchases and 48 percent of American shoppers view free return shipping as a necessity when purchasing online.

PayPal’s Return Shipping on Us helps alleviate this major pain point for online shoppers, while also helping to eliminate cross-border sales barriers for global online retailers. Shoppers who have activated the service and are looking to return an item will now be able to request a refund on return shipping costs within 14 days of mailing the return and, once approved, will be reimbursed for costs up to $30 on eligible PayPal purchases from PayPal merchants worldwide*.

“Return Shipping on Us can save consumers money, and give them more confidence when they shop knowing they will not incur return shipping costs if their purchase was not quite right,” Jo Lambert, vice president of Consumer Product & Engineering, at PayPal said. “Options like refunds on return shipping costs, formerly considered a perk or promotional tool offered by retailers, are now integral to getting a consumer to click that buy button online.”

“By providing this option, we are also supporting our merchants who are not already providing this type of service a potential lucrative revenue driver that can help grow their customer base to shoppers that may not have purchased from them previously, out of concern over shipping costs,” Lambert continued.

PayPal now offers Return Shipping on Us in nearly 40 countries, enabling customers to shop with confidence from the 10 million merchants globally that accept PayPal. In the United States, the service allows up to four refunds on eligible online purchases from October 12, 2015 to January 31, 2016*. If the customer’s purchase isn’t quite right and they would like to return it, PayPal will be there to help – from checkout, to return.

For more information on PayPal’s Return Shipping on Us please visit: paypal.com/returns.

* Return Shipping on Us Terms and Conditions: Exclusions apply. This is an exclusive offer offered to eligible PayPal account owners. With this service you are eligible for up to 4 refunds on your return shipping costs from October 12, 2015 through January 31, 2016 and may receive refunds of up to $30 USD per claim. PayPal reserves the right to cancel or modify part of or this entire Offer at any time without notice, for any reason at their sole discretion. See Terms and conditions.