Conventional wisdom says offering PayPal and other alternative payments boosts sales. The 2007 eCommerce Checkout Report from Elastic Path found something close to the opposite for one specific group of merchants.
The paradox in the data
Among the top 100 online retailers, merchants that did not offer alternative payments had a significantly higher conversion rate. High-ticket retailers skipping alternative payments saw more than double the conversion rate of competitors who offered them. The likely culprit: too many payment choices at checkout creates decision friction, and that friction costs more in abandoned carts than the alternative payments recover.
Where it did help
Alternative payment transactions still showed higher average order values where they were used — the paradox is about overall conversion rate, not about whether alternative payments have any value at all.
Why this doesn't generalize to every merchant
The survey only covered the top 100 online retailers — already-trusted, recognized brands. A smaller or lesser-known merchant faces a different trust equation with consumers, and alternative payments may do real work rebuilding confidence that an established brand doesn't need to rebuild in the first place.