When sales blossomed, Plant Addicts added more payment options

When plant lovers discovered the Plant Addicts online store during the pandemic, plant and garden supply sales accelerated quickly. “We went from making $50,000 to $3 million a year,” says cofounder Chris Link. Along with cofounder Richard Anderson, Chris left his day job to work full time on Plant Addicts. Then, they increased outreach to farms and nurseries that ship houseplants, shrubs, trees, and more directly to customers.

The rapid growth was welcome but created its own challenges. “It was hard to focus on one part of the business because we constantly had to switch our attention to something else,” Chris says.

To improve payments management, a critical part of the business, the founders adopted PayPal's checkout solution to handle all of Plant Addicts’ customer payments.

Chris and Richard’s tips

Tip 1: Choose a trusted payment processor

As a new brand in online plant ordering, Chris and Richard had to assure customers that Plant Addicts was a trustworthy business. “We wanted people to feel that we were actually going to send them products when they bought from us, even though they’d never heard of us,” says Chris.

When customers saw they could pay with PayPal, a payment option they trusted, they knew their purchases were secure. In fact, there’s a 74% increase in the likelihood of users completing a purchase from an unknown merchant when PayPal is present at checkout.¹

Tip 2: Buy yourself time by consolidating online payments

As Plant Addicts has grown, Chris and Richard have looked for tools that save time, so they can focus on big-picture goals — like adding new products customers will love. “Having a payment solution that can help save us time is really important,” Chris says.

As their reach expanded and their business grew in complexity, Plant Addicts chose PayPal’s checkout solution to reduce the time and effort needed to manage multiple payment accounts.

By consolidating payment processing, the cofounders can track revenue with simple, convenient reports — all in one place.

Tip 3: Diversify products to win sales in slow seasons

Outside of the busy spring and summer plant-buying seasons, Chris and Richard have had to get creative about attracting sales. “We diversify our offerings with goods like planters, because people think about house plants in the winter,” Chris says. “We also have gardening t-shirts and gifts for times like Black Friday.”

Along with offering a diverse range of products, Chris and Richard can close more sales with diverse payment options such as PayPal Pay Later, which allows customers to pay over weeks or months.

Always be learning

Chris and Richard are champions of the “learn as you go” model. “Regardless of how long you plan, you’ll still come across things you never would have imagined or couldn’t plan for — so you just need to get started,” Chris says. “A lot of people throw business ideas around, but never get started. Our advice is, just do it!”