Online payment service platform PayPal is helping inspire Americans stuck at home to find new ways to decorate by joining forces with Bobby Berk, of Queer Eye fame, to create an all-new and unique design show.
With more and more people working and conducting business from home, PayPal and Berk realised many want to give their abode a little tender loving care. Titled Berking From Home, the series will include design solutions to common, everyday issues caused by families spending more time at home than ever before, product recommendations, and how to budget for new household challenges like working from home and homeschooling children.
PayPal’s research in 2020 showed more than half of Millenial and Gen-Z employees in the USA work from either their bedrooms or living rooms. This has resulted in reduced space for fitness and relaxation activities, while also causing an increase in confrontations and stress between loved ones cooped up at home together. The result is over a third of those surveys who work from home for three or more days a week have reported feeling overworked.
The study also found many families reporting feeling financially stressed throughout 2020, which gave PayPal the idea to create this content series with Bobby Berk and tie it to their Pay in 4 product, which allows users to pay for purchases of between $30 and $600 in four instalments with zero interest. All of Berk’s recommendations in the show will include buy now, pay later services that make sense for the consumer.
“There is nothing more important than a comfortable place to work, learn, and relax – and Pay in 4 from PayPal makes it that much easier to manage to buy all of these new items when costs add up. We’re living in stressful, challenging times, and we could all use a new way to budget and save,” said the company in a press release.
PayPal has had an incredible year in 2020 and has reported record numbers in most vital business areas, including revenue, the total payment volume, and new user and vendor signups. As a result, the company has been able to branch out into new areas. The content series with Berk is just the tip of the iceberg.
It has specifically been expanding out into areas of payment services its offering was lacking until 2020, such as creating a competitor to GoFundMe where people can set up a fundraising page that has all the safety and security of using PayPal as a payment platform. PayPal has also become one of the most popular payment options in the iGaming industry, which can be seen by the number of gaming providers on the list of casino sites that accept PayPal.
The online payment service provider has even been credited for the resurgence in the popularity of Bitcoin after it rolled out its cryptocurrency service. Following its release to the public, PayPal bought more than two-thirds of all newly minted Bitcoins, driving up the price and reigniting the general public’s interest in the online currency. The company also ensured it would become more part of people’s lives offline after it was revealed that CWS became the first American national retailer that would begin offering support for payment via PayPal and Venmo QR codes at checkout.
In the trailer for the design series, Berk indicates the kinds of tips viewers can expect from the show, such as using an accent chair instead of an office chair, grabbing a mini projector to upgrade the at-home classroom, and making a special space for self-care.
“With more than two-thirds of people working from home three-plus days a week more likely to purchase multi-function products, and over one-third of single parents planning a strict budget for holiday spending this year, there are several smart, simple and affordable design solutions and products that can help to create a more harmonious space at home,” Berk explains.
