Vistaprint, a division of Top 40 promotional products distributor Cimpress (asi/162149), has partnered with PayPal to bring a touch-free payment solution to physical, brandable Vistaprint products through unique QR codes.

Robert Keane, CEO of Cimpress and Vistaprint

The announcement on the collaboration comes as Dundalk, IE-headquartered Cimpress shared that its global sales were down 4% for its fiscal 2021 second quarter and 6% for the half-year. Cimpress’ fiscal Q2 and half-year ended December 31, 2020.

Cimpress said Vistaprint’s collaboration with PayPal will bring touch-free payment solutions to small businesses. Touch-free payment enables businesses to process payments for goods and services without having to handle cash or credit cards, thus avoiding physical contact with customers – something that’s become especially desirable during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

We've partnered with @PayPal4Business to offer products with scannable QR codes that your customers can use to pay...no hardware, software or card reader needed! Ready to create your own QR-coded products & start getting paid? https://t.co/0sTWHhHvhS #supportsmallbusiness pic.twitter.com/xTrsczBraC

— Vistaprint (@Vistaprint) January 22, 2021

Here's how it works: Business owners head to www.vistaprint.com/touch-free-payments. Then, they choose a product, pick a template design or customize it with their logo, and have a unique QR-code created for the item. The code, powered by PayPal tech, enables the touch-free payment.

Products that can be customized include tabletop signage, business cards, stickers, decals, magnets, banners and more. The solution is currently available in the U.S., but there are plans to expand it to markets in Europe and elsewhere in North America throughout 2021.

“The small business solution offered by Vistaprint and PayPal meets an increasing demand from small-business owners for access to touch-free payment options and directly aligns with previous findings from a PayPal-commissioned PYMNTS report suggesting that consumers are also looking for more touch-free options,” the companies said in a statement.

As for Cimpress’ financial performance, the publicly traded company reported on Wednesday, Jan. 27, that total Q2 revenue from all its divisions was about $786.1 million, down from $820.33 million in the same quarter the prior year. For the half-year, revenue was $1.37 billion, down from $1.45 billion.

Vistaprint bucked the company-wide trend in the second quarter, recording a revenue increase – $436.3 million, up from $433.3 million. For the half-year, Vistaprint was down about $11 million to $765.6 million.

Cimpress also owns former Top 40 promo products distributorship National Pen. According to Cimpress, National Pen’s second quarter sales declined 10.3% from the prior year’s comparable quarter to about $114.7 million. For the half-year, National Pen’s sales were down about 8% year-over-year to $182.34 million.

Cimpress reported that total company unadjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) in the second quarter were $170.74 million, a drop of 16.7% from the prior fiscal year’s Q2. Net income for the quarter was nearly $33.3 million, an 82% year-over-year decline. Diluted net income per share was $1.22, down from $6.81.

Cimpress CEO Robert Keane noted that the revenue and earnings declines are a result of COVID-related marketplace challenges, adding that business could fall further before momentum is regained. Still, he asserted that Cimpress has made improvements and put itself in a position to prosper again.

“During difficult pandemic circumstances, Cimpress has reduced costs, continued pre-COVID plans to focus on execution and invest to improve customer value and competitive capabilities, demonstrated our underlying cash generation capability, gained market share and entered the very large adjacent market for design services via a freelance marketplace,” Keane wrote in a letter to investors. “These factors bode well for Cimpress in post-pandemic times.”

With estimated 2019 North American promotional product revenue of $477 million, Cimpress ranked sixth on Counselor’s most list of the largest distributors in the industry.