PayPal is launching an ad sales business based on user behavior data

PayPal passkeys
(Image credit: PayPal)

PayPal has announced plans to launch a new advertising platform that it hopes will add to the company’s consumer value.

The news comes amid a company shakeup, with Mark Grether joining as SVP and General Manager for PayPal Ads, and John Anderson joining as SVP and General Manager for Consumer Group.

PayPal’s new advertising platform builds on the firm’s “long-standing relationships with millions of consumers and merchants,” which it believes puts it in a unique and strong position to lead the advertising industry.

PayPal launching ad platform

The company will use its extensive network of consumers and merchants to collate customer insights that will go on to fuel personalized ads.

“The advertising business, which will include PayPal advanced offers platform, will use customer insights to build a dynamic, truly personalized platform that will drive better advertising spend performance for merchants while delighting consumers with compelling offers," its announcement read.

Grether, who will be heading up PayPal Ads, joins the company from Uber, where he grew Uber Advertising to become a $1 billion business.

Diego Scotti, EVP and General Manager for Consumer Group and Global Marketing & Communications, commented: “Commerce and advertising are deeply connected, and we believe that the advertising platform we are building at PayPal will become a must-use marketing channel for merchants big and small.”

According to the company’s most recent quarterly earnings report, it processed 6.5 billion payments from 400 million customers. For the whole of 2023, it processed around 25 billion transactions.

PayPal also owns and operates other financial services, like money-transferring app Venmo and deal-finding platform Honey, further adding to the wealth of data it’s able to collect.

Looking ahead, and armed with more powerful data, PayPal hopes to boost both merchant sales and consumer discovery in what could be a great move for the economy, and a not-so-welcome update for our wallets.

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Craig Hale

With several years’ experience freelancing in tech and automotive circles, Craig’s specific interests lie in technology that is designed to better our lives, including AI and ML, productivity aids, and smart fitness. He is also passionate about cars and the decarbonisation of personal transportation. As an avid bargain-hunter, you can be sure that any deal Craig finds is top value!