PayPal officially launched PayPal Ads

PayPal has officially launched its advertising division, PayPal Ads, offering advertisers access to transactional data from its more than 400 million users. This new advertising offering will initially be available in the United States, although the company plans to expand to the United Kingdom and Germany.

The unit is headed by Mark Grether, a veteran in the advertising sector who drove ad businesses at giants such as Uber and Amazon. Among the services announced are the ability to reach consumers throughout the buying process, cross-vendor insights, market share analysis, optimization opportunities across multiple touchpoints, and 'closed-loop' attribution. 

The PayPal Ads strategy focuses on leveraging the enormous amount of data the firm collects from its 400 million active users. “The amount of transaction data we have at our disposal is incredible, far more than any retailer can offer,” Grether said in an interview with AdWeek. And that's because, unlike traditional merchants, the payments platform has a much broader view of consumers' shopping habits, spanning multiple stores and platforms.

The formal launch of PayPal Ads follows months of initial testing with an advertising feature within the PayPal app called “Advanced Offers,” which allows advertisers to offer promotions such as cashback and discounts. The company has expanded that offering to include graphical ads on its platforms, such as the PayPal app, Venmo, and Honey, a tool that helps consumers find coupons and cashback.

PayPal planned expansion

PayPal won't just be limited to displaying ads on its platforms. According to Grether, the company plans to expand its ad offerings to include video ads by 2025 and a self-service platform for brands to manage their campaigns.

Similarly, it will look to sell advertising space on retailers' websites that use its technology to process payments. This will enable advertisers to reach many consumers already shopping online at various retailers.

In addition, PayPal Ads also seeks to help brands that distribute products across multiple retailers increase their market share at specific points of sale. To achieve this, the company will advise where to spend advertising dollars most efficiently and which audiences to target.

Last May, PayPal anticipated the launch of its new advertising division and announced Mark Grether as senior vice president and general manager of PayPal Ads and John Anderson as senior vice president and general manager of the Consumer Group. Both will report to Diego Scotti, executive vice president and general manager of the Consumer Group and Global Marketing and Communications.