Observed Signal · Jul 13, 2026 · Case Study / Interview · Source: AdExchanger · Impact: 3/5 · Sentiment: Positive
PayPal Ads Proves Retail Media ROI with Cross‑Merchant Data
At Cannes 2026 AdExchanger interviewed Mark Grether, SVP and GM of PayPal Ads, about how PayPal's cross‑merchant dataset gives it a structural advantage in retail media. PayPal Ads sits horizontally across 25 billion transactions, 400 million accounts and 30 million merchants, enabling measurement and ROI proof that differs from single‑merchant retail media networks. Grether explains how that cross‑merchant view answers the questions CFOs are asking, highlights results from implementations with Adorama and Best Buy, and outlines four ingredients he believes will determine the next phase of retail media.
Demonstrates a seller-agnostic, cross‑merchant measurement approach that can improve retail media ROI measurement and influence advertisers and retail media networks; includes real implementations (Adorama, Best Buy) but is not a major platform policy or technical release.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- PayPal Ads operates across 25 billion transactions, 400 million accounts, and 30 million merchants.
- AdExchanger Editorial Director Sarah Sluis interviewed Mark Grether, SVP and GM of PayPal Ads.
- The interview describes how PayPal's cross‑merchant data helped answer CFO measurement questions and cites implementations with Adorama and Best Buy.
- The piece was published on July 13, 2026 and is presented as content from Cannes 2026.
Connected Companies & Entities
3 Entities mapped“AdExchanger Editorial Director Sarah Sluis sat down with Mark Grether, SVP and GM of PayPal Ads, to talk about what it means to sit horizont...”
“Grether breaks down how that cross‑merchant data answers the two questions CFOs are actually asking right now, what Adorama and Best Buy saw...”
“© 2026 Access Intelligence, LLC - All Rights Reserved (site owner/publisher information in page footer)....”
Ontology Mapping & Concepts
Related Market Signals & Shifts
Recent verified developments and strategic activity across this market segment.
PayPal Opens Commerce: Retail Media & Agentic
At Marketecture Live, Dr. Mark Grether of PayPal describes how PayPal is reshaping commerce media using its transaction graph of 30 million merchants and 400 million consumers to power audience targeting, market-share insights, and closed-loop measurement. PayPal announced a new SMB Ads Manager to unify demand and supply, enabling small merchants to buy previously unreachable audiences and monetize their site traffic. Venmo’s social feed and Gen Z-heavy audience create upper-funnel ad inventory tied to real spending behavior, reinforced by emoji signals. Honey contributes large-scale intent signals and catalog visibility, enabling discovery-to-checkout and cross-channel measurement, including for off-site channels like CTV. In agentic commerce, PayPal aims to be the trust and payments layer that reduces friction during in-flow checkout. The talk covers brand safety, attribution, and a five-year outlook for AI, advertising, and online shopping.
PayPal Launches Commerce-Grade PayPal Ads ID
PayPal announced PayPal Ads ID, a deterministic advertising identifier built from verified PayPal and Venmo accounts and purchase activity. The solution leverages the PayPal Transaction Graph — aggregated signals from more than 25 billion transactions across 400M+ accounts — to provide cross-device, cross-browser identity, improved match rates, and closed-loop attribution tied to actual purchases. PayPal says the identifier is encrypted, aggregated and deidentified to protect sensitive data and that consumers can control participation. The launch includes initial technology integrations with Magnite, PubMatic, Rokt and Taboola to bring the signal into commerce, open web, CTV and native environments. Mark Grether, SVP & GM, PayPal Ads, is quoted describing the product’s deterministic, commerce-rooted approach.
Retail Media Revolutionizes Advertising Landscape Beyond Traditional Boundaries
Retail media is expanding beyond traditional shopper marketing, with major brands and platforms embracing broader spend and new inventory. The AdExchanger article highlights Mastercard launching Mastercard Commerce Media; PayPal launching an ad network for its small-business merchants; and partnerships such as Criteo's SSP integration with Google Search Ads 360 for on-site retail media, plus collaborations between Instacart and TikTok. It notes Microsoft moving its DSP customers to Amazon DSP as part of a broader shift. The piece argues that retail media is no longer simply the digitalization of coupons or in-store budgets, but a potential new category of advertising that could involve non-endemic advertisers and non-traditional formats. It also discusses price normalization in data: The Trade Desk's Audience Unlimited reduces data costs; Index Exchange launched a data marketplace to undercut others. Startups like Rokt, Nift, and M3 Retail are expanding access to retailer inventories and new retail-media opportunities.
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