PayPal Ads Launches Transaction Graph Insights and Measurement to Improve Commerce Advertising Outcomes

New solution gives brands cross-platform view of actual purchase behavior, not just clicks and impressions from one retailer 

SAN JOSE, Calif., Jan. 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- PayPal today announced the launch of PayPal's Transaction Graph Insights & Measurement program, providing merchants & advertisers with a unique, cross-merchant view into real shopper behavior, campaign effectiveness, and data-driven recommendations to grow their business. PayPal's Transaction Graph Insights & Measurement creates the full dimensionality of a consumer purchase, and with full sales signal integrity and accuracy.

Today, marketers are seeking more accurate ways to understand how commerce is changing and how to engage their next best customer. PayPal Transaction Graph Insights and Measurement uses the company's transaction graph to uncover consumer trends and measure advertising results with a full-funnel view. PayPal's Transaction Graph helps identify high-intent shoppers as PayPal is the only platform connecting search, shop, and share signals across more than 430 million consumer accounts and tens of millions of merchants.

For example, a consumer searches for "best running shoes for marathon" on a retailer, compares prices on a major marketplace, asks an AI assistant for recommendations, and then reads reviews on a social platform. They pay a friend on Venmo for a race entry (with a runner emoji) and purchase gear via PayPal checkout. Traditional platforms see pieces of this journey while PayPal sees the complete picture. This means brands can identify high-intent shoppers before they convert elsewhere, understand true category market share, and measure real sales lift rather than modeled estimates.

"The era of the empowered shopper demands advertising solutions built on real commerce data, not modeled intent," said Mark Grether, Senior Vice President and General Manager of PayPal Ads. "Unlike walled-garden platforms that only see activity within their own ecosystem, or measurement solutions that rely on modeled data, PayPal's Transaction Graph connects verified purchases across tens of millions of merchants. This means you can see which campaigns actually drive sales, not just clicks or impressions. Combine this with signals from Shop, Search, and Sharing activities across all PayPal brands, we can help advertisers drive meaningful business outcomes—regardless of their budget or scale."

Ulta Beauty, the nation's largest specialty beauty retailer, used PayPal Transaction Graph to reach a high-intent beauty audience across the premium web with Offsite Ads. Compared to the weeks prior to the campaign, Ulta saw a 20% increase in transaction spend via PayPal during the campaign.^1. Ulta measured brand lift using Lucid, a Cint company and PayPal Ads Measurement Partner, and saw an increase in brand favorability at 136% above the Lucid benchmark.²

The Transaction Graph Insights and Measurement program addresses critical gaps in today's insights and measurement landscape for commerce media with:

• Transaction Graph Insights: An interactive analytics experience that showcases the breadth, depth, and uniqueness of PayPal's Transaction Graph. This visualization tool helps advertisers understand cross-merchant, cross-surface shopper journeys to deliver brand-specific recommendations.
• Transaction Graph Measurement: PayPal's first-party measurement suite built from the ground up, utilizing the PayPal Transaction Graph and deterministic-driven identity for campaign reporting, insights, attribution, and incrementality.
• Transaction Graph Measurement Partnership Program: This program allows brands to enable independent campaign validation with a certified list of third-party partners including AppsFlyer, Cint, Experian, iSpot, Kantar, Kochava, LiveRamp

"When PayPal Ads showed us their Transaction Graph insights, we immediately saw the potential," said Monica Austin, CMO at Blizzard Entertainment. "The ability to leverage commerce intelligence across game releases, performance media, and attribution measurement aligns perfectly with how we think about continually improving player engagement."

Advertisers using PayPal Transaction Graph are already seeing measurable improvements in campaign performance as it is immediately available for US-based programs with availability in the United Kingdom and Germany to follow. To learn how your brand can access these cross-merchant insights and see a personalized demo of your category's shopper behavior patterns, visit https://www.paypal.com/us/advertiser. For more information about the PayPal Transaction Graph Measurement Partner Program, visit https://newsroom.paypal-corp.com/2026-01-06-PayPal-Ads-Unveils-Transaction-Graph-Insights-and-Measurement-Partnership-Program.

About PayPal

PayPal has been revolutionizing commerce globally for more than 25 years. Creating innovative experiences that make moving money, selling, and shopping simple, personalized, and secure, PayPal empowers consumers and businesses in approximately 200 markets to join and thrive in the global economy. For more information, visit https://www.paypal.com, https://about.pypl.com, and https://investor.pypl.com.

Source:

1. PayPal Internal Data, Jun-Jul 2025
2. Data provided by Lucid (A Cint Group Company). Retrieved 2025-07-11 15:52 UTC

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SOURCE PayPal Holdings, Inc.