Marketers are increasingly prioritizing measurable financial outcomes over simple attention metrics, a shift that PayPal Ads is addressing through its data-driven advertising solutions. Brands such as Adorama, Best Buy, and Etsy are utilizing PayPal's cross-merchant Transaction Graph to target consumers based on actual purchase behavior, resulting in tangible bottom-line growth. This approach allows advertisers to move beyond traditional impressions and focus on return on investment and new customer acquisition.
The PayPal Transaction Graph
The core of PayPal's advertising capability lies in its Transaction Graph, which aggregates real, cross-merchant purchase signals from more than 25B transactions across 400M+ PayPal and Venmo accounts. Unlike traditional retail media networks limited to a single retailer's ecosystem, PayPal's view spans how people search, share, and shop across various categories and merchants. This data provides a comprehensive view of consumer spending habits—what, where, when, and how they buy—rather than just their browsing history.
"For years, advertising has been measured by attention. But chief financial officers want outcomes they can see in the numbers," said Mark Grether, SVP & GM of PayPal Ads. "Built on what people actually buy, it provides real, cross-merchant purchase behavior across PayPal, Venmo, and PayPal Honey, which is why the brands working with us aren't measuring success in impressions. They're measuring campaigns in return, incremental lift, and new customer acquisition."
Campaign Performance and Results
Several major retailers have reported significant success using PayPal Storefront Ads powered by the Transaction Graph. The following table highlights the performance metrics from these campaigns:
| Brand |
Campaign Dates |
Key Metric |
Result |
| Adorama |
4/1/2026 – 4/30/2026 |
Incremental ROAS |
7.3x |
| Adorama |
4/1/2026 – 4/30/2026 |
Incremental Transaction Lift |
14.9% |
| Adorama |
4/1/2026 – 4/30/2026 |
New Buyers |
56% of purchasers |
| Best Buy |
2/6/2026-3/31/2026 |
ROAS |
6.25x |
| Best Buy |
2/6/2026-3/31/2026 |
Dwell Time Lift |
22% above benchmarks |
Adorama Targets High-Intent Consumers
Adorama, a New York-based photography and electronics retailer, sought to extend its online storefront to high-intent consumers before they visited competitors. By using PayPal Storefront Ads with Transaction Graph audiences, Adorama reached four highly engaged buyer audiences across the web. The campaign resulted in a 7.3x incremental return-on-advertising-spend (ROAS) and a 14.9% incremental transaction lift. Furthermore, 56% of purchasers during the campaign were new customers who had not bought from Adorama in the prior 12 months.
"We needed to reach consumers who were looking for new camera and video equipment but were not shopping at Adorama," said Yoav Shargil, Chief Marketing Officer, Adorama. "PayPal's Transaction Graph helped us reach a high-intent audience we weren't capturing through our existing marketing channels."
Best Buy Enhances Efficiency at Scale
Best Buy leveraged PayPal Storefront Ads to efficiently reach high-intent shoppers interested in consumer electronics and home technology. The campaigns, powered by real purchase behavior data, delivered a 6.25x ROAS and achieved a dwell time 22% above platform benchmarks. This indicated both stronger efficiency and deeper consumer engagement.
"PayPal's Transaction Graph adds incremental signals based on real shopper behavior across our key categories," said Amy Adams, Vice President of Media, Best Buy. "When combined with our customer intelligence, it builds on our capabilities to give us a more complete view of the customer."
Etsy Integrates Conversion API
Etsy is utilizing PayPal Storefront Ads to reach relevant buyers for its small business sellers. To enhance measurement, Etsy is testing an integration with PayPal's Conversion API (CAPI). This integration sends Etsy's conversion data back into the Transaction Graph, sharpening audience targeting and measurement for future campaigns. This creates a closed loop where commerce signals inform ads, and conversion data refines the process.
"With better data, we can better match Etsy sellers with the shoppers looking for their special items," said Gabe Trumbo, Director of Performance Media, Etsy. "We're excited to be the first to put the full stack to work, testing Conversion API to help close the loop on every campaign."