PayPal debuts shoppable storefront ads across publisher websites

PayPal officially launched Storefront Ads on June 16, 2025, marking a significant shift in how consumers shop across the open web. The new advertising solution transforms traditional display ads into fully functional storefronts, allowing users to complete purchases directly within the ad unit itself without navigating away from their current content.

According to the San Jose-based payment giant, Storefront Ads addresses the growing challenge merchants face as fewer consumers visit their websites directly. The solution combines PayPal's transaction graph data with its payment infrastructure to deliver personalized product recommendations alongside instant checkout capabilities through both PayPal and Venmo payment flows.

"Agentic commerce risks siphoning traffic and diluting retailers' brand experiences," said Mark Grether, SVP & GM of PayPal Ads, during the announcement. "Additionally, shopping is no longer something consumers do; it's something that comes to them."

Summary

Who: PayPal, with partnerships from Business Insider, Vox Media, Horizon Media, and Avocado Green Mattress as launch participants

What: Storefront Ads - a new advertising format that transforms display ads into functional storefronts with direct purchasing capabilities through PayPal and Venmo payment systems

When: Announced June 16, 2025, with summer 2025 rollout planned for United States markets

Where: Across publisher websites and the open web, starting with IAB-standard ad units and expanding to brand carousels and sponsored listings

Why: To address declining direct website traffic to merchant sites and the rise of agentic commerce, while providing frictionless shopping experiences that keep users engaged with content

The technology leverages PayPal's extensive transaction database spanning approximately 430 million consumer and merchant accounts across 200 global markets. This data repository tracks purchase signals from various touchpoints, including PayPal transactions, Venmo bill-splitting activities, and PayPal Honey deal discoveries, to inform more targeted advertising campaigns.

Several major publishers have committed to the new format. Business Insider plans to implement Storefront Ads to deliver what Chief Revenue Officer Maggie Milnamow describes as "experiences that are fast, relevant, and intuitive." The publisher expects the technology to enable commerce that meets readers "in the moment" through seamless checkout experiences.

Vox Media has also signed on as a launch partner. Ryan Pauley, President of Revenue & Growth at Vox Media, emphasized the importance of combining "high-quality data with trusted connections to real audiences," positioning the partnership as aligned with advertiser demands for measurable results.

The advertising industry has witnessed significant developments in shoppable media formats over recent months. Roku launched its Ads Manager platform in September 2024, introducing Shopify integration for connected TV advertising. This marked the first time CTV advertisers could enable direct on-screen purchases using remote controls.

PayPal's entry into shoppable advertising represents an expansion of its advertising business launched in April 2025. The company previously introduced Offsite Ads, which utilized transaction data for targeting across the open web while maintaining privacy protections.

According to Horizon Media's Kate Monaghan, Executive Vice President of Integrated Investment & Retail Partnerships, the new capability addresses a critical challenge in digital commerce. "The more steps in the path to purchase, the more drop-off we see," she explained. "PayPal/Venmo's new shoppable ad capability brings conversion closer to the moment of inspiration and helps eliminate that friction."

Storefront Ads will debut this summer in the United States as IAB-standard units. PayPal plans to evolve the format into brand carousels and sponsored listings, featuring dynamic creative optimization and product-level data specifically designed for fast-moving consumer goods.

The launch comes amid broader industry trends toward integrated commerce experiences. Digital advertising revenue reached $258.6 billion in 2024, with commerce media including retail media networks growing 23% to $53.7 billion. The strong performance reflects advertiser confidence in first-party data ecosystems and privacy-compliant targeting approaches.

For advertisers focused on performance marketing, the development represents another option in an increasingly fragmented landscape. The ability to complete transactions within ad units potentially reduces conversion friction, a key metric for ecommerce campaigns. However, the effectiveness will likely depend on user adoption of the new shopping behavior and merchant integration capabilities.

Avocado Green Mattress CMO Sidrah Althaus expressed enthusiasm for the technology's potential, describing it as delivering "the kind of frictionless checkout experience today's savvy customers expect." The mattress company views the format as an opportunity to surface relevant products and drive conversions directly within advertising units.

The announcement positions PayPal as a competitor to established players in the retail media space. Unlike traditional retail media networks that leverage shopping behavior on specific platforms, PayPal's approach draws from cross-merchant transaction data, potentially offering broader consumer insights.

Industry analysts note the timing aligns with growing advertiser interest in commerce-enabled advertising formats. The integration of checkout capabilities directly into advertising units represents a maturation of programmatic advertising technology, moving beyond simple display impressions toward actionable engagement.

PayPal's transaction graph differentiates the offering from social media or search-based advertising platforms. The company tracks actual purchase behavior across multiple merchants rather than relying on browsing signals or declared interests. This approach could provide more accurate intent signals for advertising targeting.

The success of Storefront Ads will likely depend on several factors including publisher adoption rates, merchant integration ease, and consumer acceptance of in-ad purchasing. Early partnerships with established media companies like Business Insider and Vox Media provide significant reach for initial testing and optimization.

PayPal emphasized privacy protections in its data utilization, stating that the transaction graph operates within established privacy frameworks. The company has historically emphasized secure payment processing and data protection as core competencies, which may provide advantages in privacy-conscious advertising environments.

The development reflects broader shifts in digital commerce toward what industry participants term "everywhere commerce" - the ability to complete purchases across various digital touchpoints rather than requiring visits to dedicated ecommerce websites. This trend has accelerated with the growth of social commerce and mobile payment adoption.

For publishers, Storefront Ads represents a potential revenue enhancement opportunity beyond traditional display advertising. The format could command premium pricing due to its direct commerce capabilities, though specific pricing models have not been disclosed.

The advertising format addresses what PayPal identifies as the rise of agentic commerce - autonomous AI programs that shop on behalf of consumers. By embedding commerce capabilities directly into content environments, merchants can potentially reach consumers before AI-driven shopping agents redirect them to alternative purchasing channels.

Looking ahead, PayPal's roadmap includes expansion beyond standard display units into more sophisticated formats. The planned brand carousels and sponsored listings suggest the company anticipates demand for various creative approaches to in-ad commerce.

Why this matters

The launch of PayPal Storefront Ads represents a significant development in the convergence of media and commerce that marketing professionals have been tracking throughout 2025. The growth of retail media networks accelerated 23% in 2024, reaching $53.7 billion as advertisers increasingly prioritize first-party data and measurable outcomes.

This trend toward shoppable media formats gained momentum when Roku introduced CTV shopping capabilities with Shopify integration in September 2024. PayPal's entry extends these capabilities to display advertising across publisher websites, potentially creating new measurement and attribution opportunities for performance marketers.

The timing aligns with Google's AI advertising expansion announced in May 2025, which introduced shoppable formats for YouTube and connected TV. These parallel developments suggest the industry is moving toward more integrated commerce experiences across all digital touchpoints.

For media buyers, PayPal's cross-merchant transaction data offers different targeting capabilities compared to platform-specific retail media networks. Rather than relying on behavior within individual retailers, the system can identify purchase patterns across multiple merchants, potentially improving audience quality for campaigns requiring broad reach.

The development also reflects growing competition in advertising technology. PayPal previously launched Offsite Ads in April 2025, positioning transaction data as a differentiator in digital advertising. Storefront Ads extends this strategy by adding direct commerce capabilities to media placements.

Timeline

April 18, 2024: PayPal announces plans to build new advertising platform with Mark Grether appointment as SVP, General Manager of PayPal Ads

September 18, 2024: Roku launches Ads Manager with Shopify integration for shoppable CTV ads, establishing precedent for direct-purchase advertising formats

April 29, 2025: PayPal launches Offsite Ads expanding advertising capabilities beyond PayPal platform using cross-merchant transaction data

May 21-22, 2025: Google announces AI advertising expansion including shoppable formats for YouTube and connected TV

June 16, 2025: PayPal officially launches Storefront Ads enabling direct purchases within display advertising units