Digital payments company PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) has reportedly hired Mark Grether, who previously led Uber’s (UBER) advertising division, to lead that effort as senior vice president and general manager of PayPal’s newly formed advertising division.
Grether will be responsible for development novel advertising formats, supervising sales and hiring employees to complement the department, Wall Street Journal reported.
The report shows that PayPal (PYPL) plans to build its ad sales business on the huge amounts of data generated from tracking purchases, as well as the broader spending behavior of consumers who utilize its services.
The company’s goal is to “sell advertising not only to its own customers, but also to so-called non-endemic advertisers, that is, those who do not sell products or services through PayPal.”
Earlier this year, PayPal unveiled six enhancements to its PayPal (PYPL) and Venmo product lines as part of a move to revitalize its business. New features that apply AI to PayPal data include faster checkout and personalized cashback offers for buyers, and improved visibility for businesses.
In the quarter ended in March, the company topped Wall Street estimates of better-than-expected total payments volume and growing number of transactions per dynamic account, driving share gains.
