The news: PayPal launched PayPal Ads Manager so that small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) can create their own retail media networks and generate new revenue streams, per a press release. 

SMBs will be able to convert store traffic into revenues, generate new advertising inventory, and centralize their advertising campaign management.

Why this matters: SMBs make up 99.9% of businesses in the US, generating approximately $5.9 trillion of GDP, per the US Chamber of Commerce. Despite that overwhelming majority, many SMBs cannot compete with major retailers’ advertising campaigns in scale or cost, prohibiting growth. 

PayPal’s Ads Manager gives SMBs similar tools as major retailers, tailored to their budgets. By featuring relevant ads on their digital storefronts, PayPal helps small business owners earn money they can reinvest into their own advertising campaigns or operations.

Zooming out: Payment providers are leaning into advertising hard. 

JPMorgan Chase launched a financial media network in 2024, followed by PayPal, Western Union, Amex, and Mastercard—monetizing cross-merchant payment data to relevant advertisers. 

Like its competitors, PayPal’s ability to leverage 400 million PayPal users and 90 million Venmo accounts to drive its revenues—and transaction volume if customers then check out with PayPal. 

Our take: Layering retail media networks within its financial media network gives PayPal a dual pipeline for revenues. Within its Q2 2025 earnings, Brand Experiences accounted for two percentage points of growth YoY, matching P2P and Venmo.

We forecast FMNs and RMNs will crack $1.78 billion and $80.28 billion in spending, respectively, by 2027. PayPal stands to juice these sectors even more, as advertisers and businesses clamor for access to valuable transaction data. 

Shoppable ads can reduce conversion friction, which could become a major differentiator for SMBs considering the best place to allocate their advertising budgets.