PayPal's marketing tools show shopping behaviour and preferences
PayPal is offering marketers a suite of tools similar to Google Analytics, which provides anonymous, aggregated data about the behaviour of the online payment service's users. PayPal said the data would include information about sites' popularity, the percentages of mobile shoppers and the cost of what they bought. To access the analytics, marketers must install a PayPal access code, which will also enable the site's Smart Incentives – allowing users to check out using PayPal Credit and One Touch.

PayPal has launched a new suite of free marketing solutions for merchants that provide them with analytics around how shoppers use the online payment platform.

According to the announcement, the newly-released shopping insights tools will include aggregated and anonymous data tracking the behaviors and preferences of PayPal users.

“This includes things like how many shoppers are mobile shoppers; how many shop for big-ticket versus small-ticket items; how a particular merchant site attracts customers compared to other similar sites,” writes PayPal in its release announcing the rollout.

To use the tools, merchants will need to install a PayPal code snippet on their sites, which will collect information on PayPal web visitors and customers including:

cookies,

browser,

device and type,

IP address,

page impressions and clicks,

and URL.

In return, merchants will receive analytics data — similar to packages like Google Analytics — that they can employ to improve conversions and better serve their customers.

The code also allows merchants to enable PayPal’s “Smart Incentives,” a promotional messaging feature that informs users they can use PayPal Credit and One Touch checkout on the site, which PayPal says will help drive conversions from customers who like to pay using those methods. PayPal Credit provides 6-month interest-free financing for purchases over $99 and the company’s research found that 40% of users say they have spent more money online due to the program.

These new features are available to any merchants that use its payment processing, PayPal Credit and other PayPal solutions, including those who use them via third-party ecommerce platforms such as BigCommerce, WooCommerce, or Shopify.

The online payment platform says it will soon provide recommendations for merchants to help them increase conversions based on the data it tracks.