#Paypal buying #Pinterest? Let me break down what is going on here.

Simply, Paypal is looking to become the most expansive digital wallet on the planet.

They see this as having 3 components:

- Tools to help you with things you are buying (payment, financing, coupons/promotions [Honey])

- Tools to help you with thing you just bought (tracking, returns [HappyReturns])

and now ...

- Tools to help you with things you might buy [Pinterest + others]

I think you will continue to see both buyer-side tools and merchant-side tools as they attempt to build a flywheel here in the long-term where one side reinforces the other.

But about Pinterest. Essentially one of the biggest data plays in the market about things you might buy or enjoy tracking. And if you have the world's list of things they might buy, that is a pretty expansive list.

It cuts across retail - i.e. instead of buying Etsy, why not buy a platform that has visibility into every platform, including Amazon?

Second, it gets them visibility into advertising and traffic outside of discounts/coupons. Most sites (including Etsy) report that Pinterest is some of the highest-converting traffic they have.

Finally, this is a huge deal for Paypal. Consider a potential $45B deal versus a $4B acquisition of Honey or $2.7B Paidy or "undisclosed/small" Happy Returns.

#ecommerce #payments