PayPal signs $4bn deal to buy shopping and rewards platform Honey Science

PayPal acquisition of Honey Science : PayPal has signed a deal worth around $4 billion to acquire Honey Science, Los Angeles-based technology firm, which has developed a shopping and rewards technology platform.

Honey Science operates as a web browser add-on and also as a mobile app serving about 17 million customers with discount codes and shopping rewards offered by around 30,000 online retailers across different categories.

PayPal expects that the expertise of Honey Science, when combined with its own two-sided network, will transform its consumers’ shopping experience. In addition to that, the acquisition will help the digital payments company boost sales and customer engagement for its merchants.

Established in 2012, Honey Science developed a discovery tool that helps consumers to explore offers while shopping online. Honey Science’s browser extension is said to aggregate and apply online coupons automatically.

When a customer makes a purchase from select merchants, Honey Science gives part of its commission with the customer through a cashback program. Users are notified of reductions in price and pricing history on selected items sold by participating online retailers.

PayPal acquisition of Honey Science. Photo courtesy of Honey Science Corporation.

Commenting on PayPal acquisition of Honey Science, George Ruan – Honey Science Co-Founder said: “Honey’s vision has always been to give consumers the tools they need to make the best decisions with their money. PayPal shares that vision and together we can build powerful commerce capabilities that create real value for both consumers and retailers around the world.”

PayPal, which also owns Venmo, has more than 275 million active consumer accounts and 24 million merchant accounts, which will all avail Honey Science’s tool post-acquisition.

Dan Schulman – President and CEO of PayPal, commenting on PayPal acquisition of Honey Science, said: “The combination of Honey’s complementary consumer products with our platform will significantly enhance our ability to drive engagement and play a more meaningful role in the daily lives of our consumers.

“As a partner of choice for our merchants, this is another way that we can help them build and strengthen their customer relationships, provide personalized offers, and drive incremental sales.”

PayPal acquisition of Honey Science is expected to close in Q1 2020, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.