Google is extending its mobile shopping ads network reach to engage consumers on YouTube.
YouTube mobile shopping ads will be added to the popular video platform’s mobile app. A growing number of mobile users are heading to YouTube to watch reviews and obtain recommendations. This gives Google the opportunity to target these users with engaging and shoppable types of ads.
YouTube users are more open minded to discovering new content when browsing their home feed.
According to the director of YouTube product management, Nicky Rettke, YouTube is taking notice of different behaviors among its users depending on what they are doing. Rettke says that users seem to be in a more “immersive mindset” when watching a video and are less likely to click on ad content. However, when the user is browsing through their home feed, they seem to have an “open mindset” and are more likely to discover fresh content.
Rettke assures that the YouTube mobile shopping ads will not result in a higher ad load or new ad placements on YouTube. The goal is to provide users with more relevant ad content. The shopping ads will be presented as a carousel of clickable consumer products that will show up on the mobile home screen as well as on the search results page.
The YouTube mobile shopping ads is now globally available.
The shopping ads have reportedly been in test mode for months. Now that the testing phase is over, the ads have been made globally available to mobile app YouTube users.
According to Rettke, there is a very good chance that the same ad type will be brought to other environments as well, including desktop and connected TV.
Rettke says that connected TV is one area in which YouTube is keen to explore. She and her team intend to explore how to bring shopping ads to the TV environment in 2020. This environment requires a different approach than mobile because users who engage with YouTube via connected TV have different expectations and technical requirements.
“Video is such a compelling medium,” Rettke says of the YouTube mobile shopping ads. “You can inspire users to 
take action even if they’re not clicking right then and there, and we see that type of behavior with direct response video ads.”
