Due to this trend, publishers have pushed direct-response advertisements and sought to make shoppable ads a reality. 

Consequently, YouTube has taken direct-response to the next level.

“Today, we’re making it even easier for you to inspire people to take action on YouTube,” announced Director of Product Management of YouTube Ads Nicky Rettke. “With smarter solutions that make video more shoppable, use automation to drive conversions, and help you better understand attribution.”

YouTube isn’t the only contender in the shoppable ad space, so we’ll give you a breakdown of the latest update and how it fits in the overall landscape of shoppable ads.

We encourage you to subscribe to our blog for the latest data surrounding the advertising industry. We will provide daily updates as COVID-19 continues to make its mark on the US economy.

What are YouTube’s New Direct Response Advertisements?

YouTube’s new shoppable ad formats allow brands to place product placements below a video ad.

This allows brands to use their video advertisements as a storefront that connects to the advertiser’s page. 

YouTube explains that it’s simple to set up this new shopping channel. Brands need to sync their Google Merchant Center feed to their video ads. From there, they can choose the products they want to feature and visually expand the call-to-action button to drive conversions. 

In addition to shopping features, YouTube released a new form tool that can be used in sync with video campaigns for lead generation. Forms can be placed below videos, without interrupting the video, to capture qualified leads.

On top of these two new features, YouTube will be added to Google Ads attribution reports, giving brands more insight into their video campaign performance and overall mix of marketing efforts. 

Which brands are already using these shoppable YouTube ads?

Aeri was one of the first brands to use this new tool. It set out to boost its brand love and omnichannel sales.

According to YouTube, Aerie saw increased engagement with the advertisements and gained a 25% higher return on ad spend than the previous year. The brand also achieved nine times more conversions compared to their traditional media mix. 

Jeep was another forerunner in using the new tools, taking advantage of the lead generation forms. Jeep produced a high quality video campaign targeting audiences in Korea. With the lead capture form, Jeep generated “the most leads at the most efficient cost among all ad platforms,” says Kenny Hwang, Jeep’s Korea Marketing Manager.

Moz, a startup that helps students find college funding, was another client in the testing phase. With the new tool, “it saw 30% more purchases for its service at a third of the cost, compared to its previous YouTube benchmarks,” according to TechCrunch. 

Where do YouTube’s shoppable ads fit in the shoppable ad tech environment?

When it comes to shopping directly on social media, Facebook and Instagram are already playing in this space. 

Instagram began testing the ability to run organic shopping posts as shopping ads last September. In May 2020, Facebook and Instagram announced that shoppers could buy products directly from a business’s Facebook page or Instagram account.

Snapchat also expanded its dynamic ad products for eCommerce brands this month. 

When it comes to streaming, Hulu and NBCU’s Peacock offer shoppable ads, where viewers can use their remote control to make purchases.

While YouTube wasn’t the first company to make social media a storefront, it is a huge contender. It is the world’s second largest search engine, with over 2 billion users. 

Its new features make it a social media platform, search engine and storefront that are hard to compete with. 

For more updates like this, stay tuned. Subscribe to our blog for more updates on coronavirus and its mark on the economy.

But Amazon’s announcement that demand is so high that they need to hire 100,000 immediately, plus giving everyone a temporary raise, dismantles that image. What is really happening?

Amazon started only accepting essential supplies into their warehouses — and asked customers buying non-essential items to choose the ‘No-Rush’ delivery option. In India, Amazon stopped selling non-essential items all-together. 

But, at the same time, Amazon has allegedly placed large orders for retail products outside of the realm of groceries and hand sanitizer. 

It may be a chaotic rush to meet the demands of coronavirus now, but it appears that Amazon is looking to take up market share once things get back to normal.  

For Amazon, business is full steam ahead. But how are other eCommerce companies responding to consumers staying at home?

We encourage you to subscribe to our blog for the latest data surrounding the advertising industry. We will provide daily updates as COVID-19 continues to make its mark on the US economy.

What does coronavirus mean for eCommerce?

Companies with eCommerce sites need to be aggressive in the market right now.  It’s good for business (many on Wall Street are pegging eCommerce as a winning category during this time). More importantly, it’s good for the economy. 

And it seems so is the rest of the eCommerce market. Over the past month we have seen eCommerce sites like Amazon, but also companies like Zulily and Overstock.com, continually increase their advertising spend, more than doubling it in the span of a month:

Companies like Walmart and Target are currently experiencing high demand for essential items, just like Amazon. 

But we are seeing curious surges in non-essential shopping. Take for example:

• Alcohol: The alcohol delivery platform Drizly reported that sales from new customers increased by 500% and sales from repeat customers increased by 125% over the last few weeks. 

• Lounge wear: As more people work from home, they are buying comfier clothes online. Sold-out tracksuits rose 36% from January 1 through March 16 (compared to the same period last year) and the number of sold-out sweatpants increased by 39%.

• Electronics: Best Buy is seeing an increased demand for remote work products and freezers to store food for long periods of time. They have closed entrance to their brick-and-mortar stores, to be replaced with curbside pickup and home shipments. 

• Retail: In China, Nike has stated that online orders have offset losses due to coronavirus and the company is already seeing a rebound. This gives hope to other brands who already offer online shopping.  

It is too soon to tell exactly how coronavirus will affect eCommerce. At large, consumers have their minds on buying essential items and managing their fears of an economic depression.

But some eCommerce stores are set up to benefit from cooped up consumers who will eventually need or want to buy products other than groceries. 

Over the coming weeks, we will be highlighting companies and categories who are adjusting their advertising in response to the new, yet temporary, normal. While many businesses will face hardship in this difficult time, others, like streaming services, may see their business grow as a result.

These are interesting times indeed. Stay tuned. Subscribe to MediaRadar’s blog for daily updates surrounding the advertising industry’s response to COVID-19.