Google is experimenting with a new ad format in Gmail that turns the Promotions tab into a mini shopping experience — because everything has to be a fucking store now.
An ad unit now appears in the Promotions tab showcasing a featured product that when clicked, expands to show multiple product tiles side-by-side with product images, name, price, star rating, and promo labels such as “Free Shipping.”
A screencapture shared by Thomas Eccel showed ads from iRobot and Wybot pool cleaners, with the Wybot product displayed in a side-by-side comparison format like a mini Shopping carousel embedded inside Gmail.
The update blends Google's Demand Gen advertising with Shopping-style ads, placing e-commerce front and center in users' inboxes and allowing brands to showcase multiple products in an easy to browse format.
If testing proves successful, this format could be rolled out more broadly across Gmail and potentially other Demand Gen surfaces like YouTube and Discover.
Can we please just have one e-mail or messaging platform that I can't shop through?