YouTube has introduced TrueView for Shopping to its video ad offering, a feature that enables merchants to add product links to their video ads.

The capability is available for TrueView in-stream video ads on YouTube across mobile and desktop. It builds on the cards platform added to YouTube last month, and integrates Google Merchant Centre – the first time this has been done with video ads.

Advertisers can connect their campaigns with a Merchant Centre feed in order to automatically add products, which then appear alongside the video with a buy now button that leads directly to the items purchase page on the merchants website.

TrueView for Shopping will fully roll out over the coming months, but YouTube has already started trialling the capability with some retailers. Home goods retailer Wayfair reported a 3X increase in revenue per impression served compared to previous campaigns, while beauty retailer Sephora saw a 80 per cent lift in consideration off the back of a TrueView for Shopping campaign.

“While Google dominates the online search market, Amazon and eBay have become annoying flies in its ear,” commented Andreas Pourous, co-founder of digital marketing agency Greenlight.  “Consumers are increasingly going straight to these marketplaces to find the products or services they want to buy, and this has raised questions over the search giant’s future in the consumer journey.

“Turning YouTube into a giant storefront is the clearest indication yet that Google isn’t taking this threat lying down. By enabling consumers to buy products from within YouTube videos, Google is marking out a new eCommerce battlefield against retail marketplaces – in the realms of consumer entertainment.

“The pressure is now on for marketplaces like Amazon and Ebay to respond; will they draw swords and invest in bringing shopping and entertainment together, or have they got another weapon in their arsenal?”