- Google tests shoppable Gmail ads that expand into product-rich experiences
- New format blends Promotions tab with eCommerce shopping carousel interface
- Gmail may become a new performance channel for ecommerce-driven marketers
Google has long dominated the digital ad market by placing ads across its vast ecosystem, including Search, YouTube, and millions of partner sites and apps.
The tech giant’s strength in the market lies in combining intent signals with massive reach, giving brands a range of tools to promote products and services.
A report from Search Engine Land has now claimed Google is now testing a new ad format that brings shopping features straight into Gmail.
Invading the Promotions tab
This update focuses on the Promotions tab, where a new visually rich ad unit will display featured products and include brand names and images.
Once clicked, these ads will expand to show a carousel of products, complete with images, pricing, average star ratings, and labels like “Free shipping.”
This format will transform the Promotions tab into a lightweight shopping platform rather than just a folder for marketing emails.
Screenshots from the test, shared by Thomas Eccel of JvM IMPACT, show pool cleaner brands iRobot and Wybot using the new format.
The layout mirrors a mini product gallery, encouraging users to explore multiple listings directly from their inbox.
This new format blends Google’s Demand Gen targeting with product-first visuals that resemble its Shopping ads.
If it goes ahead, it could allow ecommerce brands to connect with users in a space that’s usually for promotions and announcements rather than transactions.
Marketers who focus on performance and conversions will likely see this as a new way to capture user interest in an already attention-saturated environment, but for those of us who don’t want to be sold to in our inbox, it might feel like one more ad too many.
Still, it’s hard to deny that it’s a good fit for Google’s email provider. Gmail already filters out promotional content, and this gives the company a way to use that space for ads that look native to the experience.
It also fits a broader move by Google to inject more native ecommerce features into its platforms.
Search Engine Land points out that if the test succeeds, the ad format could expand to surfaces like Discover and YouTube, which are already part of Google’s Demand Gen campaigns.
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