07-05-2025
Google adds retail media data to YouTube ads, beefing up pitch to brands
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NEW YORK — Google advertising is getting a bigger injection of retail media data, the company announced as part of its presentation at the Interactive Advertising Bureau's NewFronts Monday. A commerce media solution supported by partners including Costco, Intuit, Regal Cinemas and Kinective Media by United Airlines is coming to the platform's Display & Video 360 (DV360) suite. Importantly, brands will be able to use the data for YouTube campaigns, another sign of the growing convergence between a typically lower-funnel channel and more premium digital video tactics.
Executives positioned the announcement as a win-win for both retailers operating ad networks and the brands that have funneled massive budgets into retail media, which is forecast by eMarketer to top $85 billion in U.S. ad spending by 2027. For retailers, Google is touting the ability to leverage existing tools, like YouTube's commerce-oriented Shopping Ads and demand generation features, in new ways without having to share valuable data with competitors. On the brand end, the search giant is pitching a superior understanding of consumer shopping behaviors that could lead to more performative and simplified campaigns.
'With these changes, you now have the tools to combine your brand and shopper marketing campaigns into one seamless campaign,' said Andrew Hotz, director of programmatic media at Google, on stage at Pier 57 in Manhattan. Hotz added that Google will start testing the program this summer, though a specific date was not shared.
A closer joining of retail media networks with YouTube's ad products comes as the video platform, which is celebrating its 20th year, is an increasingly popular connected TV (CTV) destination. CTV has become a major piece of Google's approach to the upfronts season, an occasion for brokering ad-spending commitments, as it chases dollars typically reserved for TV (YouTube is putting on a separate NewFronts showcase Thursday and will host its Brandcast bonanza spotlighting creators next week).
YouTube has risen to become the top streaming platform by watch time, according to Nielsen estimates, bolstered by the addition of prime-time live programming such as NFL Sunday Ticket. For the first time this year, living room screens surpassed mobile as the main way people are tuning into the service in the U.S., executives said.
