Amazon planning to bring video ads to its iOS, Android mobile apps: Report

You may soon be greeted with video ads while shopping on Amazon’s Android and iOS apps as the company is now said to be prepping the rollout of ‘video spots’. [caption id=“attachment_5480771” align=“alignnone” width=“1024”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] According to a Bloomberg report, Amazon has been beta testing the ads on the iOS platform for several months now. Apparently, the video ads are coming to both iOS and Android versions of the Amazon mobile app. The report citing people familiar with the matter said that the mobile ads for the Android platform are planned for later this year. As per the report, the brief video spots will appear in response to search queries generated by users within the app. Notably, the **e-commerce portal** already includes buying guides, product videos, how to’s and DIY videos on its site and if the report turns out true, the new video ads will be an add-on to the list. While selling video ads are said to open a ‘new revenue opportunity’ for Amazon’s ad segment, reports point out that it will help the company step up as an ad challenger to the ‘duopoly’ of **internet giants** — Facebook and Google. Amazon hasn’t shared any details about its video ad plans yet, however, EMarketer notes that the company might grow its share of the digital advertising market from 6.8 percent last year to 8.8 this year. Earlier, the online retailer used product descriptions, consumer reviews to determine which product was more relevant on a particular page. With shoppers seeking out other destinations like YouTube, Instagram for product demonstrations and testimonials, Amazon began adding more product-related video content two years back, to prevent shoppers from switching to these channels. Analysts note that the new mobile video ads are an expansion of features the company has tried on its own products including the Fire TV and the Kindle reader.