Gateway Shop

Disney's proprietary native shoppable CTV ad format, positioned as a premium, non-disruptive commerce solution within Disney+ and Hulu inventory

Gateway Shop is Disney Advertising's first native shoppable streaming ad format, designed to enable viewers to browse and purchase products directly on a second screen (such as a smartphone) while content continues playing uninterrupted on the primary screen. Launched in beta in January 2024 with Unilever as the inaugural advertiser, Gateway Shop represents Disney's strategic push into commerce-enabled streaming advertising, blending entertainment with retail without degrading the viewer experience. The product is an evolution of GatewayGo, Disney's earlier interactive ad unit that allowed viewers to engage with ads via QR codes and mobile prompts. Gateway Shop advances this concept by integrating a more seamless, native shoppable experience directly within the Disney+ and Hulu streaming ecosystems, allowing advertisers to drive direct-to-consumer transactions at the moment of inspiration. The format is particularly significant as streaming platforms seek new revenue models and advertisers demand measurable, lower-funnel outcomes from connected TV (CTV) inventory. In the broader AdTech and streaming landscape, Gateway Shop positions Disney Advertising as a leader in shoppable TV innovation, competing with similar efforts from Amazon (with its Prime Video and Freevee shoppable formats), NBCUniversal's Must ShopTV, and Roku's shoppable ad products. By leveraging Disney's massive first-party audience data and premium content environment, Gateway Shop offers brands a high-trust, brand-safe context for commerce-driven campaigns, making it a notable development in the convergence of CTV advertising and retail media.