TVs no longer have the audience’s undivided attention.
Nearly 70% of US social media users scroll their feeds while consuming other media like TV, the market research firm YouGov found in a spring 2025 survey. Millennials were most likely to multitask, followed by Gen Zers.
The popularity of “second-screen” scrolling may sound like trouble for Tubi, the free streaming service that’s especially popular with young audiences.
However, Tubi marketing chief Nicole Parlapiano said she views it as an “additive” opportunity rather than something “disruptive” to the business.
YouGov
One way Tubi is trying to capitalize is with shoppable ads. The free streamer has interactive spots with call-to-actions like QR codes that allow viewers to point their phone camera at their TV screen to learn more about an ad. Other streamers have implemented similar ad tech, including Disney+ and Hulu.
“When someone’s watching something, they’re able to tap into their phones and access and shop,” Parlapiano said.
About 42% of marketers use interactive ads in their connected TV or social media ad strategies, Business Insider sister company EMARKETER found in October. Ads with QR codes or gamified elements were 36% more likely to be remembered unprompted by audiences. Interactive ads also significantly improved brand affinity, or the emotional bond that viewers have with a brand, according to data from the ad research firm BrightLine cited by EMARKETER.
Shoppable ads are a benefit of second-screen viewing
Parlapiano isn’t alone in her optimism about shoppable ads in the age of second-screen scrolling.
“Advertisers shouldn’t see Gen Z’s second-screen behavior as a threat,” said Ian Sharpe, the chief operating officer of media at travel tech company NextTrip. Instead, Sharpe called shoppable ads “one of the biggest opportunities in modern media.”
Why?
“This generation is uniquely comfortable watching TV while browsing, searching, and buying on their phone, which means the ad experience naturally becomes shoppable,” Sharpe said. “Rather than hoping a viewer remembers an ad later, brands can now trigger immediate action through QR codes, social extensions, and direct commerce hooks.”
Shoppable ads are a broad opportunity, since it’s not just teenagers who scroll while they watch, said Alicia Weaver, the vice president of media activation at media buying firm Mediassociates.
“This isn’t an issue unique to Gen Z,” Weaver said. She said she can find herself on her phone during commercials, sports games, or while texting friends during a reality show.
Weaver said that besides shoppable ads, another way to take advantage of second-screen viewing is cross-device retargeting data that lets marketers put ads on other devices or platforms.
“With this kind of usage likely here to stay, it becomes a matter of being savvy and innovative in how we reach audiences,” Weaver said. “We’re not going to change consumer behavior, but we can absolutely innovate around it.”
