During the holiday season, retailers often experience an increase in business due to the festive atmosphere and gift-giving traditions. However, this year has presented additional challenges for both retailers and shoppers due to global uncertainties such as supply chain disruptions. Despite these difficulties, holiday shopping is expected to be strong and retailers can utilize Google’s resources to boost their sales.
Google’s new shopping feature allows retailers to showcase their products to potential customers through ads that include photos, prices, store names, and more. This helps users get a better understanding of the products being sold, leading to more qualified leads for retailers. Customers searching for specific items during the holiday season can now see and learn about every item before making a purchase, which can help them find what they want and assist retailers in making sales. In addition, retailers can use Google’s full range of promotional channels to reach consumers at various points in their shopping journey and stay top-of-mind.
There are several steps retailers can take to set themselves up for success during the holiday season:
Show up early:
Holiday shopping begins earlier each year, with 17% of consumers in surveyed markets already starting their shopping and over a third (36%) having ideas for gifts they want to buy.
Know the demand forecasts:
By using demand forecasts on the Insights page, retailers can anticipate upcoming trends and adjust their budgets and bidding strategies to capture growing demand. They can also use Performance Planner to understand the impact of changes to their advertising spend on predicted clicks, conversions, and conversion values.
Make the rounds:
With the increasing variety of shopping methods, it can be challenging to keep up with complex purchasing journeys. Studies show that shoppers who use at least five channels to inform their decisions and complete their holiday shopping make twice as many purchases and spend twice as much, on average, compared to those who use only one or two channels.
Conclusion:
Google’s shopping feature allows customers to search for products, view photos and read about each item in order to make informed purchasing decisions. This feature can make the shopping process easier for both customers and retailers and is straightforward and efficient. It may seem surprising that this feature wasn’t introduced sooner, as it provides clear benefits for both parties.
