AI is gaining increasing popularity with each passing day, and as the holiday shopping season approaches, Google has introduced a series of innovative features aimed at assisting advertisers in connecting with customers and driving sales.
Leveraging the power of AI and machine learning, Google aims to provide businesses with deeper insights into shopper behavior and the performance of their products.
"But this year is unlike any other. AI-powered tools are transforming businesses’ ability to move faster, better understand the intent of their customers, and engage them in new ways across the path to purchase. Today, we’re excited to share new tools to generate insights and new features to help you do more with Google AI. " stated Google.
Engage With Omnichannel Shoppers
Cater to customers no matter where they like to shop. The usual path to buying things has changed - 61% of holiday shoppers use 5 or more ways to shop in just 2 days. This is a chance for businesses to get involved and grow their customer base.
For those using online sales goals in Performance Max campaigns, they can now target new customers with a high expected value. This means reaching both high-value and average-value new customers while keeping existing ones engaged.
After the pandemic, one thing is clear: local shopping now begins online. In 2022, online searches were used before 96% of in-store holiday shopping trips. So, marketers need to provide a consistent experience both online and in-store. Here's what Google has done to help:
Added 'Pickup Later' notes for merchants without a local inventory feed. This lets customers have more flexible pickup choices.
Made the Search top slot ad format more accessible for businesses using Performance Max for store goals. This kind of ad shows useful info like opening hours and helps customers looking for local options.
Made it much quicker to start using local inventory ads and introduced a new local store unit ad format. This new format combines real-time product availability with pictures and info about your business. This way, you can show off your store better to potential customers.
New Insights On Early Holiday Shopping
Stores are getting ready for holiday shopping, and it's not just about the big sales period later in the year. People are now shopping for holiday stuff early. If businesses understand this, they can make their marketing better and attract shoppers before prices get really competitive.
In advertisements, they're making product pages better by giving more information. This helps businesses understand if products are out of stock, if they're trying to make a lot of money from ads, or if there's missing info about products. This information helps them plan how to sell things smarter.
There's also a new tab that helps businesses see how well their products are doing. It shows what products are popular, which ones people might click on a lot, and how they compare to other businesses. This helps them figure out if their products are priced right and if they're showing up well compared to others.
Before the holiday season, businesses are being told to try different ways of advertising and see what works. This way, they can learn what campaigns and strategies are best. Stores with both physical and online shops need to make sure they're ready for customers who switch between shopping online and in-person. They're also testing a way to see if online ads are able to bring people to physical stores.
If advertisers haven't started using a certain type of campaign yet, they can easily try it out and see how it compares to what they're already doing. Advertisers who switched to this new type of campaign saw more people buying things and making more money, even though they spent about the same on ads.
Make Products Stand Out
Shopping Patterns: When people shop for holiday gifts, they're taking more time to decide. Many use Google, social media, and online marketplaces to help them decide what to buy.
Providing Details: To sell well, you should give clear info about your products, like how fast they'll be delivered, their cost, color, and size. Now, the special offers and shipping details on your ads will be more noticeable. You can target deals to people based on where they live and what they like. Also, expect to see info about same-day delivery and returns on some offers, which helps shoppers make better choices.
More Images Help: If you have more than one picture of your product, it's better. Products with extra images get more views and clicks. You can use new tools to make your images better and even make scenes based on your product descriptions.
Videos Matter: Sharing videos about gift ideas can boost sales. Ads with videos got 12% more sales. Also, videos from your product pictures will be used in more places, like YouTube Shorts.
3D Images Engage: 3D pictures of products are cool and people like them a lot. You can now share your 3D image assets on Search using Merchant Center. If you don't have 3D assets, you can make them using a few 2D images and upload them to Manufacturer Center.
Tips and Guides: To discover the top methods for boosting your holiday performance this year, take a look at Google’s retail holiday checklist. If you want to use AI for more sales, there are tips for that too..
Final Words
Google is introducing fresh tools to assist retailers in making the most of their holiday ads and engaging with shoppers.
These tools offer valuable information about how shoppers behave and how products are doing. They also enhance product listings by adding promotions, shipping details, and appealing visuals.
SO, WHERE DO YOU FIND THIS PARTNER?
Well, aren’t we glad you asked! We at DigiCom are obsessive data-driven marketers pulling from multi-disciplinary strategies to unlock scale. We buy media across all platforms and placements and provide creative solutions alongside content creation, and conversion rate optimizations. We pride ourselves on your successes and will stop at nothing to help you grow.