Online shopping has taken a more central role than ever before due to the pandemic. According to Google, people are now more focused on saving money and more prone to scroll through the internet for better deals, with searches regarding “discount code” going up 50% since last year.
As a result, Google has launched new tools for Search and the Shopping tab meant to make bargain shopping a little bit easier. However, the new tools are only available to US retailers at the moment, while the rest of the world is watching.
New And Free Listings Section On Google Search
The update came at the perfect time, considering the fast-approaching shopping seasons like back-to-school and winter holidays. From now on, Google will display the best deals on the web directly in the shopping area of Search Results. Thus, when looking for a product on Google, the new shopping section will display product listings that are competitively priced or have been discounted.
The new tool will organize and show the best offers from retailers across the web, all in one place. This is great news for deal-hunters, making it easier for them to find the best deals for their searches. In addition, Google Search will start showcasing the most popular deals for major sales events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday in October.
Retailers can now upload promotions and discounts to Google Merchant Center that will be instantly visible to bargain-seeking shoppers. Google will show them for relevant search queries in the Shopping tab area directly. This feature is available to retailers regardless of whether they pay for Google advertising. When surfacing the deals, Google takes into account the following factors:
- The discount itself
- The popularity of the product
- The site it’s featured on and more.
Deals will also appear on the main search results page in the next few months. This update will allow eCommerce retailers to move inventory faster, drive better sales, and acquire new customers during important shopping occasions.
Customized Promotions Available
Promotional tools have also been updated. The Merchant Center now allows merchants to customize their promotions. As a result, merchants now have two more options available to draw attention to their online offers:
- Indicate if a promotion is exclusively available to first-time customers. Google will show the offer for all relevant queries, but only shoppers that match the retailer’s conditions will be able to take advantage of the deal.
- Highlight their offers on free listings in the Shopping tab. They can choose which upgrades they wish to feature in free listings (or supported by ad spend).
Expanded Best Sellers Report
Google’s last update offers merchants more market insights, with two new features available in the best sellers report:
- Historical best seller data: Offers insights about popular products from previous shopping events and helps make informed decisions related to the upcoming shopping holidays.
- Relative product demand: Helps retailers determine the relative demand for products in the same category and country, and gauge the possible opportunity when stocking new items.
The best sellers report can be accessed by retailers only after opting into market insights within Merchant Center.
Conclusion
The new listings section offers eCommerce businesses an opportunity to emphasize their competitively priced items. And because the deals will appear on Google’s main results page rather than the Shopping tab, the deals will have greater visibility and consumers will be more likely to buy given the price incentives. This can also assist retailers in attracting new customers, like for example, people that have never heard of a certain brand before or could not previously afford it.
With the help of the best seller reports, merchants can make use of the previous year’s performance of certain products when making forecasts for the upcoming holiday shopping season.
