New ways to win over today’s consumer this holiday season
Today’s shoppers are more deliberate than ever: U.S. impulse buys dropped from 30% to 26% last year 1 as consumers did more research to make every dollar count. This new mindset has cemented the holiday season as a three month event, with consumers pacing their purchases from October to the New Year to find great gifts while budgeting their expenses. Here are some of the top ways retailers can use Google’s AI-powered tools to stay ahead.
Connect with customers at the moment of discovery
To connect with today's customers, advertisers should take advantage of new opportunities for discovery. With more than 5 trillion searches every year, the way people shop on Google continues to evolve. 2 In fact, over 60% of shopping queries now focus on broad intent, using conversational phrases, like “outfits for a summer wedding” or “comfortable running shoes.” 3
To meet people where they are, AI in Search is making it easier to ask Google anything — no matter how long or complex — and get a helpful response, including useful ads. For example, when someone asks "why is there low water pressure after installing a new sink” when they encounter a problem during a home renovation, AI Overviews may provide some helpful tips on how to fix it, as well as a useful ad for a plumber — who can come to the rescue to fix that bathroom. The same is true for AI Mode. Currently in testing, ads show up alongside AI-powered responses that turn inspiration into action in an instant.
To help advertisers keep up with these new paths of discovery, we rolled out AI Max for Search campaigns, a one-click feature suite in advertiser accounts that’s now globally available in beta.
Turn YouTube viewers into customers quickly
As shopping increasingly happens on YouTube, reaching today's omnichannel customers — who move between websites, apps and stores — requires more than just website clicks. Omnichannel offerings in Demand Gen can now optimize for total sales online, in-app and in-store, and you can now use local offers to showcase in-store offers to nearby shoppers.
To build on that reach, our Creator partnerships hub makes it easy to discover and partner with trusted creators, helping you turn their authentic connection with followers into loyalty for your brand. In addition, the YouTube Masthead, our most prominent ad placement, is now shoppable, delivering the ability to showcase the exact products that align with your business goals.
Fuel your performance with smarter tools
Helpful insights, strong creative, effective budgeting and comprehensive reporting are essential to driving performance. We’re delivering new tools to help you drive results this holiday season.
- New insights in Google Merchant Center will leverage AI to provide you with actionable tips to help retailers stay ahead of shifts in demand. We’re also expanding creative features for Product Studio to help your products look their best, letting you do things like swap out product scenes at scale, change images to engaging video and proactively suggest timely campaign concepts for your brand.
- In the coming weeks, use the new suite of generative AI tools in Asset Studio. Plus, asset generation in Performance Max and Demand Gen is soon to be powered by Imagen 4.
- To help you spend more effectively, we’re expanding campaign total budgets from Demand Gen and YouTube campaigns to include Search, Performance Max and Shopping campaigns. With this feature, you can now set a start date, end date and a total budget for key shopping periods between 3 to 90 days. Google's AI will then automatically work to maximize your performance and utilize your budget when it sees customer demand is at its peak.
Convert customers into brand loyalists
Today's customers expect a shopping experience personalized to their preferences, and this is especially true when it comes to loyalty programs. That’s why we introduced new loyalty offerings that allow you to showcase member-only pricing, shipping benefits, and set a retention goal in loyalty mode for Performance Max or Standard Shopping campaigns. Retailers like Sephora are already seeing success.
By embracing these new tools and strategies, you can meet your customers where they are, provide value at every step and turn a busy season into your best one yet.
Some top brands are already using Google’s AI tools to stay ahead, using some of these proven strategies.
