Google recently released their latest ‘Retail Marketing Guide’ for 2022, filled to the brim with tips, tricks, and surprises you need to see. If you are running any size biz, you know how important it is to stay on Google’s good side. Let’s dive into the biggest nuggets of knowledge from the report and why you need to act on them!

People are turning to YouTube for advice

The first thing Google dropped in this report was that people are shopping on Google more than a billion times a day (is it possible for a number to be both surprising and not surprising?). While it is obvious people turn to Google to shop, you may not have known how many people turn to YouTube for advice on what to buy.

89% of people surveyed by Google agreed that YouTube creators give the best information about products and brands. This is HUGE. Your potential customers seek information about products in a space you may not be in at all. It is worth looking at whether you can fit YouTube into your social media schedule and if it’s right for your biz. Some ways we’d recommend showing up on the platform:

• Get any video customer reviews you have and turn them into a compilation video
• Team up with a YouTuber to film a product review
• Ask your customers to jump on YouTube and film reviews
• Film videos of you and your products explaining what your biz is all about

Consumers are doing a lot more research before buying

Shoppers are not interested in delays this year. 31% of consumers have said they are doing more online research before buying. The big things on their lists are stock, inventory, and shipping challenges. If you want to catch these customers, then there are some key things you need to have on your website:

• Multiple payment options
• Returns policy
• Privacy policy
• Shipping calculated upfront
• Guest checkout
• Up to date stock levels
• Trust cues (payment and security icons)
• Free shipping on high-value orders (e.g. free shipping over $100)

People want to shop in-person again

Look, online shopping isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, but people are interested in going into stores again. Not only is it much more personal, but it also takes away all the delivery issues that can come consumers’ way, especially during the holidays (more on that soon). Searches for “open now near me” have grown by over 400%!

PRO TIP: to catch these shoppers’ attention, make sure you have an up-to-date Google My Business profile.

It’s time to start prepping your biz for Christmas

Yep, there’s no time like the present (get it?). Holiday shoppers are going to be getting started earlier than ever! 40% of U.S holiday shoppers surveyed by Google say their previous holiday shopping experience has made them consider shopping much earlier this year. Not only that, but stock shortages have pushed consumers to look much sooner than usual.

Let’s get your biz set up for holiday success. Here are a few key strategies to get you started:

• Use sales and promotions as tools to drive demand during the off-peak times
• Upload your products and deals sooner
• Showcase your holiday returns and shipping policies (or if they remain the same, highlight them anyway!)

Given what we’ve seen about convenience being key this year, here are a few things to get ready before the holidays strike:

• Make sure your Instagram and Facebook shops are set up and running
• Set up your biz on other platforms like TikTok and Pinterest
• Send exclusive discounts and offers to your email subscribers (prep these as far in advance as you can)

And there you have it! That’s a wrap on Google Retail Marketing Guide for 2022. We hope you’ve found this helpful, and if you want to read their full report, click here. Until next time…

XOXO OMD GALS