Among Americans planning to shop for the holidays, 43% are looking for deals and sales more than last year, according to a new Ipsos study commissioned by Google. To serve those holiday bargain hunters, Google has made several upgrades to its search experience designed to make it easier for shoppers to find deals and compare prices right on Google.com.
New search features include promotion badges to help shoppers easily identify products that are on sale. These badges will now show up in search results on items running a special promotion, such as “15% off with coupon code HOLIDAYS.” Details like sale prices and price drops have been part of Google search results for some time, but the new badge offers more details on specific promotional offers to make comparison shopping directly in search easier. In combination with the promotion badges, Google has also added a new “coupon clipping” feature that will let shoppers easily copy and save promo codes to use later;
Google also wants to help cut down on how many websites shoppers have to visit before they make a purchase. According to the Ipsos study, more than half of U.S. shoppers visit multiple websites before settling on what and where to buy a product. To simplify that process, Google is making it easier for consumers to compare deals across retailers directly in search. For example, a search for a women’s puffer coat will bring back results showing a side-by-side comparison of available puffer coats on sale.
Finally, Google’s price insights feature is now a part of search, allowing shoppers to quickly and easily see how one merchant’s price compares to others’ and whether it’s low, typical or high for that product.
These latest updates are all part of Google’s ongoing effort to beat back competition from the likes of Amazon and TikTok and maintain its position as the starting point for online shopping journeys. Learn more about how Google is continually working to improve its search offering in this Retail Remix episode featuring the company’s Senior Director of Product for Shopping Lilian Rincon.
