Shopping Blog

With the holidays coming to a close and 2010 just around the corner, what's ahead in the New Year? Below, hear perspectives on marketing from industry leaders to prepare your business for success in 2010, and beyond.



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Here's to a successful close to the holiday season and a happy, fruitful New Year! See you in 2010.

Posted by Eric Lopez, the Google Retail Team

A mere 3 days until Christmas, one might expect consumers to be ready for the holidays. But, according to our recent Google/OTX Consumer Pulse Check survey, procrastination just might be the hottest trend this season. As of Monday, December 21st, the average consumer has approximately 38% of shopping left to complete.

Compared to the week following Cyber Monday, that's a decrease of 26 percentage points. Also of note is that though many consumers will be scrambling to finish their shopping, there are some who have not even begun. Don't worry, we won't name names but we did find that 14% of holiday shoppers have not started researching their holiday purchases and 17% have yet to purchase a single gift for their family and friends.

Will Santa be tardy this year? We certainly hope not! Assist consumers with their last minute purchases by directing them online or in-store through your online marketing efforts.

Posted by Eric Lopez, the Google Retail Team

With just 4 days until Christmas and record e-commerce sales reported last week, what will go down as the hottest items of the 2009 shopping season?

Using Google Insights for Search, we can see that the hottest toys over the last seven days include stalwarts like Pikachu and Legos, as well as newcomers, such as the Nerf Marshmellow Shooter and the surprise hit of the holiday season, a blanket-with-sleeves known as the Snuggie.


In the shopping category, we've seen Black Friday reach new heights, toping the rising search term list over the last 30 days as consumers continue to seek out the best prices. Consumers too continue to turn to familiar, top retailers such as Walmart, Best Buy, Amazon and Macy's.


In the final days before Christmas, expect consumers to continue their deal-seeking ways as they hunt for the hottest items and where to buy them. Ensure your online presence is strong to reach these consumers during this final push.

Posted by Eric Lopez, the Google Retail Team

Though the holidays may soon come to an end, the winter shopping season is just getting started! Following Christmas, there are a number of post-holiday opportunities to begin taking advantage of.

Of course, the next big retail holiday is Valentine's Day. Using Google Insights for Search, we see that search volume upticks in early January for Valentine's Day gifts. While flowers and candy will likely remain popular, looking at top valentine's day searches we find that many shoppers are searching for unique ideas, especially for men, so make sure to position your products accordingly.

Search traffic: valentine's day gifts


Additionally, though prom season is still months away, traffic starts to pick up immediately after the holiday season and increases again after Valentine's Day.

Search traffic: prom dresses

Prom isn't the only formal event coming up. Wedding planning also upticks after the winter holiday season. Planning a wedding means buying products ranging from attire (dresses, veils, tuxes, shoes), to decor (flowers, candles, and centerpieces), to jewelry and invitations. Target wedding planners through your search and content marketing campaigns.

Search traffic: wedding planning


And last but not least, winter is also time for outdoor sports and activities such as skiing and hockey! Both activities require some serious gear and warm weather clothing. Keep this in mind, and make sure these products are easy to find on your site.

Search traffic: ski equipment

There is a lot to consider when developing your post-holiday business strategies. Remember that while the busiest shopping season is coming to a close, consumers will still be looking for products in many categories. Leverage Google Insights for Search to identify these opportunities, ensure you've positioned these products prominently on your site, and make sure that your ads and budgets are optimized to capture winter shoppers!

Posted by Erin Piper, the Google Retail Team

With the holiday shopping season in full swing and comScore reporting a cumulative 4% year-over-year increase in online consumer purchases, this season is turning into a record breaking one. But, as we've been discussing so far this week, what happens after the holidays?

In addition to post-holiday purchases and gift card redemptions, every year thousands of individuals promise to take more vacations, lose weight, or knock that pesky bad habit as they ring in the new year. A search for top ten new year's resolutions 2009 produces results for everything from learning a new skill to spending more time with the family.

With 73% of consumers planning to purchase gift cards this year, gift cards are likely to be a notable driver of profits this holiday season [1]. Most recently, retailers like Home Depot, CVS, and the Container Store have gone digital, ditching the plastic and adding electronic gift cards to their websites. These expansions are reflected in search patterns - search volume in "gift cards" has trended above 2008 levels throughout the season.

But the selling of gift cards is just one part of the equation - gift card redemptions can come just days or even months after the gift is received. As we discussed yesterday, consumers are expected to head online to both research and purchase post-holiday and, as we can see below, searches for "gift card redemption" peak just following the holidays and last through mid-January.