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Holiday researching is starting earlier and earlier. We've been surveying shoppers every 2 weeks to track progress of their holiday shopping and as of October 19:



Source: Google/Ipsos OTX Consumer Pulse Check.

The biggest takeway is that researching/shopping started even earlier than last year. By October 19, 73% of consumers had started researching/shopping vs. 59% in 2009. Purchasing remains more consistent: 51% in 2010 vs. 46% in 2009. Although retailers will see a bulk of their sales in December, consumers are beginning to make decisions about what they are going to buy, and half have already bought a holiday gift.

Source: Google/OTX Consumer Pulse Check.

And why are consumers shopping earlier? They want to know they’ll get the items they want, and beat the rush. Consumers want more time to choose, research and decide. And they believe they can get better deals if they start researching earlier.

Many retailers launched their holiday sites and promotions over the past week including Toys R'Us, Macy's and Best Buy. With Christmas just 46 days away, its time to get your holiday messaging into the marketplace!

Posted by Heidi Spector, Google Retail Team
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Which is your favorite day to shop? It probably won’t surprise you that most stores see their highest traffic on Saturdays. But what do you think is the most popular day to shop online? If you said Monday, you’re wrong. Looking at daily e-commerce spend data from the past five Decembers, Tuesday is the peak shopping day online.





















Knowing when potential customers are in the hunt can help retailers manage their marketing budgets and promotion calendars. Savvy retailers are mining their online sales data to identify patterns around website purchase activity to make sure that they are top of mind when shoppers want to buy. Armed with that insight, here are some ways to make your marketing stand out.
  1. Make sure customers know you are open for business. If you know your product sells best on Fridays, boost your marketing and advertising on Fridays so shoppers can easily find you. Retailers who under-budget for their major shopping days may miss a chance to reach people who are ready to buy.
  2. Plan for the purchase cycle. Your product may sell best on Friday, but how long does the buyer think about it? Some products are impulse buys, some require heavy research over a few days. Build this buying cycle into your marketing plans. You can gradually build awareness, or blast targeted marketing messages quickly at high volume.
  3. Use customized marketing messages. When you know what customers are likely doing, you can speak to them more directly about the product, the price and what other customers are saying.
  4. Tailor special offers to drive sales. Do your customers value free shipping or in-store pickup? Do they want a discount or a special bonus for buying? Test how different promotions change buyer behavior. You can shorten the sales cycle and win more business when you know what your customer values.

Posted by Julie Lentz, Google Retail Team
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Q4. Holiday. Black Friday. Cyber Monday. We all know site traffic, store traffic and sales increase during this crazed retail rush but did you know that online also drives more visits to your physical stores during this time period?



Earlier this year at a Shop.org Innovation Summit, Best Buy stated 80% of customers that come in their stores started their product research on BestBuy.com. How many of your shoppers start on your site first?






























Looking at Insights for Search, queries for ‘store locator’ and ‘store locations’ sharply rise in November and peak in December every year. These types of searches are increasing in number yearly, and we have already seen a slight bump in store locator searches this year around Back to School.



So how can you leverage this type of search activity? According to our latest Google/Ipsos OTX consumer intentions study from September 2010, 68% of consumers are likely to take advantage of purchase incentives during this holiday season. Why not utilize a portion of the inventory on your store locator page to entice consumers to pick up their keys and immediately drive to the store by offering special deals once shoppers reach this page on your site?



Maybe it’s 10% off one full price item, or even regional or store specific offers. Perhaps in San Diego 20% off candles could be compelling, but in Charlotte 20% off rugs brings in the masses. The specials could vary based on inventory volume and slow moving merchandise or even change daily, depending on what is featured in stores or on your website. If you really wanted to make things interesting, you could add in a time sensitive component such as 30% off if used in the next 12 hours, 20% off if used in the next 24 hours or 10% off if used in the next 48 hours.



Special store locator deals could be an especially strong tactic for locations that are struggling. If a consumer is seeking a store that is currently experiencing soft sales, serve a coupon for 40% off any item just for that store location.



And don’t forget about consumers that use their mobile devices to find store locations and driving directions – offer the same types of deals on your mobile site as well.



Even if you are not able to provide store specific or product specific offers on your site, know that store location queries are sky high in Q4 and the real estate on your store location page should incentivize consumers when your brand is top of mind to immediately get off the sofa and check out what you’ve got in your stores.



Posted by Kelly Smith, Google Retail Team



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One third of consumers already have smartphones and the number is growing rapidly. Out of these, more than 50% will use their phones to compare prices this holiday season. During our “Think Holiday” webinar we asked Alex Barza, Mobile Leader for Retail, to provide recommendations on how retailers can achieve their goals this holiday season utilizing mobile.

Alex covered a number of tactics retailers can use now and in 2011, through Google’s mobile solutions:
  • Driving foot traffic in-store via location aware ads
  • Utilizing mobile offers to extend the reach of holiday promotions
  • Having an App and promoting it, through both mobile search and display
For complete details on Google's Mobile recommendations, you can view the presentation here.

Posted by Heidi Spector, Google Retail Team
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Do you know that 89% of consumers started their holiday shopping online?

Or that searches for 'coupons' peak on Saturdays?

If not, you should visit our ThinkHoliday site: www.google.com/thinkholiday where you’ll be privy to a wealth of exclusive information on consumer shopping behavior, hot products and the latest holiday insights.

We’ll be updating the site frequently as holiday approaches so bookmark it and check back often. The holidays are . . . on!

Posted by Heidi Spector, Google Retail Team
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Google Insights for Search features a tool that shows how search volume shifts over time based on geography. Since search volume is an indicator of consumer interest, it can be useful to see how interest in particular search queries changes over time. Here are three examples.


Skinny jeans

First, let's look at the evolution of a fashion trend: skinny jeans






In this example, searches begin to index high in New York and California. As time goes by, the search index increases down the coasts and finally throughout much of the country, which is a normal pattern for fashion trends.



Tom's Shoes

Next, let's look at a brand. Check out this one for Tom's Shoes




Tom's Shoes was founded in 2006 and commits to donating a pair of shoes to a child in need with every shoe purchased. In this case, searches started in California & Texas in early 2008. By 2009, search volume grew throughout the south and west coast and in 2010, people across much of the country were searching for Tom's Shoes. This is a great example of how interest in a brand can spread via grassroots efforts and word of mouth.



Reebok Easy Tone

Finally, let's look at an established brand with a new product launch: Reebok EasyTone







Reebok launched a national ad campaign for its new shoe, 'Easy Tone', in Q4 2009. On the map, you can see the search volume index go from zero to blue in most states in Nov-Dec 2009. By promoting their new product nationally with a multi-media ad campaign, Reebok ignigted interest across the country. And when people are interested in learning more about something, they search.



So, check out the Google Insights for Search tool to see how searches for your products and categories are trending both nationally and regionally to make the most out of your search campaigns.



Posted by Eva Barbier, Google Retail Team



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Last year, American icon Barbie celebrated her 50th Anniversary. To celebrate, the famous fashionista hosted fashion shows, events, and parties all over the world. And how did Barbie market this special anniversary? Fans were able to learn more about Barbie's events, Barbie fashions, and communicate with her through her YouTube channel, Facebook page, and Twitter Feed. Whenever Barbie fans went looking for more info, Search ads drove them to all of Barbie's social destinations.



This holiday season, make sure to give your customers a consistent message across all marketing channels. Coordinate your Search efforts with promotions and social media. Support each aspect of your online presence with Search to make your content easy to find, increase your reach, and effectively engage your customers.

Posted by Heidi Spector, Google Retail Team
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