We know it’s cliché but 2021 really has gone fast. A lot happened at Think with Google Nordics & Benelux — from the Privacy Sandbox announcement to region-wide events and the launch of our very first local podcast. And before you know it, it’s time for another Flashback.
To understand what was top of mind for our readers throughout the year, we’ve rounded up our 10 most-read pieces of 2021. Get primed and ready for 2022 with this handy recap.
10. Retail playbook: Key Nordics and Benelux stats for the 2021 holiday season
In the marketing world, the summer months are a crucial time for brands to get into preparation mode for the busy festive season. As an early Christmas present, we published our retail playbook — filled with shopping insights from across the Nordics and Benelux — to help them get started.
9. Accelerating behaviours: What Search trends tell us about changing consumer habits
In April 2021 — a year into the pandemic — we analysed thousands of Google searches across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, to identify common ‘habit loops’ and the changed behaviours that, at the time, seemed most likely to sustain.
8. 4 reasons mobile shoppers aren’t converting — and what brands can do about it
After a study revealed that seven out of 10 mobile shoppers end up not making a purchase due to experiential barriers, we outlined four of the most common pain points customers encounter when browsing products on mobile devices. In addition, we showcased how brands from the Nordics and Benelux successfully tackled these hurdles.
7. 5 shopping trends spotted in the Nordics and Benelux this year
Smart Shopper is an annual study conducted by Google to learn about the online and offline behaviour of consumers. Based on this, we shared five of the most surprising local shopping trends to help retailers be there for their customers this year.
6. Rethinking readiness: 5 retail trends every marketer should know for the year ahead
To start the year strong, one of the first pieces we published revealed five key consumer trends for retailers to pay attention to throughout the year. In the accompanying report, we dug into the data behind these trends to help marketers put insights into action.
5. Cookies and Chrome: How to prepare your business for a more private web
Since mid-2019, Google’s Chrome team has been working with the wider industry to develop a new set of open standards — the Privacy Sandbox — to enhance online privacy by removing support for third-party cookies. In this article, we outlined what this meant for marketers around the world.
4. How We Transform: Industry leaders reflect on the four key drivers of digital maturity
New research from Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Google has highlighted four crucial areas for companies to focus on in order to fast track digital maturity and drive customer-centric growth. To illustrate what these look like in practice, we spoke to leaders at Storytel, Samsung, Tommy Hilfiger, and Footway to zoom in on the digital accelerators their companies excel in.
3. Where the Dutch consumer journey stands in 2021
As the Dutch government started rolling out its vaccine programme in early 2021, we looked into new Google and Kantar research to find out what post-pandemic consumer behaviour may look like across the grocery, personal care, clothing, and home verticals.
2. How We Change: What leading digital transformation is really like
What's it like to spearhead the organisational change that’s needed to achieve digital maturity? In How We Change, we spoke to leaders at Klarna, Pandora, AS Watson, and Farmasiet to uncover the human side of digital transformation. We talked to them about the unexpected decisions they had to make during the pandemic, how this impacted them personally, and — looking back — what they would have done differently.
1. Savvy spenders: Consumer buying behaviour in the Nordics and Benelux
While standing out in the "messy middle" of the purchase journey is no easy feat, it is crucial for brands if they want to successfully guide their customers to the ‘Buy’ button. To help marketers in the Nordics and Benelux, Google and behavioural science experts, The Behavioural Architects, undertook new research to untangle and understand how local shoppers make purchasing decisions.
