You are reading part 1 of the 6-part 2022 Retail Marketing Guide. Jump to Chapter 2: Build your brand and acquire new customers; Chapter 3: Grow your online and in-app sales; or Chapter 4: Drive foot traffic and in-store sales.
People are shopping across Google more than a billion times a day1
In the last few years, we’ve seen a shift in the path to purchase, with shoppers combining online and in-store shopping experiences to meet their changing needs. Knowing when and where to show up is essential for connecting with current and potential customers.
Every day, hundreds of millions of people turn to Google to discover and shop for what they care about. Find out how you can meet your customers across all moments in the shopping journey.
In Canada over the past few years, the retail landscape has changed forever. The shift toward e-commerce in Canada has proven to be durable — in fact, it now represents 14% of all retail sales, which is nearly double where we were just a few years ago.2
Reach customers as they browse
It’s important to remember that digital is now the gateway to all commerce — both online and in-store. People search online to explore new ideas and keep up with the things that matter to them. As shoppers browse across Google and YouTube, they discover new brands and products that are relevant to them.
44% of Canadian consumers say they get inspiration for purchases when they are online.
To discover new brands and products that are relevant to them, shoppers:
- Find inspiration from watching YouTube videos. Eighty-seven percent of people surveyed in the U.S. say they feel like they get the highest-quality information about products when shopping or browsing on YouTube.3
- Browse Google Images. There are hundreds of millions of shopping searches on Google Images every single month.4
- Scroll through Discover to catch up on interesting topics. Forty-four percent of Canadian consumers say they get inspiration for purchases when they are online.5
Engage customers as they research
Shoppers are constantly on the lookout for the best product to meet their needs. Before making a purchase, they seek information from trusted sources to compare products and narrow down their choices.
They turn to Google to find out which product is best in its category, compare prices, and check out the latest reviews.
56% of Canadian shoppers go to Google when researching a purchase they plan to make in-store.
To seek information, compare products, and narrow down choices, shoppers:
- Look for information and articles on Google Search. In Canada, more than half of shoppers go to Google when researching a purchase they plan to make in-store (56%) or online (59%).6
- Turn to YouTube to watch reviews and compare products they’re interested in. Eighty-nine percent of shoppers surveyed in the U.S. agree that YouTube creators give them the best information about products and brands.7
Convert customers looking to purchase
When it comes to making a purchase, convenience is key, and shoppers buy from brands that can provide a seamless experience wherever they prefer to shop. They want to be able to buy a product online as soon as they find it and see what a local store has in stock. This, too, is a durable change since the pandemic. Canadians are returning to stores, but they increasingly want their visits to be purposeful and efficient.
27% of Canadian consumers say they are researching online more before purchasing to avoid stock, inventory, and shipping challenges.
To buy products online and see what stores have in stock, shoppers:
- Explore Maps to see what local stores they have in the area. Google Maps searches for “shopping near me” have grown globally by over 100% year over year.8
- Check Business Profiles on Google Maps to see if a local store is open and has a product available for pickup. Twenty-seven percent of Canadian consumers say they are researching online more before purchasing to avoid stock, inventory, and shipping challenges.9
- Find products and compare prices in the Shopping tab. Forty-two percent of Canadian consumers expect to be able to buy from any store online.10
Consider the price-conscious consumer
As prices rise with inflation and supply chain challenges persist, we’re seeing an increasingly price-sensitive shopper on Google. Search interest in Canada has significantly increased year over year for terms such as “discount code” and “price match.”11
Ensure your offerings and your marketing resonate with shoppers, who are likely comparing prices and thinking about value.
Know that omnichannel has become the expectation
Every Canadian retailer knows that customers who shop online and in-store are among their most loyal and most valuable. In fact, according to Harvard Business Review, omnichannel shoppers are 2X more valuable than single-channel shoppers.
But that hasn’t necessarily changed the behaviour of some Canadian retailers. Understanding the impact that online has in-store, and making decisions as a result, is hard and fraught with imprecision. Often, internal incentives are misaligned, and the focus remains on e-commerce rather than optimizing for in-store sales. It’s imperative to do both, and to have the right incentives up, down, and across the organization to drive sales both online and in-store.
Fortunately, one of our largest areas of investment at Google is to make the connection between online and in-store more obvious, more believable, and more automated for retailers. Now, they can specify an e-commerce and in-store sales target, and Google will optimize the keywords and clicks to maximize your sales across channels.
The way forward is to automate to total sales both online and in-store — and automate against unpredictability.
Explore the guide
Chapter 1: Customers turn to Google every day to browse, research, and buy
Chapter 2: Build your brand and acquire new customers
Chapter 3: Grow your online and in-app sales
Chapter 4: Drive foot traffic and in-store sales
Chapter 5: Use insights to inform your strategy and boost performance
Chapter 6: Be ready for the holidays and seasonal shopping moments
