mortiz077

(cross-posted from the Google Commerce Blog ) We all rely on the web to turn our intentions into actions quickly and easily. From planning a spring break or a trip to the movies to finding the perfect gift for someone we love, the world is increasingly at our fingertips. And over the last few years, we've worked hard to bring the speed of the web to the real world. With Google Play, for example, you can now buy or rent books, movies and TV shows in seconds. Today we're starting a new experiment, Google Shopping Express. It's a local delivery service that we hope will make it possible for you to get the items you order online the same day, and at a low cost. It's incredibly early days and so the service is only available to a small number of people in the Bay Area. As a tester, you will be able to shop online, in a single place, from retailers such as Target, Walgreens, Staples, American Eagle and Toys“R”Us/Babies“R”Us -- along with locally distinct shops such as San F...

(cross-posted from the Official Google Blog ) Today marks the debut of the new Think Insights , Google’s hub for marketing insights and inspiration for advertisers and agencies. On google.com/think, you can learn about the latest research in digital marketing, be inspired by creative brand campaigns, and find useful products and tools. You’ll also find industry-leading case studies and Google’s latest research, strategic perspectives, interviews with innovators and experts and more—all to help you make the most of the web. Every week, we’ll feature content that spans industries and interests. Here’s a snapshot of our top stories: In Understanding the Full Value of Mobile , learn how sporting goods industry leader adidas worked with digital performance agency iProspect to understand how mobile drives value beyond mobile commerce, particularly in-store sales. The campaign proved that mobile brought a 680% incremental increase in ROI The Hyundai Elantra: Driveway Decision Maker campaign ...

(cross-posted on The Google Commerce Blog ) People today are constantly connected, presenting a tremendous opportunity for retailers to deliver the right products to them across devices anytime, anywhere. We recently announced the release of enhanced campaigns to help advertisers reach customers in a multi-screen world. Today we're pleased to announce the Product Listing Ads are now eligible to appear on smartphones globally, extending the shopping experience already available desktops and tablets. When a user enters a shopping-related search, a commercial format that displays products in a single unit may appear above organic search results. This ad unit is labeled as a 'Sponsored' and displays rich product images, prices, retailers, and more. This mobile shopping experience will be available in all markets currently serving Product Listing Ads. Below are a couple of examples of what a shopper might see when searching for a product from their phone. In the image on the l...

(cross-posted on the Inside AdWords Blog  and Google Commerce Blog ) On February 13, Google Shopping results in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Japan, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Brazil, Australia, Switzerland and the Czech Republic began to transition to a new commercial experience built on Product Listing Ads. If you’re a merchant in one of these countries and you’re currently promoting your products on Google Shopping for free, you’ll need to create a Product Listing Ad campaign to maintain your traffic and presence. You can learn more about this transition in our recent announcement. KEEP YOUR PRODUCTS VISIBLE To ensure that your products remain eligible for promotion on Google Shopping, we’ve built an easy way for you to create Product Listing Ads. You can complete the following three simple steps in Merchant Center: Set up a basic Product Listing Ad campaign: You’ll be able to create a new AdWords account in Merchant Center if you don’t already have one. Customize your ca...

For those of you that have not yet finished -- or started -- your Valentine’s Day shopping this year, fear not! You are not alone....In 2012, the top e-Commerce spending day last Valentine’s season was on the holiday itself - February 14th! Similarly, if your business spikes around Valentine’s Day, be certain that you continue your advertising through Valentine’s Day as many shoppers will fall into the “last-minute” category. Last year, both online and offline shoppers were prepared to spend more than they had in recent years past. According to the NRF, the average shopper spent $126 on Valentine’s Day. This is an excellent sign of consumer confidence, as we have not witnessed a number this high since 2008. Total sales for V-Day 2013 are estimated at $18.6M, up 5.97% vs. last year. Many popular Valentine’s Day gift categories performed exceptionally well last season with the majority seeing double digit growth rates in traffic: Flowers: +12% Jewelry: +25% GIfts: +27% Watches: +30% Gift...

If holiday 2012 was any sign of the aggressively evolving retail landscape, we can expect 2013 to hold the same promise. Industry experts recently gathered at the National Retail Federation’s Annual Retail Big Show in New York to discuss just this. The four day conference featured +27,600 attendees from across the globe, each bringing a fresh perspective on their industry’s outlook. Today we’ll take a look at the top emerging themes from the NRF Conference for 2013. Below each, you’ll also see some the ways Google is getting involved to assist you in driving these initiatives in the months to come. 1. Omnichannel: This is certainly the buzzword of 2013! Many research groups (Foresee, Deloitte, and others) featured recent studies focused specifically on the changing behavior of shoppers across channels. Others discussed the importance of a seamless customer experience between online, mobile and in-store channels. Because of this trend, Google recently upgraded its AdWords advertising ...

(cross-posted on the Inside AdWords Blog ) What was your business’ New Year’s resolution, and how do you plan to keep it? At Google, ours is to help make the web work for you. Our new series of Learn with Google webinars will teach you how to use digital to build brand awareness, and they’ll give you the tools you need to drive sales. By tapping into technology that works together across your business needs, you can resolve to win moments that matter in 2013. Check out our upcoming live webinars: Build Awareness 02/12 [Multiscreen] Brand Building in a Multiscreen World 02/20 [YouTube] How to Build your Business with YouTube Video Ads 03/05 [Social] How to Use Google+ and Make Social Work for You 03/12 [Mobile] Understanding Mobile Ads Across Marketing Objectives 03/27 [Wildfire by Google] The Call for Converged Media Drive Sales 01/29 [Analytics] Google Tag Manager: Technical Implementation *today* 02/07 [Search] Your Shelf Space on Google: Get Started with Google Shopping 02/...