There’s no slowing down the rise of e-commerce, with online shopping forecast to grow by 11.3% during the EMEA holiday retail peak this year.
Notably, ‘Singles Day’ already surged in popularity in 2020 within the Occasion & Gifts category, and Google Product Listing Ads (PLAs) gained an 88% YoY increase. And with 36% of UK consumers planning on starting their shopping even earlier than last year, the peak retail period is now longer than ever – and that’s why it pays to get ahead.
If you’re keen to increase your reach to new, in-market customers, then using a Comparison Shopping Service (CSS) such as Klarna CSS to host Shopping Ads on Google can really help. With 64% of consumers starting their purchase journey on Google Search rather than directly on a retailer’s site, comparison shopping is a fantastic way to target users with relevant ads precisely at the moment of inquiry. And not only will you be meeting consumer’s personal needs, but you’ll also drive traffic to your store.
Key dates to keep in mind:
● Singles’ Day – 11th November
● Black Friday – 26th November
● Cyber Monday – 29th November
● The pre-holiday period – 13th – 23rd December
Top holiday tips for your shopping ads.
With the holiday period now running longer and user trends changing fast, it’s important that your comparison shopping ads capture the right traffic, at the right time. In just a few tweaks to your Google Ads account, you can position your campaigns, budgets and ads to work harder to meet your business goals. Some of the extra tools at your disposal also include:
● Shopping optimisation score: A handy dashboard that monitors your budget levels, provides recommendations and sets up email alerts. Use it to meet your goals by adjusting to popular shopping categories and maximising opportunities.
● Auction insights: A tool that allows you to keep an eye on the competition and helps you adjust your campaign settings to maintain competitiveness against others.
● Trend reports: This data helps you identify best selling products, analyse the most attractive pricing and get a handle on demand forecasts. Find out which search terms people are looking for, and discover new ways to inform your holiday campaign planning.
Why Klarna CSS?
And that’s not all. If you switch to Klarna CSS to host your PLA activity, you can expand your CPC spend by avoiding Google Shopping fees altogether. This means that all of your budget can go towards gaining the higher bid. As a result, you can expect higher ad ranking on Google Search, which in turn will increase impression counts and boost click-through rates to help maximise your profitability during this crucial time. Plus, if your PLAs are labelled as hosted ‘By Klarna’ CSS, consumers will instantly recognise they’re able to pay with ease when buying your products, and can benefit from a smoother shopping experience.
Switch to Klarna CSS today.
It couldn’t be easier to switch your Merchant Center to Klarna CSS – and this can be done in less than a day, with no interruption to your live campaigns. You’ll retain full access to your Merchant Center as usual, as well as your full history of performance data, your quality score and campaign set-up. This will allow you to make easy comparisons and measure performance increase after you’ve switched over.