Google has released a new “On sale” filter in its Shopping tab. In time for the holiday season, the release is Google’s latest move to increase retailers’ product visibility while showcasing the best deals to shoppers.
In this installment of Keeping Up With Google—a series that helps you stay up-to-date on the latest changes shaking up Google Ads—we look at the new filter in the Shopping tab and what it means for your business.
Release Date:
Google released the On sale filter in the Shopping tab on October 22, 2020.
What It Does:
The On sale filter in the Shopping tab is featured on both desktop and mobile devices. Shoppers can simply search a specific product on Google, click the Shopping tab, and apply the filter below the search bar.
Shoppers now have a way to find the best prices for select items they’re searching for with this new filter. By applying the filter, shoppers can sift through both paid and free Shopping ads that are either on sale or part of a promotion. On the retailer side, this creates more visibility for select products tied to a sale or promotion.
Source: Google
Google’s release of this new filter in the Shopping tab is timely. With Amazon Prime Day marking the unofficial start of the holiday season in mid October, shoppers are now in full swing with their holiday shopping and to-do lists. This early shopping behavior is apparent: A recent report from Google states that 69% of holiday shoppers will shop earlier to avoid items being out of stock.
Which Channels:
The On sale Filter can be applied within the Google Shopping tab following a search.
What This Means for Your Business:
Google’s latest feature will make the creation of promotions in Merchant Center even more important for retailers. With the On sale filter available for all Google users, shoppers will be able to filter out all non-sale or non-discounted items. Additionally, it will increase visibility for retailers’ sale items and promotions as more shoppers filter searches to shop for on sale items,
For retailers, the On sale filter emphasizes the importance of having the standard price and sale price in your Shopping feed. All retailers need for products to show using the On sale filter are accurate standard and sale prices in their feed. This ensures that Google can feature these products within the filter.
Google upends on sale items with one of several messages, including “Sale,” “XX% off,” or “Price Drop.” These tags are pulled automatically based on the feed or from a promotion that was set up in the Merchant Center. Shoppers can also apply additional filters like specific brand names, material, and price ranges to filter their search further.
Keep in mind that the filter applies not only to paid Shopping ads, but to free Shopping ads as well. Retailers should still use Merchant Center to set up promotions even if they aren’t live on ads.
