The arrival of Google Product Listing Ads (PLA) in the UK is a mixed blessing for the advertising world.
While retailers will no longer benefit from the free traffic they were receiving from Google product search, it gives advertisers more granular control over product listings, bids and traffic, allowing them to work out what’s going where and when, and distribute budget as necessary.
Christmas might seem like a distant memory now, but as we’ve seen from the recent troubles at Comet, HMV and Blockbuster, having a good Christmas can be the difference between success and failure for a retailer.
But what’s coming to light from our search data is how Christmas Day itself is becoming critically important for online retailers.
We have seen a steady growth in e-retail on Christmas Day and Boxing Day over the last five years or so, and now with the proliferation of tablets and other smart devices we’re seeing the growth increase even further.