Business Director for Retail at Google Brazil believes that Black Friday and the World Cup are a ‘positive association’ for the market
Google commissioned a survey from Offerwise, which interviewed 500 Brazilians from classes A, B and C to understand their motivation for Black Friday. The study attests that it is already under analysis what to buy on that date. Appliances, televisions and clothing are among consumers’ priorities.
The study brings important news for brands: consumers have already started their shopping journey, and companies can play a helping role in this moment of choice, says Gleidys Salvanha, business director for retail at Google Brazil.
How important is Black Friday, which is post-election and within the World Cup, for Google?
Black Friday is one of the main retail dates of the year and, in the case of Google, a special time to support brands and companies to connect with consumers at all times of their shopping journey. This year, we have an unprecedented experience, which is the coincidence between Black Friday and the World Cup, which could be a positive association for retail. The World Cup, traditionally, awakens people’s optimism and desire to consume. Now, after two years of restrictions due to the pandemic, we believe that this feeling will be even greater, as people want to take advantage of this moment to celebrate with friends and welcome people at home. And we want to help our partners to take advantage of this scenario, with strategies that align with consumption trends during the World Cup. So, one of our recommendations is to turn the fans’ euphoria into sales, for example, highlighting items that are on the preparation list to receive people at home during games. Regarding the elections, we have no way of predicting their impact on consumption during Black Friday.
What are the opportunities for this year?
The World Cup is a big chance for businesses on this year’s Black Friday. According to a survey commissioned by Google Offerwise in October, Brazilians intend to invest in food, beverages and sportswear – 26%, 25% and 17%, respectively – thinking about the Qatar World Cup. Also according to the survey, 93% of consumers also intend to stop buying TVs, an essential device for watching games, on Black Friday. Another issue to be taken advantage of by companies is that, despite the scenario of uncertainty, Brazilians are more optimistic about their financial situation at the end of the year. According to a recent survey commissioned by Google to the Ipsos Institute, 71% of consumers declared that they intend to make a purchase during the event, up 29% compared to 2021. One of the reasons for this is the increase in the confidence of the C class, whose purchase intention grew 32% compared to last year.
How do you contemplate the post-pandemic?
An issue that can also be explored is the desire to buy as a gift for yourself and as a form of reward after two years of restrictions. According to the survey commissioned to the Ipsos Institute, 89% of respondents said they will buy something for themselves on Black Friday, and 42% that they will reward themselves, after a year they consider difficult, by buying things they want.
Are there any growth expectations for Google Ads? What percentage?
We do not share this data, but we want to continue helping our customers with their strategies for this Black Friday.
Does Google develop campaigns to attract more customers or alert them?
At Google, the Black Friday season has long since begun. Since the beginning of the semester, we have been working on the development of support tools, campaigns and studies of purchasing trends to support companies in preparing for the date. In September, we kicked off the date with the Black Friday Connections Store event, in which we brought together large, medium and small retailers, agencies and also journalists to announce the main consumer trends for this year, and show how Google, for through its tools and consulting, it can help companies to leverage their sales. At this event, we set up an area with 18 stations to present Google’s products and solutions, with experts to explain how they work and how they can help companies. Throughout this month, we will be sharing search trend newsletters with our customers. This is valuable information they can use to fine-tune their business strategy in real-time and to find new ways to connect with consumers at every point in their buying journey. In addition, we launched a website with
information and recommendations to support customers and partners as they prepare for the season. On the page, there are a series of guides on how to use the company’s products to leverage sales results in the season.
What is this year’s strategy?
We are supporting our customers to adapt their strategies and campaigns for the multi-channel shopping journey, which has become even stronger after the experience of confinement during the pandemic. According to a survey commissioned by Google from the Ipsos Institute, seven out of ten Brazilians said they had purchased both online and offline in the last six months, an increase of 10 percentage points compared to last year. In this context, it is vital to locate your customers where they prefer to shop, put them at the center of your marketing strategies and offer them great consumer experiences.
What resources does Google make available to help businesses?
Last year, we launched the Google Commerce Guide, which features a series of recommendations for tools and products that can help companies of all sizes design more effective business and marketing strategies. Among these resources are Local Inventory Announcements (LIA). They work as a kind of virtual storefront: when consumers search for a product on Google, the feature allows them to find out which nearby establishments have it in stock, so they can pick it up immediately. At Google, we understand that the barriers between online and offline have disappeared and companies need to adapt to this new reality to connect with consumers, regardless of where they are. Therefore, in this new era of multi-channel consumers, digital is essential to attract attention to your brand and accompany consumers’ purchase journey.
Are YouTube videos still trending? Was there an increase in interest in this format?
Yes, the audience on YouTube and the production of content for the platform has reached gigantic scale in the last few years, and they remain high for Black Friday. YouTube is on multiple devices and also in the living room via connected TVs. To give you an idea, we have a reach of 120 million monthly viewers in Brazil, with 75 million watching YouTube on TV. This transformation in the audience’s habit has opened up new opportunities for brands. And we support our customers to take advantage of the YouTube audience’s willingness to seek inspiration, product recommendations and reviews, and position your brand at this point in the journey. One of the trends is the sale of products through live commerce, a format that gained relevance during the pandemic and allows for bringing together influencers and brands, creating a direct language with the viewer. On YouTube, we have developed projects in this format, with broadcasts focused on entire days of sales, such as during the Black Friday Show.
How to integrate with advertising agencies and advertisers?
To support our customers, Google Brazil has been offering, since 2015, dedicated support to brands and agencies during the preparation period for Black Friday, including real-time support during the week of the event. In addition, we’ve developed insights dashboards to monitor consumers’ purchase intentions in real-time based on their Search queries, and more. One of our key support experiences is War Room, where we work alongside our clients’ marketing teams to solve challenges using Google data and insights. This year, it will be held in a hybrid format, after two years of being done virtually.
What solutions does Google have?
Google has several solutions to connect businesses and consumers, such as Performance Max, Local Inventory Ads (LIA) and Google Analytics 4, in addition to the cloud computing solutions offered by retail via Google Cloud and Google Wallet. This year, we introduced two new features: the Google Shopping promotions feature, which works like a tag and has been available since the beginning of October, and Commerce Maturity.
What does that make it easier?
This feature allows companies to signal whether they are offering a percentage discount, cashback or free shipping on a given product. The consumer, with this tag, easily identifies the best deals on Google platforms, including Google Shopping and the Shopping tab of Search. This feature has a significant impact for companies that promote their products through Shopping campaigns. Ads for products that have a promotion associated with them show, on average, a 28% increase in conversion rate and a 46% increase in return on ad spend compared to products without an associated promotion.
How to flag promotions?
The merchant needs to access the Google Merchant Center, a platform that allows you to register information about products available on your website or store and display them to potential customers through Google platforms, with the help of advertising or not. Through the new feature, merchants will be able to offer discounts, cashback or buy 1 get 2 free promotions, in addition to signaling special shipping conditions. The feature has been gradually made available to advertisers in Brazil since mid-October. J o Commerce Maturity is a model designed by Google to accelerate the Commerce strategies of key customers. With it, it is possible to analyze the maturity level of companies in relation to their sales strategies in the most diverse channels and, with the help of Google, they will be able to outline an action plan to improve their operation and business strategy. The model will allow Google to share all its knowledge on the subject with customers, helping them to use the power of digital to leverage their strategies and results, whether selling through online or offline channels.
What is the reach of Google Ads?
Google Ads helps advertisers achieve efficiency and convenience to achieve the best return on investment in their campaigns. Google Ads can help advertisers connect with the right people at the right time. In addition, Google Ads offers a number of features for a fully automated advertising experience, which allow companies to dedicate their time and investment to more important and strategic matters, while Google goes after the customer for them. The latest automation feature is Performance Max, which unifies access to Google’s inventory across its various platforms, such as YouTube, the Display Network, Search, Discover, Gmail’s shopping tab, and Google Maps. In other words, you create a single campaign, and it can be automatically distributed to all these channels, allowing you to dedicate your time and investment to more important and strategic issues, while Google goes after the customer for you.
