For people who love using their laptops and smartphones to shop or book trips, more tools are now available.
Consumers looking to book a trip or buy something online will want to know about the latest Google shopping search tools.
The largest search engine in the world has now rolled out a range of new search features for shoppers.
The idea behind the new Google shopping search features is to allow consumers to make more informed decisions. Now, more than ever before, consumers are researching, comparing and buying products and services online. This includes the use of their mobile devices as well as laptops and desktops. In particular, research and bookings of a vacation or other form of trip.
The new Google shopping search features include filters meant to help narrow searches based on many factors.
Among the filters are hotel ratings, price and other factors consumers may consider when planning a trip. Google explained that mobile travel and shopping searches had increased by 30 percent over the last year. This encouraged the search giant to launch a range of new features to cater to that activity.
Google said “October through December are traditionally the biggest months for both travel and shopping, and this year we expect mobile to play its biggest role ever,” on its blog.
Among the newly launched Google shopping search features are:
• Hotel tips – which can assist in finding accommodations in the same way the feature already helps consumers to find flight info.
• Hotel smart filters – this allows online and mobile consumers to narrow their shopping searches by price, rating and other factors simply by tapping (or clicking) the screen.
• Price tracking for flights – airline ticket features have also been expanded. This Google shopping search option lets users track routes, dates or even a particular flight, advising of changes in price.
Beyond travel searches, Google also launched Showcase Shopping ads. With those, retailers can assemble collections of related product images. In this way, retailers can showcase more of the products they offer across a much wider category, such as “mobile accessories” or “travel essentials.”
Mobile shopping is driving retail e-commerce sales in the UK.
UK mobile commerce will fuel the growth of e-commerce sales this year, says eMarketer. According to the most recent forecast from the independent market research company, retail electronic commerce sales in the UK for 2016 are likely to exceed £67 billion (approximately $88.7 billion). Mcommerce will account for a total of £25.2 billion ($33 billion) of these online sales.
E-commerce will represent a 22.6% share of total retail sales in the UK by 2020.
In terms of retail digital sales share of total retail sales, the UK is a world leader. Its e-commerce sales are fueled by the impressive growth of smartphone-based buying from UK consumers. Consumers in the United Kingdom have always been fast to adopt digital technologies, including embracing shopping and buying on mobile devices. The $33 billion mobile commerce prediction from eMarkter is an increase of over 25% from 2015.
This growth in UK mobile commerce retails sales is expected to continue to grow over the next few years. By 2020, mcommerce sales are predicted to surpass £42.5 billion ($56 Billion). The growing retail ecommerce market in the UK is helping to make up for the decline the nation has experienced in terms of traditional retail sales.
Most UK mobile commerce sales come from tablet devices.
Presently, tablet devices are responsible for the majority of mobile commerce sales. eMarketer notes that in 2016, £15.8 billion ($19.8 billion) will be spent via tablet commerce. This represents over 62% of total m-commerce sales.
That being said, more and more consumers are using their smartphones for shopping. According to Bill Fisher, an eMarketer senior analyst, “Smartphone usage continues to have far-reaching implications for retailers in the UK.” Fisher added that “However, more than simply driving digital retail traffic, these latest numbers show that smartphones are now increasingly driving digital sales. Getting the smartphone sales experience right is becoming more vital than ever. ”
While smartphones currently make up only 35.4% of UK mobile commerce spending, by 2020 this is forecasted to change. It is projected that smartphone-based shopping will account for 52% of spending and £22.1 billion ($29.2 billion) sales.
