Last updated on March 28, 2024
Pricing effect during the peak season on shopping campaigns
The peak season is just around the corner, that’s why it is time for an article on how to handle your shopping campaigns during the peak season. This peak season will likely be different from past years due to the economic situation, therefore we focus on the effect of pricing on your shopping advertisements and performance max campaigns.
Economic down turns impact brand loyalty
As the economy is shifting towards a downturn, consumers become more aware of how they spend their money. They are more conscious about choosing if they spend money on their favourite brands versus making wise spending decisions to prepare for the future. A study by Google and Ipsos, Christmas Shopping Study, even revealed that 61% of the consumers are open to trying a brand they haven’t bought before during this peak season.
Max Minus, PPC & Google Ads Consultant @ Freelancer
“We’ve seen Google talking about brand loyalty decreasing as a trend over the last few years & we know that shoppers will be even more keen to find a deal as we have challenging macro factors at play. This does open up the playing field for this peak, particularly if some brands have cut media spend due to their own challenges.
Some of the things I’ve been speaking about with clients is reviewing things like their Free Shipping thresholds, as small things like this can be the difference between them and a competitor, but ultimately I think consistency in the SERP will pay dividends as competitors come in and out with their offers during peak, which will likely be prolonged, again.”
Consumers are price aware
Many retailers gave lower discounts during the peak season compared to the year before. According to Google, in Q4 2020 the average discount of products was 14% while in Q4 2021 the average discount dropped to 9%. This year companies might offer an even lower discount. As a digital marketing manager it is something to keep an eye on as the price of your products has a huge impact on the performance of shopping ads and performance max campaigns.
Google knows that consumers are focussing their product searches on two factors, the quality and the price. The more clicks advertisements receive, the more money Google receives. That is why Google serves the shopping ads of products that have a lower price as they know it will receive more clicks.
That being said, it is important to monitor the prices of your competitors during the peak season, especially if they offer the same products.
Monitoring competitor prices
There are multiple ways to monitor the prices of your competitors.
At Producthero, we have developed a pricing benchmark tool that compares the prices of your products to the price benchmarks. This allows you to know if your products are above, below or at benchmark price, and respond to price drops or increases before, during, and after peak sales moments. Producthero’s Price Benchmark is used by retailers and e-commerce organizations and is available within Producthero PRO, offered as part of the 30-day free trial.
Hybrid consumers: online and offline shopping
In a research by Google, it appears that consumers keep blending their online and offline shopping behaviour. They look up product information on their mobile devices or compare the prices of your competitors while being in one of your stores. So, keep in mind that consumers might discover a product while visiting the store of your competitor and buy it online from your shop if you offer it at the right price.
With our price benchmark tool, you can predict how well a product will perform within your Performance Max campaigns.
Ruben Runneboom, Google Ads Specialist @ Rubenrunneboom.nl
“Google Ads is changing faster than ever. It seems that every time you open the interface new features are available. All aimed at automating actions that previously had to be performed manually.
The renewed Google algorithm has proven that you can push account performance successfully if you provide the system with clear data. Adding offline sales data into your online strategy at a hybrid store is essential to feed the algorithm with the right signals. Especially during the upcoming Christmas season where you will see that people orientate online and complete the purchase in the store.
Within the Google Ads interface there are some options to notify the algorithm that a (temporary) sale period is approaching. In combination with dynamic pricing and a well-thought-out campaign structure you can stay ahead of the competition and drive your profit.”
Analysing your advertising performance
There are multiple ways to discover which products perform well. You can use Google’s best seller report, shopping insights and reports about rising retail categories to inform your strategy. Additionally, you can evaluate your products and adjust your biddings based on the performance.
Many retailers, like G-Star, Rituals and hundreds of digital marketing agencies apply this tactic very successfully. They use the Producthero Labelizer Strategy to determine which products perform best and to push them into Google’s shopping window. Using the Labelizer Strategy they are also able to see which products don’t perform, allowing them to shift the budgets to the campaigns that actually generate revenue. Discover how G-star boosts ad campaign using the Producthero Labelizer Strategy
Adriaan Dekker, Freelancer Online Marketing @ Dertien11
“Now more than ever it’s important to embrace automation in Google Ads. For this to work, you need a solid base. Companies that can track all conversions coming from ads have a big advantage.
You need to lead the automation tools from Google in the right way or it will work against you. For e-commerce companies, this means trying to measure POAS instead of ROAS. If you know what you earn you can make better decisions in bids and structure.
Besides Google Ads, keep optimizing your landing pages. If you pay the same for a new client but have a higher conversion ratio you are growing.”
Your organisation might offer lower discounts this year due to the economic situation or even have doubts about increasing the advertising budgets during this peak season. If that happens in your organisation, I would recommend reading this article about shopping advertising during economic downturns.
In the article we highlight the effect of advertising on sales. It shows that firms who spend more money on advertising during economic downturns increased their market share with 1.7% compared to 0.6% market share for organisations that cut their marketing spend.
