2015 Google Shopping Performance Across Verticals

CPC Strategy recently released a new study on Google Shopping performance YOY since the beginning of 2012. We decided to take a closer look at this data to study emerging trends and the maturation of Google Shopping as a whole and by vertical over time.
We broke down each vertical across the Shopping platform to compare:
In 2015, we an average rise in CPCs – $.66 across all verticals, in comparison to 2014, where we saw an average CPC of only $.62.
Average CPA was also up $17.63, compared to 2014, $15.27.
Conversion rate across all verticals was slightly down 3.74%, compared to 2014, 4.06%.
As well as AOV, which decreased to $107.25, compared to 2014, $112.23.
The verticals with the highest CPCs included:
1. Office ($2.19)
2. Home & Furniture ($1.01)
3. Luggage and Travel ($.99)
The verticals with the lowest CPCs included:
1. Apparel ($.35)
2. Book, Music ($.41)
3. Sports & Outdoor ($.44)
In 2014, we an average decrease in CPCs – $.62 across all verticals, in comparison to 2013, where we saw an average CPC of only $.63.
Average CPA was also down $15.27, compared to 2013, $18.40.
As well as AOV, which decreased to $112.23, compared to 2013, $112.45.
In contrast, conversion rate across all verticals was slightly up 4.06%, compared to 2013, 3.44%.
The verticals with the highest CPCs included:
1. Office ($2.29)
2. Home & Furniture ($1.04)
3. Food & Grocery ($.99)
The verticals with the lowest CPCs included:
1. Apparel ($.39)
2. Book, Music (.39)
3. Automotive ($.39)
The verticals with the highest CPCs included:
1. Office ($2.20)
2. Home & Furniture ($.93)
3. Watches & Jewelry ($.75)
The verticals with the lowest CPCs included:
1. Luggage and Travel ($.30)
2. Apparel (.37)
3. Beauty and Cosmetics ($.43)
“We’re using this data as a reference point to determine what average cost-per-click, conversion rate, cost-per-action, and average order value are per vertical,” Tien Nguyen, Director of Technology at CPC Strategy said.
“For example, among our clients we saw an average CPC of $.35 in 2015 for the apparel category. If you’re an apparel retailer on Google Shopping paying far above or below this amount- you might want to revisit your marketing tactics.
(Unless, you’re a high-end apparel client. In that case, you’re probably paying higher CPCs anyway).
Maybe it’s time to start bidding more aggressively, or maybe there are areas within your campaigns where you can begin to cut wasted ad spend?
The goal is to run your Shopping campaigns as lean and efficiently as possible – these metrics help to serve as a benchmark for retailers in the Google Shopping landscape.”