Study: Google Shopping Traffic Nearly Doubles AFTER Christmas

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Each quarter CPC Strategy compiles data on the top shopping channels such as Google Shopping, based on seller metrics including cost, revenue and traffic.
This quarter, we saw paid Google Shopping traffic double on a per client basis during Q1 2013 compared to Q4 2012.
From Q3 to Q4 we saw an 87% increase in traffic which was to be expected given the progression of the new program in conjunction with the Q4 holiday season–but what was surprising is the trend basically continued with an 82% increase from Q4 to Q1:
x-axis represents the median amount of traffic a merchant received per week
When our CEO Rick Backus saw the Google Shopping traffic data, his initial comment was: “It’s pretty surprising to see the traffic double. That’s nuts.”
If you are in ecommerce, online marketing, or retail in general you’re familiar with the trend of purchases increasing during the holiday season, or Q4. Generally, shoppers purchase more leading up to and during the holiday season. Then during Q1, retailers typically see a decrease in sales.
As a result Google Shopping’s increase in traffic after the holiday is an unusual trend to say the least. During this same time period, costs also increased by 21%:
So why did Google Shopping traffic increase so significantly following the holiday?
How do we know this?
1. Since Google Shopping became paid, traffic has doubled each quarter.
2. Google has replaced their free placements with paid ads.
Since the transition of free to paid Google traffic, we’ve not only seen a spike in paid Google traffic, but also a corresponding major drop in free traffic as well.
3. The maturity of the Google Shopping program gives Google more information over what search terms from users should trigger PLAs. In turn this allows them to more accurately display product ads based on users’ purchase intent.
If you are an online merchant and you’re not listing on Google Shopping, now is certainly a time to take a look at the traffic growth data and consider it.
For those currently listing on Google Shopping, take the time to optimize your Google Shopping campaign ad structure and revisit your data feed quality.