Search is changing, thanks to AI. You have no doubt heard this already and are strategizing on your next steps.
As it evolves, almost all eyes are on Google. Google has recently released their own AI-powered search to the public, as a means to keep up with evolutions ushered in by advancement in generative AI. Apple is finally jumping in the game, too, as they announced several AI-powered advancements at their latest developer conference.
In retail, search is the bridge between product discovery and purchase. Investing in the right search strategies is critical to driving traffic and sales. Here, we look at the search landscape to see what’s changing and how…
The evolving search and shopping habits of today’s consumers
Alongside the technological evolution of search ushered in by generative AI, consumer shopping habits also continue to evolve and include a variety of search mediums and channels. Today, consumers are. . .
Still Using Search Engines:
- Most shopping starts with search. As 44% of customer journeys start with an internet search via Google or another search engine, more than any other channel.
- Google is still king. Google is the largest search engine, though its popularity is slowly declining as competition heats up and generational shopping behaviors shift.
- From search to answer engines. Zero-click search engines, like Perplexity.AI, provide answers and summaries, not links.
Also Searching Outside of Search Engines:
- Social search is booming. According to the latest from eMarketer, we see that social search is more popular and influential than ever, with 46% of Generation Z and 35% of millennials preferring social media over traditional search engines and 64% of Gen Z using TikTok as a search tool.
- Searches are happening first on e-commerce websites. Consumers are starting their searches directly on a retailer’s website, with 50% of product searches beginning on Amazon. Ad dollars have followed, with brands increasingly investing in Retail Media Sponsored Listings as retail media now makes up one-fifth of worldwide digital ad spend.
- Beyond text, the dawn of multimodal search. As technology advancements in voice and visual search mature, people are expected to want to search via the medium of their choice.
Shopping In New Channels:
- Social commerce is on the rise. Social commerce has long since heated up, with 68% of Gen Zers likely to make purchases directly on TikTok or YouTube.
- Tune in and buy with shoppable TV—aka being able to easily purchase the products you see on television. In fact, 57% of worldwide ad agency professionals think shoppable video content will be the next frontier of e-commerce.
The expected evolution and further diversification of appetites for search and shopping will result in a massive shakeup of SEO and SEM, and advertising and ecommerce best practices. It’ll be sink or swim, and retailers will need to adapt. In fact, Gartner predicts search engine volume will drop 25% by 2026 due to AI chatbots and other virtual agents.
Dominating Google Search and beyond
This brings us back to the biggest question on every retailer’s mind: What will the future of Search and Shopping look like? How will AI impact Google Merchant Center and similar search-based shopping platforms? For now, nobody has the answer . . . not even the king of search (and video) Google/YouTube.
Yet the search fundamentals are likely to remain the same: content relevance is key. Content relevance starts with highly detailed, comprehensive product copy and attributes that reflect the natural language of the consumer. In our upcoming part 3, we’ll show you how to enrich your product copy to dominate search in Google and beyond.
ICYMI: in part 1 we also covered how to optimize Google Product Listings Ads, check it out!
