The Gift That Keeps on Giving

Still searching for a gift for the person on your list that has everything? Are you considering a gift card? You're not alone. This category is on many shoppers’ gift lists as query volume for gift cards has been growing over the past few years. And online is a top purchase channel for gift cards, with Google Insights for Search listing “gift cards online” as the top rising search term associated with gift cards in the last week.

















How can you take advantage of these trends? Clearly position gift cards on your site to facilitate purchase and to capture consumer awareness with maximum impression share. Draw consumers in by featuring gift cards prominently in your creative as a suggested alternative for general gifting terms such as “gifts ideas” and “gifts for him” and “white elephant gift ideas”. And for those who have procrastinated past the Holiday shipping deadline e-gift cards are a popular solution for gifting, so keep advertising until the last minute.

Google and OTX’s Post-Holiday Consumer Study conducted last year revealed that 34% of consumers were planning to redeem their gift cards after January. Take advantage of this by switching your post holiday messaging with gift card redemption prompts to ensure you are the retailer of choice when recipients go to spend their gift cards.

Posted by Keri Overman, Google Retail Team