Darwin’s Guide to
Shopping
Peter Fitzgerald
Industry Leader, Retail Google
UK/EIRE

Makers of Teflon and other scientific miracles,
what was their first bright spark?

Cutlery? Golf clubs? Gunpowder? Glass blowing plant?

Cutlery? Golf clubs? Gunpowder? Glass blowing plant?
Founder Eleuthere du Pont saw a need for gunpowder in the US whilst fleeing the
French Revolution

Video game kings, Nintendo were around
before the computer. Selling what?

Plumbing equipment? Gourmet mushrooms? TV antennas? Playing Cards?

Plumbing equipment? Gourmet mushrooms? TV antennas? Playing Cards?
Founded in 1889 to make handmade “Hanafuda” cards

Leading mobile phone brand, what were
they up to in the wired‐phone era?

Toys? Rubber boots? Furniture? Ceramics?

Toys? Rubber boots? Furniture? Ceramics?
Nokia started as a pulp mill in 1865, then made rubber hence the boots

‘If we want things to stay as they
are, things will have to change’
Giuseppe di Lampedusa
11

Evolution of the Shopper
Google Confidential and Proprietary

13

64% of UK adults used the internet to find information
about goods and services in the past 3 months (Eurostat)
Google Confidential and Proprietary

70% of UK web users will make at least
one purchase online in 2009
(Emarketer)
£31bn spent in the UK online Jan through Aug 2009
(IMRG CapGemini)
Google Confidential and Proprietary

50% of UK internet users in the past three months have
researched a product online and purchased in-store
17% of Argos sales to year end Feb 2009 came
through their Click and Reserve Service
Google Confidential and Proprietary

Always On
Google Confidential and Proprietary

Boxing Day
Christmas Day
£102m spent online on Christmas day
Google Confidential and Proprietary

ShopSavvy™: Making smarter decisions

Internet not real life...huh?
20

1,000 UK Retailers Went Under last year
22

Stores
Catalogues
Pure Plays

26

Google Confidential and Proprietary

We take
Cash Only
28

WHERE
ARE WE HEADING
Google Confidential and Proprietary

Let the consumer win

31

2X more spend from Multi-channel customers
(Best Buy, John Lewis)

38% collecting in store buy
51% start on website, 18% web
33

Moving from data-rich to data-driven
new tools and techniques
enhanced targeting
get the most from data

maxi dress
Interest over time
100
80
60
40
20
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Agility
37

Real Time Insights 38

Efficiency
40

Give me the right results when I search
boys socks
Before After
20% reduction in bounce rate
7% increase in conversion rate
TOP  Check quality of results  Allow customers to sort results
TIPS
 Make site search visible  Lay out search results clearly

Pace
42

+7%
Conversion

“Big will not beat small anymore –
it will be the fast beating the slow”
- Rupert Murdoch
Google Confidential and Proprietary

Reassure me
1.8% increase in conversion
TOP  Be open about cancellations/returns  Offer security
TIPS  Offer transparency on price  Clarify what happens after
purchase
Google Confidential and Proprietary

Appendix
Google Confidential and Proprietary