Presented in Philadelphia, PA. April 24, 2019. Google Express, Google Home and Google Assistant - shopping actions are everywhere. Learn about the evolution of the shopping actions program, how you can optimize your own business in the Google universe to take advantage of or work alongside with it.

1. Google Shopping Actions
Elizabeth Marsten| Sr. Director, eCommerce @ebkendo
It’s just the beginning.

2. Elizabeth Marsten, Sr. Director eCommerce
● 13 years in digital
● Seattle, WA
● @ebkendo
● Haven’t missed a HeroCon yet…
Image source: author

3. NORTH AMERICA’S LARGEST RETAILERS,
MARKETPLACES AND SEARCH ENGINES
DEMAND GENERATION
ASSORTMENT EXPANSION
WAREHOUSES, STORES, DROP-SHIPPERS,
BRAND MANUFACTURERS
DELIVERY
NATIONAL CARRIERS, REGIONAL
CARRIERS, LOCAL CARRIERS

4. Shopping Actions and
Google Express are the same thing.
Not quite.
Image source: Getty Images

5. What are Shopping Actions really?
It’s all about the transaction.
The payment processing, order taking, receipt giving,
delivery information, customer support providing workflow.

6. What’s Google Express then?
Image source: Google Express

7. Where Shopping Actions Touch
● Google Express
● Google Search
● Google Assistant devices
○ Google Home, Samsung, Panasonic, Sonos, JBL, Hogar Milo, Lenovo, Archos, Sony, Philips,
Sharp, Nvidia
https://www.the-ambient.com/guides/best-google-assistant-devices-333
Image source: Google

8. Google Manufacturer Center
Be the authority for your brand
● Free to send
● Same feed as Google
Merchant Center with a
few more fields
● Different UI/sign in area
Image source: Google

9. Google Manufacturer Center
How Google Shopping, Google Manufacturer Center and Shopping Actions work
together:
● Products in Google Shopping have history, expected CTR and relevancy
● Can help “correct” information – if you’re a brand with retailers that have
submitted incorrect information on your product and the retailer also has been
promoting via PLA
● Shopping Actions then also has the “correct” info
● Increase conversion with additional images, video, specifications and review
aggregation

10. How Does “Paid Search” Fit In?

11. Do Shopping Actions Cannibalize PLA?
No
There are a lot of factors at play, keep in mind:
● Behavioral inputs and history (like merchant affinity and linked programs)
● Query performed, relevance and device
● Retailer standards

12. What About Sponsored Units on Search?
● Earlier 2018 test
● Transitioning into a “transactional unit”
● Express listings do not participate in the
PLA auction
● If a seller has a product eligible for both –
Google dedupes for that SKU
Image source: Google

13. The Transactional “Unit”
● High quality transactable offers from retailers who
meet specific data quality and fulfillment standards
● Retailers can serve different offers in the PLA and
transactable unit (i.e. show up twice) but if the offer
is the same, it should only show the most applicable
experience for that user
● Offers are de-duped, from left to right. So if an offer
is showing in the transactional unit, it will not show
as a PLA and vice versa
Image source: Google

14. The Google Shopping SERP
Image source: Google

15. Inputs for Shopping Actions
● Relevancy to the user’s query
● Immediate purchase intent (via aggregate behavior for the search term)
● Retailer preferences – membership loyalty or previous purchasing history
● User signals like existing cart content to continue basket building
● Shipping speed and price

16. What Google Says
● 30% average increase in order size vs. Google Shopping
● 68% net new customers
Confirmed. And the average order value has been higher than marketplaces.
Direct is the highest AOV overall.
What We’re Seeing
https://www.blog.google/products/ads/shopping-actions/
Image source: CommerceHub

17. Taking Advantage of
Shopping Actions
Image source: Getty Images

18. Product Feeds
Use that same, nicely curated and cleaned up content – especially the product title
and description
Image source: Google

19. Promotions
● Submit the same Merchant Promotions as Google Shopping for Shopping
Actions in Merchant Center
● Take advantage of Google sponsored or subsidized shipping promotions like
20% the first order for new users.
● Top retailer status, unique brands and new launches might work with Google
for additional spotlight placement or category specific inclusion on the
Express home page, email blasts and push notifications.
Image source: Google Express

20. Pricing
While you have to submit for it and be approved –
you do NOT need a transactional website to be a
part of Shopping Actions.
● Submit a supplemental feed to Google
Merchant Center for specific Shopping
Actions pricing
● Bake the cost of shipping into that pricing if
needed, get that “free” delivery call out in
SERPs Image source: Google

21. Remarketing
A customer does have to opt in during the checkout process, but if they do, you
can then add those emails to Google Ads.
Hello Customer Match.
Hello to knowing what they bought, how much and welcome to your newsletter
and email campaigns.

22. Shopping Actions. Google Ads. Amazon Advertising.
Image source: Getty Images

23. Questions to Ask
● What is your marketplace, eCommerce, paid search strategy? Are those pieces
talking to one another?
● Are you budgeting for advertising spend in aggregate or separately? Where is
the budget coming from and are you drawing “lines” between the programs?
● What if a connection for advertising is opened between Google Ads and
Shopping Actions or Google Express? Who owns that?
● What’s next for the “sponsored product” ad type?
Image source: Google

24. Thank You!
@ebkendo