Google aims new shopping tools at holiday stragglers

Google continues releasing new shopping-related features as Christmas grows near.

The tech giant, which introduced new deals destination, discount code-finder, and price insight solutions for holiday shoppers in early November, is now launching three more shopping tools as the season approaches its final days. Following are brief overviews of each new feature:

Filter for products shoppers can get fast

When consumers are shopping for gifts on Search on mobile or desktop in the U.S., they now can filter for products they can get by Sunday, Dec. 24 (Christmas Eve). Shoppers can select the “Get it by Dec 24” filter on Search to see products they can get quickly, whether because they are in stock nearby or they ship quickly.

Once a customer taps the filter, they will see relevant products labeled with the retailer’s cheapest on-time delivery offering, as well as the price and any nearby stores that have them in stock.

Track packages directly in Gmail

With package tracking in Gmail in the U.S., customers will see delivery updates clearly labeled on shopping emails right in their inbox list view on mobile and desktop. 

Google is starting to roll out some updates to this feature during December, including bumping an email with package tracking information to the top of a customer’s inbox if their delivery date changes.

Consumers can opt into package tracking from their Gmail settings, and Gmail will automatically show their order statuses using available tracking numbers. Shoppers can also opt out at any time through their Gmail settings.

Quickly find return policies

After a package has arrived, Google will include a link to that retailer’s return guidelines (when available) at the top of shopping-related emails in Gmail on desktop and mobile in the U.S. Google shows return policies across Search, too, with labels like “free 90-day returns” on product listings or retailer links when a user is shopping.

"Search interest for things like overnight shipping’ and ‘next-day shipping’ spike every December," Danielle Buckley, director of product, consumer shopping, Google, said in a corporate blog post. "In fact, for the past three years, search interest for “overnight shipping” has peaked on Dec. 22, and searches for 'last-minute gifts' spiked 800% last December compared to November."