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The News You Missed 📰

Google hosted its Google Marketing Live event last week, presenting the future of its marketing tools. The big news surrounded updates to Performance Max campaigns. Here is a quick recap of those new features:

• In-Store Goals - Google has been steadily rolling out Performance Max changes for online optimization since inception, and now it’s time for a local add-on.
• Optimization score for Performance Max - This addition has Google doubling down on automation by placing automated optimization tips in their most automated campaign type.
• Burst Campaigns - A new “burst” feature within Performance Max campaigns will work in conjunction with in-store goals and will allow advertisers to advertise for a set timeframe to hit in-store goals.
• Additional Insights and explanations - Advertisers will be receiving more intelligence on their Performance Max campaigns thanks to expanded insights.
• Performance Max experiment tools - Yes, at the event “Performance Max” and “experiment” were used in the same sentence. But, no, experiments are not coming to Performance Max campaigns. // via

Like Queen Elizabeth, After All Of These Years, Email Marketing Still Reigns

Emails have considerable influence, from general mailings seen as influential among 44% to those who are part of the post-purchase communication flow. Online retailers also have an opportunity to leverage the communication that emanates from order placement. At least one in five survey respondents referenced their influence. That includes offers within order confirmation/shipping notification emails (23%), items left in carts (20%) and back-in-stock emails (20%). For shoppers, these serve as confidence builders around future delivery. For retailers, it’s about moving the shopper back into buying mode. // via

It's Time To Reset Our COVID E-Commerce Expectations

For two years, e-commerce was a dream - a hope that e-commerce had a multi-year step-change, growing in a few months what would have taken years. The yearly charts showed e-commerce penetration increasing as much as in the previous ten years in a few weeks. It was a dream because the assumption was that e-commerce would continue to grow from that elevated point.

It didn’t. Instead, every quarter since, e-commerce penetration has been falling back closer to the trendline it was on before the pandemic. // via

Google Shopping Will Soon Be Automatically Updating Product Conditions

Later this month Google will roll out a change to the condition attribute for shopping ads. If you’re a retailer, your products could be disapproved if you have the incorrect attribution set.

A condition attribute tells potential shoppers about the condition of the product you are selling. Currently, there are three condition attributes: New, Refurbished, & Used

New products do not require a condition to be set, while Used and Refurbished items do. // via

This update is especially noteworthy if you have used or refurbished products in your store. But I would suggest all stores check their Merchant Center account on June 26 for unintended consequences.

Gen Z Will Force A Digital Marketing Shakeup

Titled ‘Ad blockers and advocacy: Why Gen Z is blocking paid ads in favour of real voices’, the report finds that 99% of consumers in this generational cohort will hit ‘skip’ on an ad if it’s an option and that nearly two-thirds (63%) use ad blockers to avoid online adverts.

Their readiness to do so comes largely from the fact that they feel overwhelmed by the number of adverts they see daily. The report shows that nearly three-quarters (74%) of consumers feel bombarded with ads. The same percentage feel irritated with adverts and the incursions they place on their time. One in four, meanwhile, find advertising extremely intrusive, while one in two believe it is somewhat disruptive.

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Bulbshare’s research shows that 84% of Gen Z consumers have lost faith in influencers. They are, unsurprisingly, more inclined to make purchases based on authentic recommendations. In fact, 86% would be more inclined to buy a product recommended by a friend than a paid influencer.

“This desire for authenticity makes it imperative that brands not only have products worth recommending but that they cultivate communities where authentic recommendations can take place,” said Hay. “In fact, there’s real hunger for this among Gen Z consumers. Some three quarters (74%) would promote a product they genuinely care about online. Moreover, 88% are enthusiastic about collaborating with brands, and 76% said they enjoy reviewing products.

“In a world where 81% of consumers trust real opinions over those promoted via an advert. It makes much more sense to allow consumers to be authentic advocates for a product or brand than to spend money on an ad that will, at best, be ignored and cause active resentment at worst.” // via

Lady Gaga’s Beauty Brand Gives Up on Amazon

Haus Laboratories’ flop reaffirms Amazon’s limitations as a one-size-fits-all retailer. It doesn’t allow (and has, over time, trained shoppers not to expect) brands to communicate values and their point of view. For brands trying to differentiate from commodities, that’s a critical shortcoming. On Amazon, too, a celebrity name attached to a product is practically invisible. Amazon has too many products from too many brands for the traditional brand-building features to stand out. // via

Quick Hits 🥊

• Google Search's Expanded Text Ads are being sunset at the end of this month. On July 1, Responsive Search Ads will be the only ad type for Search campaigns.

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