As the holiday shopping season gets underway, more and more people are choosing to finish their long lists of gifts online rather than in the crowded mall at the last minute. Although online shopping is very convenient, there are drawbacks to it as well, even though services like Gmail make it simple to track packages. Even so, online shopping can be a bit of a hassle due to the need to locate a specific product, determine where to buy it, schedule the delivery, and, of course, deal with the dreaded product return when you unavoidably take a chance on a last-minute gift.
Google’s Director of Product and Consumer Shopping, Danielle Buckley, stepped in to save the day and provided a few different ways users can utilize Gmail and Google Search to maximize their online holiday shopping this year. search results for terms such as “next-day and overnight shipping” see a spike each December, with the phrase “last-minute gifts” increasing as much as 800% from last December compared to November. With so much desperation being shown as the big day approaches, Google’s holiday shopping features are here to quell some of that online shopping anxiety ,according to Buckley.
First, Google is alerting users to the feature that allows them to filter for products with fast delivery times. After all, what good is a gift that arrives in January? US users of Search on desktop or mobile devices will be able to filter products that will arrive by December 24 as of this week. The feature will be accessible through a “Get it by Dec. 24” button, which will also function as a “Get it fast” button after the holidays are over. Users who are willing to shop in person will also benefit from this, as the filter will show items that are in stock locally and those that ship quickly.
Along with providing updates directly on shopping emails on desktop and mobile inboxes, Google is also leveraging Gmail to assist users in tracking packages. Additionally, the company announced that as soon as the delivery date changes, users’ inboxes will receive emails with package tracking information at the top of the list thanks to a feature that will be implemented. US users can choose to enable package tracking from their Gmail settings for automatic order status updates with qualified tracking numbers, though it might not be as thrilling as tracking a magical flying sleigh.
As Buckely noted in the blog post, big-ticket items don’t always end up as well-loved as you had anticipated. In most situations, returning the product is the best course of action. By emphasizing a link to acceptable return guidelines at the top of emails pertaining to shopping in Gmail, Google is making it simpler to locate merchant return policies. Once more, US users can access the feature on both desktop and mobile devices.
Even if there are just a few items left on your list to complete, Google’s features are all intended to make shopping at least somewhat stress-free.
