Google To Promote Holiday Shopping Deals Via Text Alerts

Consumers who are searching Google for shopping deals on their smartphones could soon see an ad promoting a new text alert service to receive holiday offers and updates.

“Holiday shopping is on the horizon and people will be hunting for the best deals,” wrote Google in its announcement. “Last year, nearly half of holiday shoppers said they did the majority of their shopping on or before Cyber Monday, making November a critical time for advertisers to reach your audience.”

Auto dealers may want to explore Google’s new advertising tool to potentially offer consumers eye-catching holiday specials on cars directly on their smartphones via text message, with the potential to stand out from the multitude of ads that a user sees on their device.

“To help ease shopping-induced holidaze, we’re testing a new ad format that conveniently delivers the latest brand offers and updates straight to consumers’ phones,” explained Google. “People can click to subscribe to a Google service that tailors promotional messages to products they’re interested in. After subscribing, their phone numbers will remain private and they have the option to opt out of receiving messages at any time.”

Google has decided to create separate text message subscriptions to receive deals for Black Friday, Cyber Monday or general holiday offers. The company explains that users who subscribe will receive text alerts about deals and promotions “from popular retailers.”

For users who are not yet seeing these ads and would like to try subscribing, Google explains that they can text “JOIN” to one of the following numbers:

For Black Friday: 847-904-0608

For Cyber Monday: 847-906-8958

For Holiday deals: 847-904-0596

Subscribers will receive a text confirmation from Google and will begin to receive promotional alerts at some point in the future.

Google’s new promotional tool is still in the early testing stage, and there are no details available yet on the pricing structure. “The text promotions are based on the ad a user responds to and not on specific product interests,” a Google spokesperson told Search Engine Land. “If you subscribe to the Black Friday updates, for example, you’ll receive promotion notices matched to deals available for that day.”

The promotions are not linked to a retailer’s Google Merchant Feed, but are instead built by participating retailers specifically for these text message subscriptions. When there is a link in the text message, which isn’t always the case, it will point to a retailer’s mobile website.