Google’s new cart gives shoppers a reason to return before they’ve bought anything. Its Universal Cart began rolling out Thursday in the U.S. across Search and Gemini. Shoppers can save products from multiple retailers, receive price-drop and restock alerts, compare card benefits through Google Wallet, and find promo codes. They can check out with Google Pay or move items to a merchant’s cart.
We’ve got something new to measure. A Google checkout may produce an order a retailer would otherwise have lost. It may also capture a purchase the customer would have completed directly. Those outcomes have different economics. A rise in orders attributed to Google cannot, by itself, tell you which occurred.
The same distinction applies to promotions. A price-drop notification could convert someone waiting for a discount. It could also train a regular customer to wait. This has me thinking about contribution margin, full-price purchases and repeat purchasing alongside conversions.
I’m wondering whether this experience creates profitable demand or changes where existing demand gets fulfilled.
Every company needs a Claw strategy. Do you have one?
Author’s note: This is not a sponsored post. I am the author of this article and it expresses my own opinions. I am not, nor is my company, receiving compensation for it. This work was created with the assistance of various generative AI models.
About Shelly Palmer
Shelly Palmer is the Professor of Advanced Media in Residence at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and CEO of The Palmer Group, a consulting practice that helps Fortune 500 companies with AI strategy, implementation and governance, as well as technology, media and marketing. Named one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices in Technology, he is a bestselling author, covers tech and business for Fox 5’s Good Day New York, is a regular commentator on CNN, and writes the popular daily business blog Think About This. Follow @shellypalmer or visit shellypalmer.com.