Google Expands Commerce Tools

Google is pushing forward with its Commerce Media suite, unveiling a significant expansion aimed at benefiting brands and retailers across its advertising platforms. This move is part of the tech giant’s ongoing effort to strengthen its position in the digital commerce advertising space.

The suite offers artificial intelligence-driven tools that operate across Google Search, YouTube, and the Display Network. These tools are designed to assist advertisers in improving campaign efficiency, delivering more personalised content, and ultimately driving measurable business results.

A key upgrade includes the integration of retail media networks into Performance Max. With this update, networks such as Roundel – Target’s retail media arm – can now link online, in-app, and even in-store sales to their advertising efforts using Search Ads 360.

This improvement provides a more complete view of customer journeys across different channels, helping brands better understand which ads contribute to specific sales outcomes. It is expected to improve attribution accuracy and justify ad spend more effectively.

Importantly, Google is also expanding commerce media support beyond just Performance Max. Advertisers now have the ability to run campaigns through Search, Shopping, and Demand Gen. This broader access allows for more tailored and diversified advertising strategies.

With this update, advertisers can choose the most suitable campaign type depending on their marketing goals, whether it’s driving website traffic, increasing product visibility, or boosting conversions. It gives them the flexibility to be more creative and strategic in their campaign planning.

Retailers and marketplaces like Shopee, Flipkart, and Rakuten are also gaining access to newly developed self-service tools. These tools allow them to directly upload and manage their product catalogues and share them with partner brands in a more efficient and controlled way.

This new system significantly simplifies collaboration between retailers and brands. It ensures that stock levels, product details, and pricing information are more accurate and up to date, which leads to better shopping experiences for consumers.

YouTube, one of the most powerful visual platforms owned by Google, is also seeing updates that make it more retail-friendly. Through Display & Video 360, advertisers can now scale off-site retail media campaigns onto YouTube, opening the door for greater reach and engagement.

This expansion enables advertisers to connect more meaningfully with consumers through rich, visual content. With YouTube’s vast audience, this move will likely help brands tap into untapped markets and promote products in a more immersive way.

In addition to these tools, Google is launching a pilot project that introduces product-level attribution. This feature gives brands the ability to measure the impact of their advertising campaigns down to specific products and categories.

Understanding exactly which products are selling as a result of specific advertising efforts will empower brands and retailers to optimise their marketing strategies more effectively. It marks a shift towards data transparency and accountability in digital commerce.

This level of detail in performance tracking is particularly valuable for large brands managing hundreds or thousands of SKUs. It ensures that marketing budgets are being allocated to the most successful and profitable products.

Google’s goal with this suite expansion is to become a central hub for retail media. By building scalable and transparent solutions, the company is aiming to support sustainable and measurable growth in the e-commerce advertising sector.

To take advantage of these new tools and features, Google is encouraging brands and retailers interested in participating to contact their respective Google account managers. Early access to the beta programme may offer an edge in a highly competitive market.