Retail never stands still. Here’s how marketers can keep pace

Sean Scott, VP and general manager of consumer shopping at Google, shares key insights at Shoptalk 2025 on how marketers can shape successful retail strategies and win with AI.

Today’s shoppers are in a state of ambient shopping — constantly browsing and ready to purchase at any moment. In fact, 8 in 10 online purchase journeys involve multiple touchpoints, making the path to purchase more complex than ever.¹

For marketers, simply “keeping up” with these behaviors is no longer enough. In an era when inspiration can strike anytime, anywhere, the challenge is clear: How can retailers stay relevant, engage high-intent shoppers, and drive sustained growth?

Consumers are predictably unpredictable

Shopping is no longer a linear journey. Consumers seamlessly switch between streaming, scrolling, and searching with shopping moments happening everywhere. A shopper can discover a product while watching YouTube Shorts and buy it without ever leaving the app, or conduct research on Search, compare deals on Google Shopping, then purchase through a retailer based on what’s in-stock at nearby stores.

This fluidity makes consumer behavior predictably unpredictable. But every interaction presents an opportunity for retailers that are ready to respond when intent strikes.

AI is already revolutionizing retail

In the past decade, we’ve seen mobile redefine shopping — giving consumers the ability to browse and buy from anywhere. Now, AI is reshaping the experience, helping retailers deliver more personalized recommendations, predictive insights, and seamless transactions. For years to come, we will see technologies create even more assistive, intuitive, and connected shopping experiences. The future of retail will rely on assistive and personalized experiences that cut through the noise and help shoppers, from discovery to purchase.

We’re building for the future by integrating AI across Google and YouTube products, helping retailers connect with shoppers at every stage of the journey. Whether it’s surfacing personalized recommendations, streamlining checkout, or seamlessly bridging digital and physical retail, AI is redefining how brands engage consumers in ways that were once unimaginable.

Imagine you’re searching for the perfect item of clothing for a special occasion. By asking AI for assistance, you can receive personalized recommendations, style inspiration, and virtual try-ons — making it easier than ever to find what you need. And, for in-store shoppers, AI-driven results help surface what’s in stock nearby, bridging the gap between online discovery and in-person purchases.

Put AI to work for your retail strategy

For advertisers, the opportunity to connect with shoppers has never been greater. Every day, over 1 billion shopping sessions are started across Google’s surfaces.² This is where you can turn intent into action, and by being present where shoppers are discovering, researching, and making purchasing decisions, you gain a competitive edge.

Visual search is transforming how brands engage shoppers through interactive, immersive discovery. It turns inspiration into instant purchasing power. Lens is our fastest growing search method, with over 20 billion monthly visual searches, and 1 in 4 Lens searches carry commercial intent.³ Brands embracing visual search are already capturing this high-intent demand — and seeing results.

Trust drives action

While social media platforms are seen as a key driver for brand awareness, when it comes to converting shoppers, trusted recommendations are the real differentiator.

We’ve seen this play out on YouTube, which according to a 2024 Traackr survey in the U.S., ranked as the No. 1 choice for product reviews and product information by all consumers, including millennials and Gen Z consumers.⁴

YouTube has become a go-to destination for shoppers looking to research, validate, see products in action, and purchase those products. The driving force behind this? Creators. Consumers are 98% more likely to trust recommendations from YouTube creators than from influencers on other platforms.⁵ Shoppers increasingly turn to creator-driven content and credible product reviews to inform their purchasing decisions, and we’ve seen this shorten the journey by six days on average.⁶

Take Sephora, for example. To extend the reach of their holiday social campaigns, the retailer partnered with seven creators to strategically launch a Shorts-only Demand Gen campaign featuring timely gift guides. This approach drove significant traffic to Sephora.com, resulting in 82% relative lift in searches for “sephora holiday” and best-in-class brand lift results.

While advertisers like Sephora are seeing strong performance on YouTube, we’re continuing to raise the bar on what YouTube campaigns can deliver for customers. Checkout on Merchant, for instance, is a new feature coming to Demand Gen that will streamline a user’s purchase journey by redirecting them to a merchant’s cart or checkout page for an accelerated shopping experience. We’re seeing that this provides deeper conversions for merchants. On average, advertisers who provide checkout URLs achieve an 11% increase in conversion value at similar cost per acquisition in their Demand Gen campaigns.⁷

What marketers can do today

Retailers often ask me, “How do I take full advantage of AI innovations right now?” The answer is clear: Start with high-quality data.

AI thrives on structured, accurate information. Your product feed powers visibility and performance across Google and YouTube, so maintaining real-time pricing, deals, images, and videos isn’t just best practice — it’s a competitive advantage. Tools like Merchant Center can help you do this, ensuring that AI-powered solutions work even harder for your brand.

AI is truly reshaping how brands connect with shoppers, while driving value for their businesses across creative, media, and measurement. Marketers who embrace it — using tools like AI Overviews, Lens, Google Shopping, and ad products like Performance Max and Demand Gen — will be set up for success.

Those who also refine their product data and preempt intent as part of their marketing strategy will set the standard, drive momentum, and define the next era of retail. Make sure you’re one of them.