Retail Reset
Amazon achieved ecommerce supremacy in the dot-com era. While Google won search, the commerce lane belonged to Amazon.
But Google sees an opportunity for an ecommerce do-over in the agentic AI era, writes Mike Shields at Next in Media. And its strategy centers on shoppable YouTube and Gemini-powered shopping agents.
At Google’s recent Brandcast event, the company announced a feature that lets viewers buy products directly on YouTube using Google Pay, with two clicks on a remote control.
Making shoppable TV work is a tall order, Shields says. But Google has as good of a shot as anyone – it claims viewers watch 110 million hours of shopping-related YouTube content a day.
However, Shields adds that the plan requires more shoppers to use Google Pay. Good luck with that.
Meanwhile, last week at Google Marketing Live, the company hyped its Gemini chatbot’s growing popularity as a shopping assistant. Google wants Gemini to “remove friction and close the entire loop,” said Google shopping lead Ashish Gupta at the event.
The statement sounded “very Amazony,” Shields notes. Speaking of “Amazony” plays, he says, Google also recently introduced a universal shopping cart that works across different retailers, as well as new native ad units for Gemini product recommendations.
Looks like the ecommerce wars are back on.
The Listening Economy
For years, “your phone is listening to you” has lived somewhere between conspiracy theory and ad tech folklore. Now the FTC says Cox Media Group sold that fear as a product.
The broadcaster and other marketing firms will pay nearly $1 million to settle allegations it falsely marketed an AI-powered “Active Listening” ad product that claimed to target consumers based on real-time smart device conversations. According to the FTC, the technology never actually used voice data. Instead, Cox and partners MindSift and 1010 Digital Works allegedly resold email lists purchased from data brokers while pitching the service as privacy-compliant voice targeting.
The case lands amid a broader FTC crackdown on AI washing, where companies dress up conventional products with inflated or unverifiable AI claims. Over the last few years, regulators targeted firms, including DoNotPlay and several ecommerce vendors, over exaggerated promises about AI-powered services.
In regard to the Cox case, regulators rejected the claim that consumers opted into voice-tracking through the app’s terms of service, arguing mandatory click-through agreements do not equal consent for in-home audio collection.
“It is a basic rule of business that you need to be honest with your customers, and these companies failed to do that,” said Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection.
Romanticizing Reach
Discussions about ad performance have reached a fever pitch. Nowadays, the marketing pendulum is swinging toward brand-building.
Take 1-800-Flowers, a brand that admits it focused on driving clicks and transactions at the expense of maintaining customer growth and retention. Now, it’s trying to balance upper- and lower-funnel marketing tactics. Other marketers are in similar situations, The Wall Street Journal reports. Bath & Body Works, for example, said it would prioritize branding after a hyperfocus on sales corroded customer loyalty.
The trend of advertisers revisiting brand marketing would explain why media companies centered broad audience reach and scale during the TV upfronts earlier this month. Performance is still important – that pressure to justify every ad dollar isn’t going away anytime soon – but marketers also realize performance will dwindle over time if they aren’t attracting new customers.
For 1-800-Flowers, its plan to build its customer base includes investing in influencer marketing platforms, such as TikTok and Instagram. The brand also intends to test (surprise!) AI-based features to improve the user experience, such as helping customers find relevant products more quickly.
With all the competition out there, a stronger brand will see stronger performance in lower-funnel marketing, according to the company’s CEO.
But Wait! There’s More!
Google appeals the ruling that declared it an online search monopolist. [NYT]
Even if OpenAI files for a public offering, it might hold off on the actual listing. [The Information]
Vibe coding is producing a new genre of slop. [WSJ]
How TMRW Golf League is tapping social video in hopes of growing a younger fan base. [Marketing Brew]
