Excerpt from Seeking Alpha
When it comes to shopping online, where are people starting their hunt for deals? It's still largely Google Search (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Morgan Stanley says - and even members of Amazon Prime (AMZN) largely report starting product searches on Google.
Google's position atop the e-commerce funnel is still robust, the firm's Brian Nowak and team said.
"We see GOOGL's retail search innovation the past few years bringing more merchants and inventory across improved GOOGL e-commerce experiences (Search, Maps, YouTube etc.) and our AlphaWise survey data continue to show how e-commerce consumer behavior (including Prime member behavior) remains strong on GOOGL," the firm said.
Also important, as the consumer weakens (if the consumer weakens), "with e-commerce/CPG making up ~42% of total online advertising, we see this position as being key to driving durable paid search growth."
Some 35% of Americans visit Google first when they are trying to compare prices for already researched products, Nowak and team added - another key driver for a holiday season when consumers may be more price sensitive after 2022's inflation.
Turning to online travel shopping, the firm said about 80% of U.S. survey respondents said they began travel research online - and 37% start on Google, vs. about 20% on Expedia (EXPE) and 15% on Booking Holdings properties (BKNG).
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