For many, Black Friday is a necessary evil. No one likes dealing with the congestion and long lines, but many of the deals are just too good to pass up.
Google recognized that and, this past Black Friday, launched a new service to help make holiday shopping easier.
"To help ease shopping-induced holidaze, we're testing a new ad format that conveniently delivers the latest brand offers and updates straight to consumers' phones," Google announced in a Google+ post.
Those who shop on Black Friday know that they must prioritize sales in order to maximize their savings. Google's new service, in essence, does that automatically through SMS.
Starting earlier in November, customers who searched terms like "Black Friday deals," "Cyber Monday deals" or "Holiday deals" were prompted to subscribe to a text message service that will notify them automatically when Google finds new deals advertised online.
Though Google launched the program with Black Friday in mind, it will continue through the holiday season, so long as the search terms aren't for specific days that have already past (e.g., Black Friday, Cyber Monday). According to TechCrunch, the internet giant is using this holiday shopping season as a test, and that it could be expanded beyond the holiday season if successful.
With this new feature, Google tapped into two of SMS' most powerful features: convenience and immediacy. As the shopping season continues, customers will know instantly what they best deals are, thanks to text messaging.
Other businesses can learn from Google's strategy here. SMS can be used to quickly notify customers of sales, helping drive business and set themselves apart from their competition. A robust SMS gateway can help make it possible.
