'Merchant Community' Growing Amid Coronavirus, Google Reports
Google grew its “merchant community” by more than 80% in the past year, “with significant growth in small- and medium-sized businesses,” said Google Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler on a Q4 call Tuesday. The pandemic has obviously been “a very,…
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very challenging environment for SMBs,” said Schindler. “Many weren't online” at all, and others “lost line of sight to demand overnight” due to COVID-19, he said. About a year ago, “as soon as we saw the scale of the impact, we really accelerated product” that gave SMB customers “signals to help them actually navigate and pivot” to the new reality, he said. As more consumers moved online during COVID-19 lockdowns, “and advertisers obviously responded by reactivating spend, we also saw our advertiser base grow,” said Schindler. “As traditional TV ratings continue to decline, TV advertisers are turning to streaming platforms like YouTube to reach people who are no longer watching TV.” Smart TVs “are our fastest-growing screen” for YouTube viewing, said Schindler. The stock closed 7.3% higher Wednesday at $2,058.88.