Wouldn’t it be nice if you could compare two similar products and see which one sells best over a period of time. It would certainly help you decide which product to promote heavily, and when to promote it.
Google has just launched a free tool that they say will do just that:
Tell us what people are buying and selling online. Here’s an excerpt from Google’s blog:
“Many of you are aware of Google Trends, the handy tool that enables you to track and compare what Google users are searching for. Now imagine a similar tool that can give you some insight into what people are buying and selling online. That’s exactly what we’ve built: Google Checkout Trends aggregates the sales data of Google Checkout merchants and charts it in a matter of seconds. (Of course, all the data is anonymized first.) So if you’re interested in how sales of Batman or Spider Man paraphernalia compare, or are wondering just how popular Ugg boots are these days, visit Checkout Trends for a glimpse into online shopping. Go ahead and try it out — and get creative with the searches. You may be surprised at what you find.”
I tried it out this morning comparing sales of WebKinz and Beanie Baby and WebKinz and Bratz Doll. WebKinz outsold Beanie Babies by a substantial margin – no surprise there. But when I compared WebKinz to Bratz Dolls, the latter had the upper hand for most of the year with WebKinz creeping ahead in December 07 and January 08.
Google’s data for the tool is generated via sales tracked through Google Checkout Merchants so it’s only a small percentage of total web sales.
It’s certainly an interesting tool to use for a quick analysis. Has anyone else tried the tool? Impressions? Add a comment below.
Written by Julia Hyde
Technorati tags: 
google checkout trends, 
ecommerce, 
market research.
