Google presents the #BlackOwnedFriday film feat. T-Pain and Normani

Google Maps Holiday Helpfulness Trends 

Ahead of the holiday season, Google Maps has shared fun and festive U.S. trends — from popular activities to what foods Americans are ordering most — to help you make your list, check it twice and get through the holiday season safely, efficiently, and joyfully. You can also find all this and more, including popular times to visit places like grocery stores, restaurants, post offices and more, in the blog post here.

Also, check out the Google Maps tips and new product announcements to help make navigating the holidays a breeze.

Google Shopping Holiday 100

To help you zip through your holiday shopping this year, here’s the Google Shopping Holiday 100 — a list of what is predicted to be the 100 most popular categories and products in the U.S. for the holiday season, according to Google searches. Spanning ages and interests, the 2021 trending categories include tech, gaming, kitchen gear, sports and fitness, health and beauty, fragrances, and toys and games.

Shoppable murals with Google and AmEx 

Starting on Monday, November 22nd, Google and American Express will be unveiling shoppable murals in New York, LA, Boston, and Chicago, to give passersby a unique and interactive way to discover and support local small businesses.  Each mural was created in partnership with a local artist and features products created and sold by local small businesses. The murals are shoppable using Google Lens from Android or iOS devices – all you need to do is hold your camera up to the mural and tap on an item to find it online. Murals in NYC and Boston will feature products from Black-owned businesses – you can see more details below:

• NYC: Artist: Kitkat Pecson; Mural location: Bogart St & Grattan St; Featured Black-owned business:  Trade Street Jam Co

  • About Trade Street Jam Co: Trade Street Jam Co., founded by chef Ashley Rouse, is an online-based business that sells low sugar vegan jams. During the height of the pandemic, Ashley pivoted to focus all of her efforts to selling online. She went from making 2,000 jars every two months to making 2,000 jars every two weeks, increasing sales by 400% year-on-year. To fuel this growth, Ashley used Google Ads to help people searching for “jam” or “jelly” find her brand.

• Boston: Artist: Julia Emiliani; Mural location: Brighton Ave & Chester St; Featured Black-owned business: Playa Society

  • About Playa Society: Playa Society is an online-only brand that sells women’s sportswear. Esther Wallace, the former basketball player, founded the company with the mission to sell clothes that reflect core social values, like gender equality and social justice.  Since Playa Society began using Google Ads in 2019, the merchant’s website traffic has increased by 50% and sales have increased by 30% by using a combination of paid and free listings on Google Shopping.