Google says Apple Watch, Barbie Dreamhouse will fill holiday lists
Before you make a list and check it twice, Google has a tip for you: These are the 100 holiday gifts it predicts your loved ones will want to find under the tree on Christmas morning.
Many of the products on the Google Shopping 100 list, which the tech giant shared exclusively with USA TODAY, will come as no surprise with the latest Apple products – Watch Series 6, iPhone 12 and iPad Air 4 – new Sony PlayStation 5 and Microsoft Xbox Series X included. Three Google products including two versions of the Pixel and Google Chromecast with Google TV also made the list.
And there are some gift ideas with a COVID-19 element from blue light blocking glasses, coffee makers to heaters.
The list was compiled by combing through several months of Google search data, the company said, identifying which products had risen in popularity and extrapolating to make a “forward-looking prediction of popular products.”
“This is only our prediction of what’s going to trend, so it will be interesting to see how things actually play out over the shopping season,” Google spokesperson Craig Ewer told USA TODAY. “If there’s anything we’ve learned this year, it’s that 2020 is full of surprises!”
Holiday sales have kicked off earlier than past years with more deals being offered online-only as retailers look to reduce crowds and eliminate the need to rush into a store.
Experts say it’s critical for retailers to start the season early as consumers will be faced with restrictions on how many can be in a store at a time and concerns about online orders not arriving on time.
It’s not unusual for some products to be hard to find during the holiday season, when shoppers are clamoring for gifts and deals.
But “during a holiday that’s impacted by COVID, there may be even more” shortages, says Karl Haller, Consumer Center of Competency leader and retail industry expert for IBM Global Business Services.