• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, December 23, 2019

During the first quarter of 2020, Google will test the ways that language plays a role in attribution modeling. The pilot will give Google and participating advertisers insight into how language assists in the journey, Sarah Carberry, head of multicultural strategy at Google, told Search Marketing Daily.

“We are testing some of the language matching experience for Shopping Ads,” Carberry said.

Some 78% of bilingual Hispanics say they don’t mind when they see results from English-language websites while searching for information in Spanish.

Spanish-language commercial search queries grew 55% in 2019, compared with 2018, according to Google data.

“We’re seeing searching in Spanish and English around some key holiday moments,” Carberry said. “In certain categories like food, apparel and electronics have increased year over year.”

Children growing up in a multilingual home appreciate the importance of a multicultural world, making it incredibly important for marketers to understand the preferences of bilingual consumers and how they shop, especially during the holidays.

It’s also important for marketers to know the role of -- and return on investment for -- culture, Carberry said.

“Clients always come to us asking when should language play a role, and when should I use English for Spanish Americans,” she said. “We’re finding a need to stay connected to culture. The best way to do that is through language.”

The shopping experience for bilingual Hispanics travels across channels. About 40% of bilingual shoppers say they shop in stores, but purchase online, compared with 29% of non-Hispanic shoppers, according to Google data. Some 60% of bilingual shoppers have four or more people in their household, compared with 35% non-Hispanic shoppers. And 64% of bilingual shoppers shop online for the holidays for the convenience of home deliveries.

The window to influence bilingual Hispanic shoppers this holiday season is longer 39 days, because of the various celebrated holidays in December, such as Posadas and Nochebuena, Three Kings Day.

Some 28% of of bilingual Hispanics said they begin their holiday shopping in November after Thanksgiving -- 3% more likely than non-Hispanics to begin during this time, while 25% of bilingual Hispanics say they begin their shopping in December -- 47% more likely than non-Hispanics.

When it comes to completing their holiday shopping, 73% of bilingual Hispanics say they complete their holiday shopping in December, and are much more likely than non-Hispanics to complete it in January. This is likely driven by shopping for Three Kings Day, putting some holiday gift money to use, or taking advantage of post-holiday sales.