• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, October 27, 2021

Alphabet posted its highest quarterly revenue increase in more than a decade, as businesses jumped online and poured money into digital ads to meet consumers who are increasingly shopping online or researching local businesses to buy online and pick-up in stores.

“Searches for open now near me are four times globally versus last year,” Philipp Schindler, senior vice president and chief business officer at Google, said during the company’s earnings call on Tuesday. “Strong growth in local shopping queries means people are researching the visits to stores more often before they go. As a result, we've seen more advertisers include in-store sales alongside e-commerce goals to drive omni-channel growth. Adoption has nearly doubled over the past year.”

That growth catapulted revenue by 41% to $65.12 billion, Google’s parent company reported during its third quarter earnings call. Profit rose to $21.03 billion, up nearly three times what it reported before the pandemic.

Omnichannel strategies remain core to Google’s shopping strategy for merchants and brands, Schindler said. The company’s latest product launches focus on easier ways for businesses to show the local services they offer, from hair extensions to auto repair, across Search and Maps.

The advertising business posted $53.13 billion in sales from advertising -- up 43% -- led by Search and Maps as well as YouTube, which reported that sales grew 43% to $7.21 billion in the quarter.

“There's a lot more to come, including tapping into commerce on YouTube, from shoppable livestream experiments with retailers like, Sephora, Target and Walmart,” Schindler said. “To pilot that, that viewers buy directly from the favorite creators’ videos we're still in the early innings of what’s possible.”

Other revenues were $6.8 billion up 23% driven by growth in YouTube non-advertising revenues and hardware which benefited from the addition of Fitbit revenues. Google Services operating income was 24 billion, up 66%.