• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, March 14, 2024

Far from closing Gmail, as a hoax had said it would a month ago, Google is using the service for yet another function. 

Movie tickets and boarding passes that arrive via Gmail are now automatically surfacing in Google Wallet. The service is live for some global movie chains and airlines, and more are expected to be added, Google reported last week.  

This is a great convenience for consumers who find themselves fumbling for their boarding passes as they are trying to board a flight, or can’t find their tickets on a movie line. Previously, they had to add the confirmations to Google Wallet manually. 

What is not clear is whether this has any marketing uses. Can a movie chain or airline (or a third party, perhaps) add a promotional message to the confirmation?  

It seems unlikely, given the tough new privacy rules put into effect by Gmail and Yahoo Mail this very month. Still, Google Wallet is also offering this update: 

Loyalty cards saved to Wallet can now be used to highlight membership benefits while users browse your products on Google Search and Shopping. This feature is limited to the US. 

The full monetization scheme is yet to be seen.  

But here’s a reminder for email marketers: Gmail’s new rules are in effect. Gmail requires that bulk senders — those sending more than 5,000 messages to Gmail per day — strongly authenticate their email with DMARC policies, SPF and SKIM.  

And on April 1, senders must have a clearly visible unsubscribe button in their emails, and promptly honor those requests.