Ina Steiner EcommerceBytes Blog
News and insight focusing on ecommerce.
by Ina Steiner, Editor of EcommerceBytes.com
Thu July 25 2013 22:29:28

Online Merchants Scramble to Cope with Gmail Changes

By: Ina Steiner

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One of the cardinal rules of email marketing is to make your list opt-in. People hate to find themselves subscribed to email and go hunting to figure out how to "unsubscribe." But Google, one of the largest email providers, has made changes to its Gmail service that users did not "opt into."

As I detail in Friday's Newsflash newsletter, Google is siphoning off emails from businesses, including email newsletters like those from EcommerceBytes, so when users visit their inbox, they have to click a tab to see the so-called "promotional" messages.



The fact that it's Google making this change is more than a little significant to online merchants. Maybe you can't get your site or products found in Google search, and now Google is making you pay for exposure in Google Shopping through PLAs, but you always had your solid, reliable email list to reach your customers.

But now Google is flexing its muscles again. And while the Gmail Inbox redesign may not be the end of the world, it's woken up businesses to how much power the company wields.

Google said its intentions are good - that people will visit the Promotions tab in Gmail with a clearer mind and intent - the idea is that your customers will be more predisposed to be wooed by your marketing messages.

But while Google says the redesign is to put control into the users' hands, by rolling out the redesign as the default, it's taking away users control by making the decision for them.

Marketplace sellers should be worried - Amazon wouldn't comment and eBay didn't respond when I emailed them with questions about whether they were seeing any impact as a result of the new Promotions tab in Gmail.

Email firm Yesmail's Jason Warnock provided me with interesting stats and some advice (see Friday's newsletter), but said it's still early days, and they are doing lots of testing.

Here's some advice on turning off the promotions tab from GenuineSeller.com. Be sure to let us know what you think as both an online seller and as a buyer and Gmail user.

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Readers Comments

Perminate Link for Online Merchants Scramble to Cope with Gmail Changes   Online Merchants Scramble to Cope with Gmail Changes

This user has validated their user name. by: Rexford

Fri Jul 26 13:50:41 2013

Having to go to five different categories to check my email is not an efficient use of my time.

BUTT out Google!!!

Perminate Link for Online Merchants Scramble to Cope with Gmail Changes   Online Merchants Scramble to Cope with Gmail Changes

This user has validated their user name. by: Anonymous Annie

Fri Jul 26 14:07:53 2013

I think I'll add a postscript to my checkout pages (or an information box) that reminds my gmail customers to check their ''promotional'' folder)

Oh! Better yet... I'll have my husband program the page so that the message ONLY appears if someone uses a gmail account as their main contact email.

''Oh, honey! Sweetheart?! Are you busy?''

Perminate Link for Online Merchants Scramble to Cope with Gmail Changes   Online Merchants Scramble to Cope with Gmail Changes

This user has validated their user name. by: Ina

Fri Jul 26 14:12:54 2013

>>>
I think I'll add a postscript to my checkout pages (or an information box) that reminds my gmail customers to check their ''promotional'' folder)

Oh! Better yet... I'll have my husband program the page so that the message ONLY appears if someone uses a gmail account as their main contact email.
<<<

Terrific idea, Annie!!

Perminate Link for Online Merchants Scramble to Cope with Gmail Changes   Online Merchants Scramble to Cope with Gmail Changes

This user has validated their user name. by: Anonymous Annie

Fri Jul 26 14:37:56 2013

I wonder... will this change affect customers who use ''POP'' to retrieve their email messages using Outlook, Eudora, Thunderbird, or some other email client that connects directly to the Gmail email servers?

Perminate Link for Online Merchants Scramble to Cope with Gmail Changes   Online Merchants Scramble to Cope with Gmail Changes

This user has validated their user name. by: Ina

Fri Jul 26 14:53:04 2013

My assumption was that Google treated the EcommerceBytes newsletters the same for everyone - and so far I'd heard they were going into Gmail recipients' Promotions tab unless they had set up an Updates tab, in which case they would go into that tab.

But iheartjacksparrow said the EB newsletters are going into the Primary tab in their case.

Why? Is it because Google is using accountholder behavior as a factor in which folder to place emails into (i.e., perhaps iheartjacksparrow has been reading EB newsletters religiously, and Gmail knew that behavior from the past)? That doesn't seem likely to me, but why would the same newsletter go into one person's Primary tab and another person's Promotions tab?

Perminate Link for Online Merchants Scramble to Cope with Gmail Changes   Online Merchants Scramble to Cope with Gmail Changes

This user has validated their user name. by: Rexford

Fri Jul 26 15:00:58 2013

Ina says: "Google is using accountholder behavior as a factor in which folder to place emails"

This has a familiar ring. (The so-called "best match" and "cantseemesearch")  

Why are so many companies allowing machines to make decisions based on current or past "behaviors"?  I just want an inmail box that delivers my email.  I don't want a machine categorizing it and/or making decisions for me based on behaviors that the machine perceives.

Perminate Link for Online Merchants Scramble to Cope with Gmail Changes   Online Merchants Scramble to Cope with Gmail Changes

This user has validated their user name. by: Ina

Fri Jul 26 15:46:16 2013

I don't want to mislead anyone, that was a question not a statement about whether Google might be using accountholder behavior. :)  

Perminate Link for Online Merchants Scramble to Cope with Gmail Changes   Online Merchants Scramble to Cope with Gmail Changes

by: unusual1 This user has validated their user name.

Fri Jul 26 16:58:42 2013

Unable to reach Gmail. Please check your internet connection or company's network settings. Help

The above notice has been popping up all day since google started their unwanted redo of gmail. At least its not my main email, that comes from my server. Its just an "emergence" email if my server goes down. Everything has been a "slow load" all day - dont know if there is a connection or not.

Perminate Link for Online Merchants Scramble to Cope with Gmail Changes   Online Merchants Scramble to Cope with Gmail Changes

by: comet This user has validated their user name.

Fri Jul 26 19:19:03 2013

@INTERNETCARSCAMS--

Gotta ask--are you FOR or AGAINST "Internet Car Scams"?   Just askin'.

Now as to Gmail etc---they need to give us control over something as personal as our OWN PC.  It is not bought and paid for by them much as they would like to THINK it is--I earned the $$$ to buy it;  pay for the Web hook up--and since I live in the deep country I pay a lot for this---and I get  to CHOOSE how and who I INVITE into my electronic "parlor" to re-arrange the furniture.


As some one else posted they thought they were hacked when this occured---there should never be a company organized "update" that leads you to believe that you have been hacked!  There was NO NEED for the WAY this was done---and either you like it or you don't that is not really the issue.

The fact that they feel free to just plop these things in our laps willy-nilly is arrogant.

As a much earlier poster said--I bet there were a bunch of FORMER EBAY EMPLOYEES left minding the store over the weekend at Google who decided to see just how much they could "disruptivly innovate".

Google should stick to the things it does best that people WANT and stay OUT of things they don't need to be  patronizingly  doing "for" us poor wee lil lambies who don't know what we want or how to do it.   Even I as a relativly "tech no phobe" can figure THIS out.  Or I know who to ask to help---and it ain't Google!  

Perminate Link for Online Merchants Scramble to Cope with Gmail Changes   Online Merchants Scramble to Cope with Gmail Changes

by: gla This user has validated their user name.

Sat Jul 27 11:57:01 2013

I think it's fine - but only after I discovered I had the option to revert back to the original.  This gives each of us our preference choice.  I also use the pop3 to bring my gmail into Outlook and prefer that so I can sort and keep the important stuff where I can more easily find it.

Perminate Link for Online Merchants Scramble to Cope with Gmail Changes   Online Merchants Scramble to Cope with Gmail Changes

by: Patricia This user has validated their user name.

Sat Jul 27 16:48:13 2013

I have a Google email account...don't really use it and now I'm glad I don't.

Perminate Link for Online Merchants Scramble to Cope with Gmail Changes   Online Merchants Scramble to Cope with Gmail Changes

This user has validated their user name. by: InternetCarScams

Tue Jul 30 21:24:48 2013

Comet, go to my website and see for yourself ebaymotorssucks.com I've been saving folks from car scams since 2004.

Someone has to look after eBay car buyers, eBay don't care if their shoppers get ripped off.

Perminate Link for Online Merchants Scramble to Cope with Gmail Changes   Online Merchants Scramble to Cope with Gmail Changes

by: Will This user has validated their user name.

Fri Aug 30 11:45:05 2013

I bring in all of my email using the Outlook program including Gmail, so it's still the same on my end.

I see Gmail could be filtering out eBay messages - this is wrong. However, since eBay plays games of their own, what's good for the goose...

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