Shopify store- 436%jump in sales from ChatGPT recommendations
- 400%spike in monthly traffic in July 2024, driven mainly by Gemini and ChatGPT
- 3 weeksto sell out about six months of tampon stock
What happened
In July 2024 Viv's monthly traffic spiked by 400%. Marketing and design director Kelly Donohue said it came out of nowhere. When she dug in, she found most of it came from Google Gemini and ChatGPT recommending non-toxic period care.
The timing mattered. A study in the journal Environment International had just found metals like lead and arsenic in many popular tampon brands. People asked AI about toxins in tampons, and the answers sent them to Viv's blog. Many of those visitors bought.
“We ended up selling out of about six months of tampon inventory in three weeks, driven by Google's AI-powered recommendations.”
What Viv had published
Right after the study came out, Viv posted an article titled "Lead & Arsenic in Tampons?! Here's Why Viv is Your Safest Tampon Choice." Donohue said it was the brand's top converting post of 2024.
Viv's website and social posts explain in detail how its products are made, how safe the ingredients are and how they're tested. The brand also put its safety standards at the centre of its email, SMS and social media. Donohue thinks having facts about the brand in lots of places helped AI tools find it.
“These AI tools are specifically scraping through content, but looking for more than just keywords.”
The Google side
The effect carried on in the months that followed. Donohue says Google's AI picks helped sell out tampon stock that was meant to last about six months.
What other stores can take from this
- Answer the question people are asking right now. Viv posted its article on lead and arsenic in tampons as soon as the study made news. It became the brand's best-selling post of 2024.
- Go into detail. Viv explains how it makes, checks and tests its products. Donohue says that's the kind of detail AI tools look for when they build an answer.
- Say the same thing everywhere. Viv carried its safety message across its blog, email, SMS and social media.
Worth knowing: The 436% figure is Modern Retail's summary of Viv's results. The article does not give the sales figure it grew from.
Source
“Brands are seeing an influx of traffic from ChatGPT and Google Gemini”
Read the original article (opens in a new tab)Viv is not a FirstPicked customer. This page is our summary of Modern Retail's reporting. The figures and quotes are theirs.
