The landscape of Google Search has undergone a radical transformation over the last few years. If you have searched for a consumer product recently—anything from a high-end espresso machine to a simple camp stove—you have likely noticed that the traditional “ten blue links” are no longer the focal point of the results page. Instead, the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) is now dominated by highly visual, interactive elements known as product packs.
These product packs, which often appear as scrollable carousels or grids of individual listings, are not just aesthetic upgrades. They represent a fundamental shift in how Google processes commercial intent. For many retailers and brands, these packs have moved from being a supplementary feature to becoming a primary sales channel. Data gathered from January 2025 through January 2026 reveals a competitive environment where visibility is no longer just about ranking #1; it is about securing a “prime” spot in a dynamic commerce ecosystem.
To understand the magnitude of this shift, consider that recent search data has tracked individual results pages returning as many as 60 organic product listings. These are premium placements that appear multiple times on a single page, effectively surrounding the user with purchase options. For brands that haven’t yet recalibrated their SEO and digital marketing strategies, this shift represents both a significant risk and a massive opportunity.
The Data Behind the Shift: Analyzing 63,000 Merchants
To get a clear picture of how these product packs are performing, an extensive analysis was conducted using data from Nozzle, covering more than 63,000 merchants across a diverse set of e-commerce keywords. The timeframe—spanning early 2025 to early 2026—provides a comprehensive look at how visibility translates into actual traffic and revenue.
The overarching takeaway is clear: simply “appearing” in a product pack is not enough. There is a widening gap between visibility and performance. While many brands are present in these carousels, only a handful are optimizing their presence to actually capture user clicks and drive conversions. The data suggests that success in this new era of search requires a granular understanding of how Google prioritizes certain listings over others.
Defining Success: Appearances vs. Actual Traffic
One of the most revealing findings from the data is the disparity between a brand’s footprint in product results and the traffic they actually receive. Two major retailers, eBay and Home Depot, illustrate this gap perfectly.
During the study period, eBay appeared in product results for a staggering 874,621 keywords. Home Depot had a comparable footprint, appearing for 831,699 keywords. Despite the similar number of appearances, the traffic outcomes were worlds apart:
- eBay: Driven approximately 3.2 million visits from product pack results.
- Home Depot: Driven nearly 28.8 million visits from a slightly smaller keyword footprint.
How does a brand with fewer keyword appearances generate nine times the traffic? The answer lies in position quality. Home Depot’s products consistently secured “above-the-fold” positions—the first few slots in a carousel that are visible without any user interaction. In contrast, many of eBay’s appearances were buried in the middle or end of carousels, or tied to long-tail marketplace terms that lacked the high-volume “head term” demand that Home Depot captured.
For digital marketers, the lesson is clear: aggregate appearance data is a vanity metric. To understand real impact, you must segment your data to see where you are winning visible, high-intent placements versus where you are simply “present” but unseen.
The Critical Gap: Visible vs. Non-Visible Appearances
Because product packs often function as horizontal carousels, the “first-screen” real estate is the only real estate that matters for the majority of shoppers. Listings that require a user to scroll right to be seen suffer from a dramatic drop-off in engagement.
Analysis of industry giants highlights how much potential traffic is left on the table due to non-visible placements. For instance:
- REI: Out of its 3.8 million product appearances, 1.52 million required scrolling to be seen.
- Walmart: Held 1.29 million non-visible placements despite having a massive catalog of 3.5 million unique products.
Even for the world’s largest retailers, nearly a third or more of their organic product presence is effectively “hidden.” This “scrolling gap” is a critical metric for any e-commerce SEO team. If a significant percentage of your product pack appearances are non-visible, it indicates a need for better feed optimization, more competitive pricing, or improved product imagery to signal to Google that your listing deserves a primary slot.
Why CMOs Should Care About Visibility Ratios
For Chief Marketing Officers and executive leadership, the “visibility ratio”—the percentage of appearances that are above-the-fold—is a much more accurate reflection of a channel’s health than total impressions. A high number of appearances with a low visibility ratio suggests that while your technical SEO might be working to get you “indexed” in the packs, your product data isn’t strong enough to “win” the placement. Improving this ratio is often a faster route to revenue growth than simply trying to rank for more keywords.
Does Discounting Drive Product Pack Visibility?
There is a common assumption in the e-commerce world that Google’s algorithms favor discounted products. The logic is simple: a “sale” tag is a strong signal of value to the user, and Google wants to show users the best deals. However, the data from the top 10 merchants in this study shows that the relationship between discounting and visibility is far more complex—and inconsistent—than many believe.
When we look at the numbers, the “discounting equals visibility” hypothesis begins to crumble:
- Amazon: Leads the group with 49% of its catalog discounted. While its visibility rate of 72% is strong, it only ranks in the middle of the pack for overall performance.
- eBay: Only 8% of its products are discounted, yet it ties for the highest visibility rate in the entire dataset at 81%.
- Walmart Seller: Discounts 24% of its catalog and reaches 81% visibility.
- Walmart (Direct): Discounts 27% of its products but ranks near the bottom of the group with only 62% visibility.
This data proves that discounting is not a “magic button” for ranking in product packs. While a lower price or a promotional tag might help at the margins, it is clearly not the primary mechanism Google uses to determine placement. Instead, factors like feed quality, category relevance, customer review signals, and adherence to high image standards appear to carry significantly more weight.
Retail teams should take note: if your strategy for winning in search relies heavily on constant price reductions, you may be eroding your margins for a visibility boost that never comes. Investing in better product data and a more robust review strategy may offer a much higher return on investment.
Specialist Brands: Competing with Giants and Winning
One of the most encouraging takeaways for smaller or mid-market retailers is that Google’s product packs are not just for the Amazons and Walmarts of the world. In fact, specialist brands with deep category expertise are frequently outperforming the retail giants in their specific niches.
The data highlights several “vertical” success stories:
- Camp Chef: This brand appears for approximately 155,299 keywords—a tiny fraction of the footprint of a general retailer like Walmart. However, Camp Chef generates an estimated 2.6 million visits from those appearances. By dominating its specific category, it achieves above-the-fold positioning that rivals much larger competitors.
- Fellow: A brand specializing in high-end coffee makers and gear, Fellow has leveraged organic product packs to drive massive growth, proving that premium positioning is possible even against “everything stores.”
- Fire Maple: Generates over 1 million estimated visits from 185,184 keyword appearances, showing a high efficiency in how its product data translates to traffic.
These specialist brands are winning because product packs reward category relevance. Google’s goal is to provide the most helpful result for a specific query. If a brand can prove through its product data, reviews, and site authority that it is the “expert” in coffee gear or camping equipment, Google is increasingly likely to give that brand a prime spot over a general retailer that sells everything from groceries to tires.
For agencies and niche retailers, this represents a level playing field. You don’t need a Walmart-sized budget to win; you need to be the best in your specific sandbox. This means ensuring your product feeds are rich with attributes that matter to your specific audience and that your customer sentiment (reviews) remains high.
The Future of E-commerce Search: AI, Gemini, and Agentic Commerce
While the current data shows the power of product packs, the landscape is poised for even more dramatic shifts as we move further into 2026. The deeper integration of Artificial Intelligence, specifically through models like Gemini 3, is transforming the search experience from a list of results into a proactive shopping assistant.
We are entering the era of “Agentic Commerce.” In this environment, AI agents won’t just show you a product; they will help you compare options, check compatibility, and even execute purchases based on your preferences. The emergence of the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) is a testament to this shift, aiming to standardize how product data is shared across different platforms and AI models.
The Two-Tiered Search Economy
As AI Overviews (SGE) become more prevalent, we are seeing the rise of a two-tiered search economy. In the first tier, being “cited” within an AI Overview is critical for brand recognition and trust. These citations influence how users perceive the brand before they even look at the product pack. In the second tier, the product pack itself serves as the execution layer where the final click or purchase happens.
The challenge for Google—and for marketers—will be balancing paid visibility with organic citations. For brands, this means that SEO is no longer just about “keywords”; it’s about “entity authority.” You want the AI to recognize your brand as a reputable source for a product category, which in turn reinforces your performance in the organic product packs.
Strategies for Dominating Product Packs
Given the data and the shift toward AI-driven search, how should brands adjust their strategy? Success in the next phase of e-commerce search requires a focus on four key pillars:
1. High-Fidelity Product Feeds
Your product feed is the foundation of your visibility. This goes beyond simple titles and prices. Google’s ability to place your product in the right pack depends on rich attributes: material, size, color, pattern, and technical specifications. The more data points you provide, the more “surface area” your product has to appear in specialized filters and carousels.
2. Visible-First Optimization
Stop measuring success by total appearances. Instead, track your “above-the-fold” share. If your products are consistently appearing in positions 4 through 10 of a carousel, you are likely losing 80% of the potential traffic. Use tools to monitor your actual SERP layout and adjust your bids or organic data to push those listings into the first three slots.
3. Review and Sentiment Management
The data suggests that reviews are a much stronger signal for placement than discounting. High-quality, high-volume reviews not only improve your ranking in the pack but also increase the click-through rate (CTR) once you are there. A product with a 4.8-star rating will almost always out-click a discounted product with a 3.5-star rating.
4. Creative Excellence
In a visual-first SERP, your image is your “headline.” Low-quality, cluttered, or generic stock photos will be ignored. Brands that use high-resolution, lifestyle-oriented, or “hero” images that stand out against a white background are more likely to capture the user’s eye in a crowded product pack.
Conclusion: A Channel That Rewards Quality Over Scale
Google’s product packs have evolved into a sophisticated, primary purchase touchpoint. The analysis of over 63,000 merchants proves that while the competition is intense, the rewards for those who optimize correctly are immense. The channel no longer just favors the biggest spenders; it favors those with the best data, the most relevant products, and the strongest reputations.
As we move deeper into the age of AI-assisted shopping, the fundamentals of e-commerce SEO remain more important than ever. By focusing on visibility quality rather than just quantity, and by prioritizing the user experience through better data and imagery, brands can secure their place at the forefront of the new digital storefront. The data is clear: the purchase journey now begins in the product pack—make sure your brand is the first one shoppers see.