Overview
Think with Google is Google’s public research site for marketers and retailers: articles, special reports, and consumer insights, not a queryable category database. On 2026-09-06, business.google.com/en-all/think/ loaded with the title “Think with Google US - Marketing Research, Insights, and Trends”. Some pieces ask you to sign in.
This catalog slug used to mean Category Trends (thinkwithgoogle.com/feature/category-trends). That weekly dashboard is gone; the URL now dumps you on the research hub or a blog post. Google Ads Community said in late 2021 that Rising Retail Categories was a pandemic-era stopgap and that the follow-on lived in Google Ads Insights, not as a standalone query UI. In 2026 there is no “global retail trends query” product. Stop looking for it.
Sellers can still read holiday-shopping and AI-search pieces to brief creative or a sourcing memo. It is not Amazon BSR and not a country search index. Curves belong in Google Trends, volumes in Keyword Planner, country shortlists in Market Finder.
Core features and advantages
Reports and case studies
The hub is organized by themes such as Consumer Insights, Search & Video, AI, and Measurement. 2026 still publishes holiday-shopping shifts, retail-revenue tactics, and ads case studies. Pull one operational sentence (how a channel converted after the shipping cutoff), do not paste cover statistics into a purchase order. Cases skew to retailers with media budgets; discount them to your AOV.
The retired category-trends dashboard
Old Category Trends showed weekly retail-category movers. Sellers treated it as “what to launch now.” That path is closed. Insights inside Google Ads are closer to your account and still are not a global category query. Any tutorial that says “open Category Trends and export CSV” is stale.
Handoff into Google’s ads tools
The same Google Business chrome links Ads, Keyword Planner, Merchant Center, and Analytics. Think with Google is the “why”; the buying products are the “how”. Much of the library is readable logged out; sign-in unlocks personalization and some gated reports. Nothing here writes your SKU list.
Supported platforms
It is a content site. It does not connect to Amazon, Shopee, or Shopify inventory. Regional Think sites exist (US is the default in this catalog). Insights are written for consumer markets, not Amazon marketplace codes. There is no API to pipe reports into an ERP. English dominates; some specials are localized.
Who it's for
- Brands and ads-funded DTC: quarterly planning, holiday and AI-search specials for creative, not for POs.
- Agencies: a Google-logo industry backdrop in a deck.
- Skip it if you needed a category CSV (removed) or ASIN-level data for wholesale.
Concrete use: six weeks before Prime Day or Black Friday, read that year’s holiday piece, note the channel shift Google is stressing, then verify your category terms in Google Trends and in your ads account. Do not add twenty FBA cartons because a headline said a vertical was “up”.
Pricing and value
Reading is free. Sign-in is for personalization and gated articles. There is no seller SKU. Time cost is filtering: the reports are written for advertisers, not FBA inbound. Do not buy a third-party “Think with Google trends pack”; the source is free.
Community feedback
Marketing blogs still treat it as a free academy. Google Ads Community’s mood on Category Trends sunsetting was disappointment plus acceptance: a shallow public table went away, account Insights remained. Cross-border Reddit does not open Think with Google weekly; they open Trends and Seller Central. Consensus: magazine, not database.
Competitive positioning
Google Trends is still a queryable demand curve. Market Finder screens countries. Keyword Planner gives volumes. Think with Google is the editorial layer. Platform tools (Keepa, FastMoss) do marketplace data and do not substitute for this hub — or vice versa.
Alternatives
- Google Trends — queryable search interest and seasonality.
- Market Finder by Google — a country shortlist.
- Google Keyword Planner — volume bands and bid estimates.
Limitations
Category Trends is dead; the slug’s “query” wording misleads. Articles are not about your SKUs. Some content is gated. Cadence follows an editorial calendar, not a warehouse. No FBA fees, referrals, or returns. Not customs or platform-official statistics.
Verdict
In 2026, treat it as Google’s marketing magazine, not as a global retail-trends query tool. The old dashboard is not coming back. For numbers, use Trends, Keyword Planner, or in-account Insights.
Next step: open Think with Google for the latest retail special; query terms in Trends; screen countries in Market Finder.
Data notes
Rechecked 2026-09-06 against business.google.com/en-all/think/ (HTTP 200) and Google Ads Community notes on Category Trends / Rising Retail Categories retirement. published (2024-03-15), monthlyVisits, domainRating, and authorityScore are catalog placeholders and unverified. Exact Think with Google brand launch day is unverified.