An update to Gmail begins rolling out soon, readying Google's premier email app for all your upcoming holiday purchases. Gmail has been surfacing shipment tracking for some time now, but Google will now add a separate view just for remembering the things you have ordered. And if you want to buy more things, there's a new interface for that, too. Yay, capitalism.
Gmail is quite good at recognizing purchase information in the form of receipts and shipping notifications. Currently, the app (and web interface) lists upcoming shipments at the top of the inbox. It will continue to do that when you have a delivery within the next 24 hours, but the new Purchases tab brings it all together in one glanceable view.
Purchases will be available in the navigation list alongside all the other stock Gmail labels. When selected, Gmail will filter your messages to only show receipts, order status, and shipping details. This makes it easier to peruse your recent orders and search within this subset of emails. This could be especially handy in this day and age of murky international shipping timelines.
The Promotions tab that has existed for years is also getting a makeover as we head into the holiday season. This tab collects all emails that Google recognizes as deals, marketing offers, and other bulk promos. This keeps them out of your primary inbox, which is appreciated, but venturing into the Promotions tab when the need arises can be overwhelming.
A revamped Promotions tab will roll out to Gmail alongside the new Purchases interface. Google says Promotions will now be sorted not by date but by "most relevant." The senders and brands you engage with most often will appear at the top. Should you decide you don't like Google's sorting, the traditional "most recent" sorting will remain an option.
The Promotions tab will also get a new set of retail-oriented nudges as part of this update. Google says Gmail will use nudges similar to the email follow-up suggestions to make sure you're aware of timely offers and sales that match your interests. It's unclear whether the nudges will be isolated in the Promotions tab or if they'll appear in the main inbox—the latter could be a bit annoying. We've reached out to Google for details and will report back if we hear anything.
The Gmail updates will be available in the mobile app and the web interface. There's no firm timeline, but users will begin seeing the updated tabs in the coming weeks. Currently, this change is only coming to personal Gmail accounts.
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