In the United States, where this entry appeared, consumers are spending the majority of their time online demanding more entertainment from brands and media companies on social networks and websites, such as YouTube, Facebook and Google+. As the media industry is becoming more noisy and diversified across multiple platforms and devices, brands are challenged to find innovative ways to distinguish themselves against competing content and branded entertainment in order to stay relevant with the younger and more online-savvy consumers.

For the "Shop the Hangout" campaign, Google partnered with the Council of Fashion Designers of America and top designers -- Diane von Furstenberg, Rebecca Minkoff, Rachel Zoe and Marcus Wainwright & David Neville of rag & bone -- to host Shoppable Hangouts during the Fall 2013 Shopping Season. In the month of October, designers behind all four of these reputable fashion houses joined Hangouts with fans and fashion bloggers to showcase their latest collections and answer a variety questions about their design aesthetic and motivations to be fashion designers. Viewers could shop special items and discounts directly from the Hangout.

The response to Shoppable Hangouts has been overwhelmingly positive, with a diverse set of industries requesting to host one since the "Shop the Hangout" launch campaign. The impact has been measured in these ways: 1) Higher Site Traffic: One designer saw a 41% increase in traffic and another saw a 15% increase in traffic; 2) Designers sold on average 1.5 items every minute during their Hangouts; 3) Social Media Attention: Diane von Furstenberg’s Shoppable Hangout had a 51M twitter reach; 4) Elevated Online Engagement: 82% of the Rebecca Minkoff hangout viewers clicked through to browse items sold in the Hangout.