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Danielle Buckley is director of product, consumer shopping at Google.
How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in retail? I help shoppers find what they’re looking for on Google Search. My team is responsible for the features that show up on Google whenever you do a shopping search—whether you’re looking for a dress for your holiday party, upgraded pedals for your bike, or a blender for your smoothies. We tap into the “Shopping Graph,” our ML-powered dataset of the world’s shopping information, to surface the right articles, products, brands, and retailers, along with insights and tools for better decision-making.
One thing we can’t guess about your job from your LinkedIn profile? Work takes up so much of our time and energy that it’s always been really important to me to help create a fun and supportive environment. Outside my day job as a product leader, I enjoy spending my time with folks who are earlier in their career helping them think through their challenges. I’m also the co-chair of the Women PM steering group, where I get the opportunity to help create a sense of community and nurture the development of women product managers at Google.
What’s your favorite project you’ve worked on? I loved working on Google’s AI-based virtual try-on tool for apparel. The main thing I look for in any new technology is: What real, hard problems can it solve for people? One thing about online shopping is very clear—it’s hard to find clothes you know will look good on you. We know this because shoppers tell us, and retailers know it too because of returns. So for me, it was incredibly rewarding to build something that uses generative AI to solve a real-world problem. To do this, we brought in a diverse set of 80 real models and used AI to show a realistic portrayal of what clothes look like on them, down to the draping and wrinkling of the garment.
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Which emerging retail trend are you most excited about right now, and why? I’m personally excited about the increased focus on sustainability. There are so many great brands that put sustainability and eco-friendliness first, whether in their supply chains or by supporting environmental causes (or both). And, it’s encouraging to see shoppers continue to embrace secondhand shopping and values-based shopping more broadly.
What’s your go-to coffee order? Whatever is fast and highly caffeinated.
Worst piece of advice you’ve received? Many years ago, I was told it’s better to hide your emotions at work. That proved to be not only bad advice, but pretty much impossible. We’re whole people, not robots. Over the years, I’ve learned the importance of being authentic, understanding yourself better, and channeling your emotions at work in a positive way. This makes for a better, more fulfilled, happier workplace!
What was your favorite retail product when you were 15, and what’s your favorite retail product now? Is this the right time to confess that I wasn’t a big shopper as a kid? I grew up in a small town surrounded by woods and didn’t really have much of a shopping culture. That’s changed over the years and I love shopping now, but I like to think I’ve kept the outdoorsy spirit with me. I’m loving a bunch of Etsy creators who craft out of natural materials, secondhand shopping, and brands that are doing great work to support environmental causes. Right now, I’m a big fan of the brand Waterlust, which sells marine-inspired clothing and donates a portion of proceeds back to important environmental causes.