Apart from eBay or Amazon, Google is often the go-to place for product searches. Google fields those queries from millions of shoppers, but now, it wants a piece of the profit when customers buy said products.
The company is reportedly partnering with retail chains such as Target and Walmart, allowing them to list their products on Google Search, Google Express, the company's shopping service, and even Google Assistant, which is ubiquitous on Android smartphones and smart speakers.
Retailers are required to give Google a cut of the profit when a customer buys from said Google Search listings — a separate fee from what the retailers have to pay for ad placements on Google's platforms, it's worth mentioning.
As Reuters reports, the listings will appear under sponsored shopping results. It won't affect typical Google Search results, the company has confirmed.
Google justifies the profit cut by telling retailers that featuring their products in Google Search results will better influence customers' purchasing decisions. With this move, Google also has a chance to rival Amazon, which remains by far the most formidable online shopping platform in the United States.
Why Is Google Doing This?
What spurred this move? Well, according to Google's retail and shopping president Daniel Alegre, the company has been seeing tens of millions of product searches asking, "Where can I buy this?" "Where can I find it?" "How can I buy it?" "How do I transact?" Once they find what they're looking for, many customers ultimately end up buying said product from Amazon, according to analysts.
Google Shopping Actions
Google will make the program, called Shopping Actions, available for retailers of any size, with the goal of helping retailers maintain their patrons.
"We see ourselves as part of a solution for retailers to be able to drive better transactions ... and get closer to the consumer," said Alegre.
If Google pulls its strings right, Shopping Actions could create some real competition for Amazon. Google overthrowing the Jeff Bezos's empire is unrealistic, obviously, but Amazon has plenty of reason to worry, especially since Google became the second go-to place for product searches last year, according to Bloomberg.
Google also has an edge in terms of mobile-based shopping, which, according to Alegre, rose by 85 percent over the past two years. That's an astonishing number, and it makes sense for Google to take advantage of its leadership in the search business and turn it into something profitable and perhaps even industry-rippling.
