Google is poised to challenge retail giant Amazon again with renewed determination to conquer e-commerce, according to a Bloomberg report.
E-commerce is a “sector [Google] It has been tried and failed many times before,” the report reads.
If Google is serious about e-commerce again, why is it different this time?
For one thing, since the last time Google made a big push into e-commerce, it has had a new vice president in charge.
Prabhakar Raghavan, Google’s senior vice president of search, maps and advertising, showed everyone how he This year’s Google I/O Meeting.
Raghavan’s influence on Google’s retail strategy can be traced back to his 2020 promotions, when Google eliminated fees it used to charge for online shopping.
Bloomberg described Raghavan’s vision as “anti-Amazon.” Retailers have to pay Amazon to use its website as a storefront, while Google recently started letting businesses run shopping ads for free.
Free shopping lists may sound like an effective way for companies to attract customers, but are customers used to using Google as a place to buy products?
In this article, we’ll see if Google can compete with Amazon in retail. Then we’ll discuss what this means for businesses and what they can do to prepare for Google’s e-commerce push.
Google’s new e-commerce strategy shows promise
There are early signs that Google’s new approach to e-commerce is working.
Google recently revealed in an earnings report that e-commerce advertising will contribute 43% to search revenue growth in 2021.
Advertisers are ready to embrace Google’s direction, but what about customers?
Google reported last year that more than 1 billion people shop on its properties every day.
Research by Morgan Stanley, released in fall 2021, found that consumers use Google and YouTube to research products and price stores more often than they use Amazon, eBay or Walmart.
Even Amazon’s most loyal shoppers, Prime subscribers, search Google for products more often.
In April, Morgan Stanley reported that 59% of Amazon Prime respondents said they started researching products on Google. That number is up from 50 percent last fall.
However, industry sources told Bloomberg that Google’s retailer-friendly approach to e-commerce hasn’t attracted a slew of new shoppers.
Google has successfully gained the backing of advertisers and retailers, and now it needs to figure out how to turn searchers into buyers.
Preparing for Google’s e-commerce push
As Google brings its e-commerce vision to life, retailers can now do two things to position themselves for success.
The first is to upload your product feed to Google Merchant Center.You can learn all about how to do this here A Beginner’s Guide to Shopping Ads.
There is no upfront cost to use Google Merchant Center, you only pay when you decide to run advanced shopping ads.
This brings us to the next suggestion, which is to take advantage of free Product listings in Google.
Upload your product feed to Google through Merchant Center and you’ll be eligible to display free shopping lists.
The main difference between paid and free shopping lists is that one takes precedence over the other. In terms of appearance and function, they are the same product.
In addition to being listed in the Shopping tab, your free listing may also appear in search results.
Finally, you can prepare by keeping an eye on the latest Google updates. I suspect we’ll see Google’s innovative efforts to attract more shoppers throughout the year.
resource: Bloomberg
Featured Image: CasamiroPT/Shutterstock
