Google Shopping Platform Launched in the US, Chasing Amazon

In a bid to take on Amazon in the burgeoning e-commerce space, Google has debuted its new shopping platform for the users in the US. Notably, the revamped Shopping page UI has been visible in other parts of the world since last year, with India receiving access to it in December. The new search experience is designed to surface offers from various retailers on products across various categories.

Before launching it in the US, Google tested the shopping platform in some parts of the world - including India and France. Retailers have access to a Merchant Centre, which will let them make their product feed available to Google. For India, Google made the Merchant Centre available in Hindi as well. Google Shopping results are available in English as well as Hindi. The Google Shopping experience will be available on both mobile and desktop as well as via a Progressive Web App (PWA).

If users access the Google Shopping platform logged into their Gmail or Google account, the feature will greet them by their names and show tailored suggestions. In the US, the company does not intend to start building warehouses to stock products but plans to point shoppers in the direction of a handful of selected retailers, including Costco and Target. Details on the wider roll-out of Google's shopping feature remain undisclosed as of now. Google plans to integrate its Express delivery service into the new Shopping, 9to5Google noted.

Some products would also be sold with a "Buy with Google Guarantee", that would promise a refund for shoppers if the recommended retailer fails to deliver on time.

Written with inputs from IANS