Google Are Coming After Amazon and eBay with the ‘Buy’ Button

Searcher's Market

dazeinfo.com

There aren’t many online rings that Google haven’t already thrown their hat into but they’ve never really tried their luck at the online marketplace game. The shopping tab in the search engine certainly makes it easier to source what you’re looking for without needing to jump directly to an actual retail site, but now Google have gone a step further and unveiled plans to add a ‘Buy’ button to specific searches.

The button will start showing up on mobile searches within the coming weeks, but only for certain sponsored results. Tapping the button will lead you to a purpose built Google shopping page which will allow you to enter any other specifications about the product you intend to buy. For instance, if it’s a shirt, the page will ask you to fill in what size and colour you want. It’s uncertain as of yet whether or not payment is handled here as well, but shipping and delivery options are still covered by the selling site.

The launch is going to be very marginal, at first, given that it will have no desktop presence and even on mobile it will only apply to a minority of searches. A small selection of companies have said that they are interested in getting involved, most notably Macy’s, with many more likely signing up depending on how well the service fares in the initial stages.

This is a risky move for Google. Typically any attempts they’ve made to venture into already-competitive territory have been fairly hit-and-miss. Chrome was a huge success, their mobile phone initiative has been a lukewarm success but Google+ has failed to deliver on its promises and is currently suffering something of a lingering death.

With this, Google are moving into a world dominated by Amazon and eBay and turning what was once a search engine into a functioning marketplace which saves payment details, passes shopper information onto retail sites and more advertising might be heavily detrimental (another likely reason why they aren’t rolling this out on desktops). It’s pretty murky, and difficult to predict, but I can’t imagine any future which sees Google giving Amazon anything to worry about.

Callum Davies

Callum is a film school graduate who is now making a name for himself as a journalist and content writer. His vices include flat whites and 90s hip-hop. Follow him @CallumAtSMF

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