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Google announced a series of changes to its platforms for advertisers and retailers during its annual Marketing Live event on Tuesday (14). With these updates, the search giant is making a full-scale entry into the world of e-commerce—competing directly with Amazon in the United States.
At the Marketing Live conference, the company introduced a series of new tools designed to encourage people to shop on Google services.
The new Google Shopping allows people to search for items, buy them directly, and pick them up at a nearby physical store. To identify the feature, users will see a blue cart icon. Google said it will step in if customers do not get what they expected or have trouble obtaining a refund.
As part of the overhaul, people will also be able to buy products featured in YouTube videos. For example, if a video creator posts a makeup tutorial, Google will give viewers the option to buy the items and keep watching the video. The features will launch “later this year,” but there is no timeline for Brazil.
The new tools mark a major push into e-commerce by Google. The search giant’s ability to facilitate sales is a major step—a move that puts the company in more direct competition with Amazon in another sector.
The updates come as Google expands its competition with Amazon to Facebook’s Instagram, seeking new shopping tools. Google wants to attract more marketers to its platforms, where it can use its vast cache of user data to ensure that ads are shown to the specific audiences brands want to reach.
