With e-commerce on the rise, fueled by the assorted COVID-19 lockdowns and mitigation measures worldwide, practically every online platform is currently operating to cope with this change and facilitate new procuring processes that link buyers with the most relevant suggestions. Since Google is arguably the most reliable platform to promote such, the tech giant revealed various new tools, partnerships, and features that will strengthen its positions in the online retail arena.
At Google I/O 2021, Bill Ready, Google’s president of commerce and payments, outlined the company’s new initiatives in promoting e-commerce activities, including an enhanced partnership with Shopify. This integration aims to enable Shopify’s 1.7 million merchants to feature their products and become more discoverable across Google Search, Maps, Images, Lens and YouTube.
As Per Google:
“This new deal with Shopify will empower merchants to get more discoverable to high-intent buyers shopping across Google Search, YouTube, Google Images and more.” The concept is Google will allow Shopify retailers to list their merchandise inside Google’s purchasing surfaces, which have seen a significant improvement in curiosity over the previous 12 months.
Google says that it has seen a 70% enhancement within its product catalogue measurement and an 80% boost in retailers on its platform over the previous 12 months. That was most prominently boosted by Google eliminating all expenses for Google Procuring product listings last April, with a purpose to help retailers trying to shift their focus amid the pandemic. The elevated capability to achieve extra searchers holds the primary attraction. As additional merchandise comes into Google’s system, it becomes a very effective assistant for eCommerce discovery.
Introducing Shopping Graph:
Google also outlined its efforts about Shopping Graph. Made using the same principle as Google’s Knowledge Graph, Shopping Graph compiles detailed information on billions of products as well as the merchants that offer them. With people looking for products to buy across Google more than a billion times a day, the Shopping Graph makes those experiences more valuable by connecting them to over 24 billion listings from millions of merchants across the web. It works in real-time, allowing users to find and purchase things that are presently available.
The President of Commerce and Payments at Google, Bill Ready, says:
“The Shopping Graph is a dynamic, AI-enhanced model that understands a constantly-changing set of products, sellers, brands, reviews and most importantly, the product information and inventory data we receive from brands and retailers directly — as well as how those attributes relate to one another.”
Keeping a solid knowledge of products allows Google to help users discover products in new ways, such as searching within images.
How The Partnership Helps Merchants & Shoppers:
The retailers who trade goods using Shopify online stores can now benefit from Google’s free shopping listing. Shopify’s Google channel will automatically sync the merchant’s products and relevant information about their Shopify store with the Google Merchant Center. The merchants can then update their Google product listings directly from their Shopify admin.
Furthermore, sellers get access to an innovative e-commerce tool called Shopping Graph, enabling merchants to gain greater visibility on the world’s most popular search engine. It will allow merchants to get the data of a possible buyer who is browsing, searching or watching product reviews on Google platforms.
Visual search:
Taking screenshots is a popular way for users to keep visual notes of products they see in online images to look at them and potentially purchase later. With Google’s new shopping feature, a buyer can now quickly identify the product by just opening a screenshot in Google Photos. It will prompt Google Lens to analyze the photo and return search results for the products it can identify.
More ways for consumers to find products are always good as it can lead to more sales for retailers. If you own an e-commerce store, it is advisable to examine this feature and find out if Google Lens searches identify your products.
How retailers can use visual search to enhance the customer experience
Visual search performance is something merchants can trace and measure easily. If a customer uses visual search and buys a product, it’s easy to trace that sale. Merchants can detect when buyers click on visual search and know which styles they examined and, most importantly, when they purchase. It means one can recognize the specific products and their categories that consistently receive and convert on visual searches, making it simple to double down on efforts that drive results.
Ready to get started?
As the pandemic has created long-lasting demand for online buying, Google is working to ramp up its e-commerce efforts by supporting like-minded partners who share Google’s mission to democratize e-commerce. Also, when it comes to attracting customers over the busy holiday season, showcasing your products on a search engine like Google will surely get you in front of more people. Start adding your product information in Google’s Merchant Center account with just a few clicks to reach new shoppers on Google.com and other Google properties.