Google Inc Enhances Shopping Feature To Counter Amazon

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Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) has been nurturing a dream of becoming a giant force in e-commerce for a long time, and it may be coming closer to it. To penetrate deeper into e-commerce, the internet giant plans to enhance Google Shopping to make it more like Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN).

Google an e-commerce giant?

The Wall Street Journal informs readers that after discussing the topic with a few retailers familiar with Google’s plans, the internet giant might soon come out with a “Buy’ button similar to Amazon that will help buyers in making one-click purchases and enable them to check out directly on Google.

Google Shopping will become even more convenient in comparison to Amazon and eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY) after Google makes the two moves. Customers will be required to fill in their shipping and credit card information only once, and the “Buy” button will allow them to check out without requiring them to leave Google. It is not known for now if and when will Google launch these services.

Though Google has nothing to announce for now, “many ideas for improving the experience for consumers” are being explored and tested by the company, as told to The WSJ by a spokeswoman from Google.

ShopRunner charges $79 a year from its customers for unlimited two-day shipping across numerous sites, while $99 per year is charged by Amazon for Prime. Similar incentives could also be considered by Google.

Strengthening delivery network

Google’s Product Listing Ads enable retailers to promote their products within the search engine by paying for the service. Former Google employees have said that the most lucrative ad division for Google is product searches even though no revenue breakout is being provided by Google, according to The WSJ.

Google is not only working on the advertising side of the business but is also interested in creating a speedy delivery network. The company covers more than 7 million customers in six markets through its same-day delivery service. This service works with retailers that include Barnes & Noble, Nine West, PetSmart, and Vitamin Shoppe.

Google wants to turn into more of a major marketplace than a retailer. This makes sense also because a retailer has to make huge investments in the procurement of goods, storage of inventories and other costs such as operations and logistics. However, to be a marketplace, the company only needs to facilitate the selling of goods and services.

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