With a new emphasis on price comparison, Google is hoping to compete with the titan of retail Amazon and offer users a truly intensive comparison experience.
The Google Shopping platform is a different entity to the carousel: it doesn’t run as a PPC campaign, and instead, retailers pay each time a sale is made by a customer. There’s no need to click-through to the retailer’s website directly, and you instead make all purchases from within the Google platform itself.
While Google Shopping was already a Comparison Shopping Service (CCS), this new feature hopes to build on what’s already available for Google users.
Check out our post on how a CSS can affect your Google Shopping performance.
Google already offers some price comparison mechanics for users, but users will now have access to more data to shop around for the best deal.
Users will be provided with the typical price of products, running on a scale from low to high. Price history is also available, showing price increases and decreases over time. This will allow users to shop smartly, taking advantage of dips in prices. The prices come from a selection of retailers selling the same products, letting you compare before you buy.
This interface will be shown alongside the product description and review section of the product page, making it easy to clearly see the trends in the prices of a product across different retailers.
Another new feature is being able to get email notifications for the prices of products. Users will be able to track products and keep an eye on any shifts in prices, giving users more control over how much they pay.
Although it’s not yet available in the UK, it’s good to know how simple and easy it is to access the new price comparison features.
Start by searching for an item on Google and selecting the Shopping tab. Once you’ve selected a product, you’ll be taken to the Shopping product page. Once there, you’ll be able to see if the price is high, low, or typical, as well as a comparison between different retailers and also the price history of the item. It’s on this page as well that you’ll be able to enable notifications for price changes/sales, so long as you have a Google account.
There’s potential for the new comparison features to be rolled out in the UK during the build-up to Black Friday in November, but this is as of yet unconfirmed by Google.
The new comparison options could drive retailers to feel that they need to reduce their prices as much as possible, as a lot of people using the service will go for the cheapest available option. However, brand loyalty is a very powerful thing, and many consumers would rather shop with a brand they know and trust, accepting a higher price in the process. Price tracking could potentially lead to retailers holding more sales/discounts as users who are signed up will be notified immediately.
If you’re interested in exploring how Google Shopping can work for you, book a demo with one of our specialists today.
