Google to Launch New Segment To Help Offline Shopping Store Go Online

After ‘Shopping on Search’, Global tech giant Google is planning to launch a new segment, under Google My Business, which will allow small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that mainly work offline to create online stores. The new feature is expected to launch in 2020.

The new feature will allow merchants to connect to the target audience on a national level in a hassle-free manner. To help with mass reachability, Google will also allow the users to search for products and merchants to list them in local languages to embark seamless experience for the Indian customers.

Google, in its press release, also said that the nine out of ten new users, who are coming online, are Indian language users. These users largely consist of mobile phone users from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. The global tech giant also added that 20% of the search queries are in Hindi, therefore Google has decided to extend the services to shopping tabs as well.

Counting on the success of the Shopping on Search feature, Google said that since the launch of the shopping feature last year, the company has seen an “incredible momentum”. The company added that there are over 200 Mn offers on the Google shopping app, marking an increase of 30 % in just one year.

The Shopping tab showcases all the available products and has no role to play in the payments or fulfillment of the orders. It just gives a platform to the merchants to connect with the customers directly, without any mediators.

For the customers, Google’s shopping tab allows users to filter through offers, review prices from multiple retailers and discover products, before directing them to merchant websites or ecommerce platforms. The shopping tab is only available in Hindi and English interface.

Google’s Shopping page offers products such as headphones, apparel, cell phones and speakers, watches, makeup, books and personal care. Moreover, besides the currently trending products, Google also highlights products the user might be looking for based on the previous records.

According to media reports, before the launch of the new shopping tab, Google was also in talks with ecommerce players such as Flipkart and Paytm Mall to get them to participate in the company’s shopping tab initiative.

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