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Google Shopping

Is This Your Business?
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Author: Kalicia Bateman

LAST UPDATED: May 22nd, 2021

Anyone who has ever spent more than a few minutes on the Internet know what Google is. The giant has been in business since 1998 and is synonymous with searching the Web. Google has also expanded considerably over the past decade, adding a number of tools, resources and business to its repertoire. One of these is Google Shopping, which, like its competitors, offer online buyers a look at products and comparisons of their prices. Google Shopping was started in 2002 and has undergone several rebrands and changes. The name became Google Search in 2012.

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The Good

  • Timely products
  • Tech-heavy
  • Buying education
  • Price listing
Google Shopping has the following elements that you will like as an online shopper or merchant:
  • Timely products. If it's summertime, Google Shopping will feature products that are unique to the season and popular in that particular time of year. If it's winter, the site will feature holiday items and those products used primarily in the winter. The same is true for other times of the year, where listed products are relevant and useful to the consumer based on the time of year it is.
  • Tech-heavy. Clearly, in this high-tech digital age, electronic products are extremely popular. Google Shopping specializes in these, and they are heavily featured on the site. Mobile devices and accessories, computers and related products are Google Shopping's specialties.
  • Buying education. Google Shopping provides a Google Commerce blog to give buyers and interested buyers the education they need to make wise online purchasing decisions. There is a natural tendency for some to be leery of buying from online sources, and Google Shopping will help clear up misconceptions, fears and questions.
  • Price listing. Prices shown include tax and shipping, so what you see in the product listings is what you will pay, so there's no need to worry about hidden fees or surprises.
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The Bad

  • Small selection pool
  • Customer service
Surprisingly, Google Shopping has some flaws and shortcomings that you should be aware of when deciding where to turn to for online shopping. Here are some things Google Shopping does not do well and needs to improve on:
  • Small selection pool. In what might be a shock to some, Google Shopping does not have a large selection to choose from. There are only three listed categories on the home page. Of course, there is a search bar, where you may put in any product you want and wait and see what comes up. But if you are looking to narrow your search, you won't have that availability.
  • Customer service. It's difficult to get a hold of customer service. In fact, no email address or phone number is provided on the site. You have to go through the main Google company site to find any help.
Some prices are estimates. When you buy something, you want to know exactly what you're paying. While the price listings do include tax and shipping (as noted above in "The Good" section), many of the figures are merely estimates.
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The Bottom Line

It shouldn't be hard to believe that a company of Google's stature would produce a high-quality product comparison and shopping site. Google Shopping is simple, to the point, and easy to use. There's nothing flashy about the site, but finding the products you're looking for is a breeze. Unless you like the ability to narrow searches through categories (which Google Shopping doesn't have), there's no reason you won't love Google Shopping.
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devu sng

Not all searches are same, google seems to treat all searches as same and responds it with voting machine. Shopping search is more suited for vertical search engine, bilsir.com for instance.

10 years ago

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RodrigoRamirez Austin, TX

Honestly, I don't really like using google shopping. It's always a situation where the price looks great, so I click on it only to be sent down a rabbithole to a sketchy website/store or to a product that's no longer available.

6 years ago