Google’s efforts to increase retail search traffic as well as ad revenue has seen them add buy buttons to the search result pages on mobile devices. Positioning itself alongside such sites as Amazon, it will allow consumers to save their payment information and enjoy a fluid online shopping experience. When clicking on the buy buttons, consumers will be directed to the product page on Google to allow them to complete the process.
Harriet Sanders, Digital Recruiter at Outsource Digital says “It’s an obvious next leap for Google – to compete with sites such as Amazon and eBay where consumers can search and buy all in the one place, Google need to be offering the next phase of the shopping process instead of just the search facility.”
A major difference still exists between Google’s new position and the sites they are seeming to now be competing against: what happens post-sale. Sites such as Amazon handle the physical aspect of transactions, purchases and returns yet Google according to the Wall Street Journal, will still be charging retailers through its existing ad model and not embracing the entire process. It won’t be until Google are equipped to handle the post-sales process that they will truly be able to match what eBay and Amazon have achieved so successfully.
Buy buttons have been tested already by sites such as Facebook and Pinterest in an attempt to prevent potential consumers re-directing to another site to purchase. So, for the reach Google enjoy, this is a natural progression in their expansion into becoming a true online marketplace.


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