UPDATED 10:31 EDT / NOVEMBER 15 2010

Holiday Shopping Made Easy with Google Product Search Updates

Google is poised to upgrade its shopping features in time for the holidays. This is evident from product revamps that are taking place.

The main objective of Google in re-shaping its product elements is to bridge the gap between offline and online shopping. This move was triggered by a study that revealed that while 93% of holiday shopping is done offline, it is affected by around 43% of constant product search and research the internet. This is even more intensified by the fact that a person can access internet wherever he or she is, especially that mobile phones are now internet-capable anywhere, anytime.

According to Google: “The line between online and offline shopping is starting to blur: According to a study by Forrester while 93 percent of retail purchases today happen in a store, more than 46 percent of those in-store purchases are influenced by online research. Not to mention that shoppers can access the web from anywhere at anytime—including from their mobile phones when browsing the aisles of a local store.”

Here are the three recent upgrades Google has launched:

Local availability on Google Product Search– the search giant partnered with over 70 famous retail brands in the United States to easily link shoppers, their inquiries online with the local stores that have the specific product available for purchase. Participant stores include Best Buy and Williams-Sonoma, as well as software manufacturers like JDA, Epicor and Oracle. You can just easily click on “nearby stores” with any product search to find a store that has what you want and is just located within close proximity.

Google Shopper 1.3– once shoppers go online, this Google feature will lead them to the store which has the most reasonable price and where (locally) can you actually get specific products in mind. Refine your search with “price” and “brand” as delineators.

“Popular products” and “aisles”– these 2 separate exiting features will allow you to make a better choice. “Popular products” will show you a list of products that are being viewed or mostly viewed by online visitors. On the other hand, “aisle” works to limit the options  and make the search more specific and intrinsic.

Aside from these three improvements by Google in time for the yuletide seasons, another feature was launched earlier—this involves the fusion of shopping and technology. According to reports, Google will be entering the fashion runway via Botique.com.


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