Google's new shopping site

Google has launched its Google Shopping product search engine in Australia.

The platform allows consumers to search for product information online, compare prices and a retailer to purchase the product. It also houses product reviews.

Retailers can sign up to Google Shopping for free by submitting a catalogue of their products to the Google Merchant Center.

Super Retail Group has become a foundation retailer on the Google Product Search platform.

Each of the Group’s four brands, Supercheap Auto, BCF, Goldcross Cycles and Ray’s Outdoors will engage with the service.

Peter Birtles, MD and CEO of Super Retail Group said Google Product Search will enable each of the Group’s brands to reach qualified shoppers precisely when they are searching on Google for items to buy, and offer them products and deals relevant to their needs and budget.

“Australian shoppers will have access to the complete range of products currently available online at the Group’s existing ecommerce sites, and by using Google Product Search can now refine their search to yield only those products relevant to specifically defined criteria,” he said.

By Inside Retailing

Google's shopping app

Google is launching its popular shopping app, Google Shopper, for iPhone, complete with voice, image and local search.

Originally released for Android last year, Google Shopper can find products based on text, voice or barcode recognition to get the price comparison of a specific product online. If you do a search for “HP printer,” you’ll be shown a list of different printer types, as well as a list of nearby locations where you can purchase the item. Google also displays a rating for the item, based on user reviews.

When you select a specific item, Google gives you more details about the product. You can then choose to either check for the item on a variety of online retailers, or you can look up a list of local retailers that carry the product. If you choose local search, Google will display whether the item is available in each store. You can also “star” a specific item to save for later or you can share it with your friends via Facebook, Twitter or Google Reader.



Just like its Android counterpart, Shopper for iPhone is fast, simple and effective. For someone who wants to just get the price comparison, no matter where they are, the app will prove to be a reliable companion. That can’t be good for the likes of ShopSavvy and other shopping and barcode-reading applications.

The app is available in the app store now for iPhones running iOS 4.0 and higher.

Ben Parr, Mashable

Google's Retail Plans

Most retailers are aware by now that clean customer and product data is what will take their business to the next level in the coming years. It’s what will help them understand their customers and predict future buying patterns. But retailers aren’t the only ones keen to get control of it. Google is on a drive to get businesses to sign up to their latest e-commerce drive, which focuses on the value of information on local stock levels.

It might sound slightly dry, but it’s a good idea – keeping things local is at the heart of Tesco’s strategy for international expansion. Their group strategy director Andrew Higginson said at the National Retail Federation conference in New York last week, “Retail is still a local business. Even within the same city, two stores can display completely different needs. It’s a balance between getting global knowledge, IT and marketing consistent, and being absolutely local in what we offer consumers.”
Google appears to be on the same page, with business product manager Paul Lee speaking on the topic at the same conference.

There are two trends driving this. Firstly, the number of transactions that people research online and make in-store is rising to a predicted 64% of total purchases by 2019. So the real winners, Google says, will be bricks and mortar retailers who have useful information online – both about the product, and about where you can find it.

Secondly, the increasing use of mobile internet means people are searching in-store for immediate information. If they can’t find what they want on the shelves, they’ll search for it on their phones and go to the nearest place with the product they want in stock.

Google is working with technology suppliers like Oracle on the logistics of collecting this data, and already has a sizeable list of retailers signed up. Ventures like this are likely to need lots of work, aggregating and cleaning up data, uploading product listings to websites, and making sure it can be updated in real time. But if the big names are to be believed, the effort will be worth it.

Rebecca Thomson for Retail Week

Google launches it's online 'shopping mall'

With Youtube getting on the shopping band wagon and Facebook launching 'deals' it was only a matter of time before Google also took part in the conversation.

On Wednesday, Google launched Boutiques.com, it's very own online shopping centre. The website is designed to give users a personalised shopping experience allowing you to browse through designers, follow them and be followed. It includes bloggers recommendation pages, celebrity style pages and popular trend pages. Perfect for those who need inspiration to build their wardrobe.

Googles Product Management Director, Munjal Shah wrote:

"It lets you find and discover fashion goods by creating your own curated boutique or through a collection of boutiques curated by taste-makers -- celebrities, stylists, designers and fashion bloggers. These days, bloggers, stylists and everyday fashionistas are expressing their sense of style online. We invited them to create boutiques so people could shop their diverse styles. But you have a unique and independent style too, so Boutiques also lets you build your own personalized boutique and get recommendations of products that match your taste."

The site is set up to let users filter their searches by size, silhouette, patterns and colors. Google also is offering what it's calling "inspirational photos." If a user searches for brown boots, photos will pop up on the right showing brown boots with matching outfits.

However, Boutiques.com is currently only available in the U.S. and only for women's fashion. Google has said that it intends to expand but has yet to state when.

Google to launch online fashion store

Online giant Google is moving into fashion with the launch of a website and virtual designer boutiques on Wednesday, according to reports.

The site, which is thought to be called Boutiques.com, will let users create and share their own personalised online store by showcasing their style preferences and favourite brands and allowing visitors to click through to a brand’s online store or a retailer who sells the product. Visitors will not be able to make a transaction on the online boutiques themselves.

Google has reportedly tapped up Sex And The City actress and Halston chief creative officer Sarah Jessica Parker to create her own online shop and has also invited designers Oscar de la Renta, Tory Burch and Marchesa to set up their own store.

Etail giant Asos is set to launch Marketplace this month. Marketplace will become a global marketplace where shoppers and independent retailers will be able to buy and sell clothing online. Fashion designers will be able to open ‘boutiques’ in the Marketplace.

RetailWeek