Google’s new “Shopping” platform has just gone live for users in the United States.
The way it works is that it lures customers with personalized shopping recommendations based on their web activity. If you search for an item, it simply directs you to purchase products through the Google site, a third-party retailer’s site, or in-store. Though sources suggest that it may even point you to physical directions of a brick and mortar store.
Google doesn’t plan to start shipping or stocking warehouses anytime soon, but it will offer a ‘Buy with Google Guarantee’ – a service which will refund users if the chosen retailer fails to deliver on time.
The company has already tested its new shopping platform in a couple of markets around the globe including France. It hasn’t officially launched anywhere outside the US just yet, but the fact that it was tested in other regions suggests that Google does have plans to expand further.
Google is taking Amazon head-on with its new shopping platform. Only time will tell if Google will actually be able to pull this off or whether if it will end up failing miserably like Google+. Nevertheless, it is not going to be an easy task, considering how Amazon has become a one-stop-shop for literally every product imaginable.
The new platform is live right now for users who are signed into their Google accounts. If you aren’t signed in, you will end up on the legacy Google shopping search page. You can check it out by following this link.