Google evolves e-commerce platform

Thursday, June 7, 2012 - 09:32 by Graham Miller

Search giant Google is set to kick its online shopping search service into the next gear, making its engine a better place for both consumers and retailers in the process.

Google has offered price comparison and product searching for some time, but it has been a somewhat fragmented, underdeveloped experience, compared to dedicated hubs for safe shopping online.

All that could change with the full reveal of the re-branded Google Shopping later in the year, when consumers will be able to see at first hand what alterations and improvements have been made.

One thing that Google is doing is making it possible for retailers to pay to be listed in its shopping search results, which means that the big firms with cash to splash will, invariably, float to the top.

This could prove to be a bit of an issue when it comes to bias, since it might actually be tougher to find what you are looking for if the selection is limited by Google's pay-to-play approach.

However, spokesperson, Sameer Samat, said that this process will actually help to trim out the fat and streamline the experience of searching for products to purchase via safe shopping online, using the firm's tools.

The service will be arriving in the US before the end of the year, with an autumn launch anticipated. However, people in the UK will have to wait until after Christmas for Google Shopping to get its international rollout.

Of course, the good news here is that any early issues can be worked out in America, so that a more comprehensive and stable platform emerges in Britain, further down the line.

Google Shopping could mark a major shakeup in the online retail market, but it is too early to tell precisely what impact it will have.