Amazon, Flipkart beware! Google enters e-commerce, launches new shopping search features for Indian users

Tech giant Google Thursday unveiled ‘Google Shopping’ in India that will allow users to easily filter through offers, review prices from multiple retailers and find products that they are looking for. The personalised experience will be available across various Google products — a Shopping home page, Shopping tab on Google Search and through Google Lens. Customers will be able to see trending products across different categories, various deals, and compare prices using the new offering.

For retailers, the company will offer its ‘Merchant Center’ in Hindi, which will allow the sellers to list their products for Google Shopping, without paying for ad campaigns. “India has over 400 million internet users. However, only one-third of these have shopped online and that number includes those buying railway tickets online. From seasoned desktop shoppers to first-time users with entry-level smartphones, we hope this new shopping experience will make finding what people are looking for just a little bit easier,” Google Vice President Product Management Surojit Chatterjee told reporters here. Google Shopping will be a connector between retailers and consumers, and the transaction and delivery of products will be handled by the merchant, he added.

“There are an estimated 58 million small and medium businesses (SMBs) in India, of which 35 per cent are engaged in retail trade. However, a very small number of them have an online presence, this is a huge opportunity for retailers to surface their merchandise to the millions of online consumers,” Chatterjee said. Google aims to support the entire retail ecosystem — from shopping sites and large retailers to small local shops — by giving them access to the tools, technology, and scale to thrive in the new digital economy, he added. Chatterjee said merchants will not have to pay any fee for listing their products for Google Shopping. Under the Shopping tab in Google Search, users can search for products and see prices from across multiple retailers. The ‘Style Search’ option in Google Lens will allow users to find products such as clothes, furniture, and home decor, by simply pointing the Lens app from their smartphones.

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