Google scales up its enterprise e-commerce toolbox

Amazon might have to take notice of new options for merchants and consumers

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Googleis beefing up itse-commerceoptions for businesses by striking deals withShopifyandSquarein a bid to take on the might of Amazon.

The company announced that it was forging ahead with plans to offer more e-commerceselling toolsto make it easier for merchants to boost their online presence.

Merchants using Square,GoDaddyandWooCommercewill now be able to sell their products much more easily, not only via Google search but also through Maps andYouTube. The move supplements Google’s previously announced intention to add the same level of convenience for Shopify merchants by adding itsShop Payfunctionality as a payment options for consumers.

Google hopes that its extended range of online shopping options will give consumers much more scope when it comes to buying goods online. Demand is certainly there, with analyst EMarketer estimating that thee-commerce marketplaceis set to grow to a value of $4.89 trillion worldwide over the course of this year.

Online shopping

The search giant now seems to have a more cohesive e-commerce and online shopping strategy in place, having tried and largely failed to exploit its potential in previous years. Compounding the growth in onlinesales transactionshas been Google’s decision to get rid of the fee that it used to charge merchants to list items within its shopping service.

Following the appointment of former PayPal executive Bill Ready, back at the beginning of 2020, his decision to kill off the fee has resulted in an 80% increase in merchants using the service.

The effect of the move has been most notable in the small and medium-sized business sectors. Although Google is reluctant to release official data, it has given the indication that consumers showing clear intent on using its shopping services has been logged more than a billion times a day.

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Google’s closer ties with Shopify are also paying dividends, aided by the fact that the Canadiane-commerce specialisthas 1.7 million merchant clients around the globe. It’s ShopPay feature has garnered more than $20 billion in merchandise value alone since 2017. Shopify functionality is also now more immersed within theGoogle Cloudenvironment.

Meanwhile, and despite the scaling-up of Google’s e-commerce onslaught,Amazoncontinues to grow its third-party seller and ads business. Even though the huge online shopping venture riles many merchants with its pricing and behavior, the company’s online shopping empire continues to be the go-to destination for many consumers. However, all that may be about to change albeit rather slowly.

Rob Clymo has been a tech journalist for more years than he can actually remember, having started out in the wacky world of print magazines before discovering the power of the internet. Since he’s been all-digital he has run the Innovation channel during a few years at Microsoft as well as turning out regular news, reviews, features and other content for the likes of TechRadar, TechRadar Pro, Tom’s Guide, Fit&Well, Gizmodo, Shortlist, Automotive Interiors World, Automotive Testing Technology International, Future of Transportation and Electric & Hybrid Vehicle Technology International. In the rare moments he’s not working he’s usually out and about on one of numerous e-bikes in his collection.

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