A fact that cannot be denied is that the internet has revolutionized the world and online shopping is one of the big advantages of internet. More than half of the handsets in use today are ‘smart’ devices too, so it is increasingly easy for people to enjoy a rich internet experience wherever they are. Over half of the world’s population is now online, and with the latest data showing that nearly a quarter of a billion new users came online for the first time in 2017. Moreover, the major reason behind the high spike in the usage of Smartphone and internet is mobile apps. iOS and Android App Development sector has grown significantly in the past few years.
One sector that has grown immensely across the world is E-Commerce. Due to this, most of the web and mobile app development companies are developing e-commerce apps to offer consumers an amazing experience of shopping while sitting at home. With a population of over 1.3 billion, India has seen speedy growth in its digital economy, with top tech firms like Flipkart, Snapdeal and Paytm trembling up the country’s e-commerce scene. Now, search giant Google has now launched a ‘Shopping’ tab that will direct Indian users to merchant websites or e-commerce mobile app and web platforms when searching for products to buy. The move by Google is being observed as a forerunner to setting up an e-commerce marketplace in India.
The above-mentioned graph by Statista provides the retail e-commerce volume in India from 2016 to 2022. India’s e-commerce market has the potential to raise more than four folds to US$ 150 billion by the end of 2022 supported by rising incomes and surge in internet users. In fact, online shoppers in India are expected to reach 120 million in 2018 and eventually 220 million by 2022.
About Google Shopping
Launched in 2002, Google Shopping is the current name of the service (earlier known as Froogle) invented by Craig Nevill-Manning that allows internet users and shoppers to search for products and compare prices. It displays images, brief details and review scores of relevant products to the search made by the potential customer.
Well, the good news is that Google has launched its shopping aggregator service in India, in a bid to take advantage of the country’s booming digital economy. Targeting a high populace country and a fast-paced online growth such as India is a huge opportunity for any advertiser who wishes to start with Google Shopping.
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The news has been confirmed on Thursday, stating, “Indian shoppers will now be able to browse deals using its Google Shopping home page, a mobile-friendly web app, a new “shopping” tab on its search engine and its image recognition mobile app Google Lens. This will allow Indian shoppers to search for deals on a variety of products from numerous retailers using Google Shopping. As per now, Amazon and Walmart-owned Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart will be among the retailers whose offers are listed by Google Shopping in India.
Unique Features You Will See in Google Shopping
In order to attract wider consumer attention, Google has improved its accessibility and including the offline market. This service will feature products from offline stores as well. This will be done by providing retailers access to a Merchant Centre and allow them to make their product feed available on Google.
The Shopping tab allows users to filter through offers, review prices from multiple retailers and discover products, before directing them to merchant websites or any e-commerce platforms. The Shopping tab will also be available as a Progressive Web App (PWA) for users with entry-level mobile phones.
Google has also said that Indian users will be able to search for items in both English and Hindi. In fact, Google is making the Merchant Centre available in Hindi as well which is highly beneficial for everyone.
Google Shopping will enable Style Search in Google Lens as an visual approach to finding products easily such as clothes, furniture, home appliances and smart phones, by pointing the Lens App.
At present, Google’s Shopping page offers products across categories such as cell phones and speakers, headphones, apparel, books, watches, makeup and personal care.
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It has been reported that shopping feature was about to introduce in October. In fact, the tech giant was also in talks with Flipkart and Paytm to participate in the company’s shopping tab program. Addressing the users, Surojit Chatterjee, vice president of Product Management, Google has said, “We hope this new shopping experience will make finding what people are looking for just a little bit easier”.
From a business perspective, it has been reported that Google Shopping is highly beneficial for them. There are 58 million SMBs in India, of which 35% are engaged in retail trade. However, a very small number of them have an online presence; in this case, it offers a huge opportunity for retailers to surface their merchandize to the millions of online consumers.
Wrapping Up
Without any doubt, Google’s entry to any sector is like a boon. This year, the retail sector in India is going to be huge with this move. Top mobile app development companies like Fluper offering e-commerce services via mobile app are also finding such ways to attract customers, as it allows retailers to upload product details so they can appear across Google, without paying for ad campaigns. So, why wait? Enjoy the happy shopping experience now!
