Let's Talk about Google

It’s common knowledge that Google has wanted to get into the business of selling us things – just like Amazon does – for years. But they just haven’t seemed to make it work, or get us to see Google as that type of service. According to Yahoo Finance, e-commerce is projected to reach $2.27 trillion in 2025. Well, they are trying once again – this time with a couple of new innovations and a twist, that just might work. At their recent Google software conference they announced that the Google marketplace will be a free marketplace for merchants. No commissions, no fees. A huge twist from the Amazon model of fees and more fees that many merchants complain about. And Google’s move might just attract a strong following of merchants. Unlike Amazon, Google doesn’t seem to want to be a retailer or a delivery service (they tried that with Express in San Francisco in 2013 and had secured major retailers including Target and Walgreens.) This time Google just wants to expand their search and information tools and make them very very shopper-friendly. The technologies include shoppers using photos to search for retail products and a feature that lets shoppers go from merchant listings on Google search to checkout in one click. Similar initiatives that TikTok and Meta have also discussed implementing. Google is setting its sights high – and will also help shoppers buy and research NFTs, homes, cars, mortgages  and even which college you want to go to. Morgan Stanley Bank published last fall research that showed consumers were using Google and YouTube to research and price-shop more often than people used Amazon, eBay or Walmart.