Google launches shopping website in India

Google has unveiled Google Shopping, a dedicated search engine intended to provide an immersive and improved online shopping experience. Along with finding products, Google Shopping allows users to filter through offers and review prices across multiple retailers.

The new shopping experience has been launched on three platforms: ‘Shopping’ tab on Google Search, Google Lens app on mobile devices and a brand new Shopping home page.

The shopping homepage is a dedicated made-to-browse page where shoppers can search for products across several categories and choose between thousands of retailers for the best price. In addition to letting users browse through products, the page also provides features such as price drops, ratings and reviews on any given product.

“More than 40 million Indians are coming online every year, and search is an integral part of their online journey. 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,” Surojit Chatterjee, Vice President - Product Management, Google said about the launch.

For retailers, Google has expanded Merchant Center support to Hindi in addition to the English language. To those unaware, Merchant Center is a place on Google where merchants can upload their store and product data in the form of advertisements. Additionally, retailers can now upload product details so they can appear across Google, without paying for ad campaigns.

The move provides millions of hyper-local small and medium level businesses visibility and provides them with an opportunity to brandish their merchandise to millions of potential buyers online.

“With this launch, our aim is to support the entire retail ecosystem, from shopping sites and large retailers to small local shops, and give them the tools, technology and scale to thrive in today’s digital economy,” Surojit added.

According to Google, the experience will also be available as a Progressive Web App (PWA) for users with entry-level phones.