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Google Shopping will work across all Google products, replace Google Express
People use Google services — especially Google Search — to find products to buy every day. Whether they are searching for reviews, sales, coupon codes, or even just images, Search is one of the first destinations for folks looking to buy.
The only problem is that when people are then ready to make that purchase, they head to another destination, such as Amazon.com.
Google is ready to change that. Today, the company announced a big revamp to its Google Shopping product which will create a universal shopping cart across many of its services. It will also rebrand its Google Express store to tie-in to the new Google Shopping experience.
Universal shopping cart
Let’s say, for example, that you are watching a YouTube review for a particular product. On the same page of that review, there could be a blue “Add To Cart” button which would allow you to purchase that product right from YouTube.
However, let’s say you’re not done shopping yet. You then scoot over to Google Search in order to find an accessory for the product you found on YouTube. That accessory could also have that same blue “Add To Cart” button. When you click that, it gets added to your universal shopping cart and you can then check out as normal.
This universal experience will add a new layer of convenience to shopping online. The service is rolling out now across Google Shopping, Google Search, and Google Assistant. Later this year, it will also come to Google Images and YouTube.
Goodbye Google Express, hello Google Shopping
As part of this revamp of Google Shopping, the Google Express brand will change to better fit the new ecosystem. Unsurprisingly, Express will be known in the future just as Google Shopping, which of course makes perfect sense.
Along with the rebrand, Google is also pledging to step in should consumers have any issues with Shopping purchases through Google’s partners. As we describe in our review of Google Express, Google won’t actually stock and ship any of the products purchased through Google Shopping — instead, consumers will see shipments from third-party retailers, such as Target or Best Buy.
Google knows it can’t compete with a company like Amazon on level ground, because it would cost billions to create the same shipping/storage infrastructure. However, Google can leverage its search and advertising powers to get people to buy through these new Shopping tools rather than jump over to Amazon to make a purchase.