Analyst points to increased retail focus by internet giant and why retailers should care

Analyst points to increased retail focus by internet giant and why retailers should care

Google has quietly increased its capabilities for retailers during the past 12 months, in the US and UK especially, according to a recent research note published by Gartner.

This warrants that retailers look at Google as more than a search engine channel. The ability to search for product inventory and prices, a new mobile shopping application, and retail-enhanced search results page are its latest moves, wrote Hung LeHong, research vice president on the Gartner retail industry team.

The analyst said that, up to 25% of Google's first-page search results can be dedicated to retail in the US and UK. This change alone warrants that retailers consider Google more closely, he said.

Google has also taken a different approach to local product search he found, working directly with retailers to provide local search to a wider assortment of a retailer's in-store products.

Prepare for data-sharing demands

And, while retailers are not charged by Google to have any of their products, pricing, reviews and inventory data served up to consumers, they will often need to work internally to share this information externally with consumers.

LeHong recommends that retailers work with Google product search and local product search to share products and price data with consumers, especially large retailers in the US or UK.

“We recommend this not because we think that Google product search will be the dominant engine with consumers, but because it will prepare your business for sharing product data externally,” he added.

“Assign an individual to manage the external communication of retail data to consumers – whether you end up working with Google or not. The person who will decide how the retailer will manage product transparency will need to bring together all the retailer's channels to properly carry out these responsibilities.”