Search Engine Land
  • SEO
    • > All SEO
    • > What Is SEO?
    • > SEO Periodic Table
    • > Google: SEO
    • > Bing SEO
    • > Google Algorithm Updates
  • PPC
    • > All PPC
    • > What is PPC?
    • > Google Ads
    • > Microsoft Ads
    • > The Periodic Tables of PPC
  • Focuses
    • > Local
    • > Commerce
    • > Shopify SEO Guide
    • > Content
    • > Email Marketing Periodic Table
    • > Social Media Marketing
    • > Analytics
    • > Search Engine Land Awards
    • > All Focuses
  • SMX
  • Webinars
  • Intelligence Reports
  • White Papers
  • About
    • > About Search Engine Land
    • > Newsletter
    • > Third Door Media
    • > Advertise

Processing...Please wait.

Search Engine Land » Google » Google Ads » Google Shopping Ads » New personalized, Shopping Actions-enabled Google Shopping debuts in France

New personalized, Shopping Actions-enabled Google Shopping debuts in France

Personalized recommendations and universal checkout are front and center in the update.

Ginny Marvin on March 22, 2019 at 2:56 pm

A look at the new Google Shopping now rolling out in France. Source: Business Insider France

Google’s overhaul of its Shopping portal began rolling out in France this week. It incorporates Google Shopping Actions, Google’s effort to take on Amazon, which has been chipping away at product search for years.

Google’s tack is to partner with retailers and enable users to shop and buy products from various retailers right within Google Shopping. Once payment is made, the retailers handle all of the order logistics. Google takes an undisclosed cut of each sale.

What is Google Shopping Actions? Google introduced Shopping Actions in March 2018. It will span across Google’s product search, mobile shopping, cross-device transactions and voice search initiatives and built on the Google Express product that provides shipping incentives, personalized recommendations, loyalty program credits and universal checkout. Target, Costco, Sephora, Nike are among the hundreds of retailers participating. (Walmart recently dropped out.) Eventually, once the technical logistics are worked out, Shopping Actions should work via Google Assistant and on Home devices.

What does the new Google Shopping offer? Google Shopping has functioned primarily as a price comparison engine. Users can search for products and compare offers from merchants, who pay when users click on their product listing to go to their website and potentially buy the product from the retailer. Now, with the incorporation of Shopping Actions, users will be able to add products from participating retailers to a Google Shopping cart and check out using the payment method stored in their Google accounts.

It also shows personalized recommendations based on what users have viewed previously.

Products from participating Shopping Actions merchants have a blue tag icon in the upper right corner. When you click on a Shopping Actions product, it takes you to a product comparison page.

Don’t call it a marketplace. Even if it looks like one. Google executives have stated in the past that the company does not want to become a retailer in the sense that Amazon buys and sells inventory, sets price restrictions on sellers and handles fulfillment logistics. That appears to be the distinction it wants to try to make: that Google is retailers’ friend.

Translated from French: “Shopping Actions is a format that complements our advertising solutions. We do not want to be a marketplace, we want to put the merchants closer to the buyers by avoiding them to miss a sales opportunity, at a time with a specific intention of the buyer,” said Francois Loviton, director brands and retail at Google France, Business Insider France, which first reported on the rollout.

Food product in development. Loviton also said Google is developing a solution for food that will be different from other features and characteristics. In the U.S., Google Express has a grocery category primarily for non-perishables.

Why you should care. The platform as payment facilitator is not a new concept. Amazon pioneered in this area to reduce friction in product discovery and purchase and is now the starting point for anywhere from 40 to 60 percent of product searches depending on what survey you’re looking at. And now, of course, the social platforms are getting into the game, with Instagram now testing in-app checkout. All of these underscore the dramatic impact direct-to-consumer brands and buying mechanisms have had on commerce.

Google started working on checkout from ads years ago, debuting Purchases on Google in 2015.

On Google Shopping, brand messaging opportunities are limited and pricing becomes a critical consideration when products are stacked up against each other in comparison grids. Shopping Actions sellers also have to factor commissions paid to Google into their margins, just as they do on Amazon and will with Instagram.

Google Shopping in France will be rolling out of the next few weeks. It’s not clear when it will extend to other markets. In the meantime, U.S. merchants have been testing Google Shopping and Shopping Action campaigns, here’s an early case study.


Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.


New on Search Engine Land

    Google search results spam for ‘Bill Slawski obituary’ shows the dark side of SEO

    New mobile Google ad experiment puts favicon in-line with display URL

    Google launches video health tools to help publisher monetization

    SEO pioneer and expert Bill Slawski passes away

    New Yelp feature: Request a Call

About The Author

Ginny Marvin
Ginny Marvin was Third Door Media’s former Editor-in-Chief (October 2018 to December 2020), running the day-to-day editorial operations across all publications and overseeing paid media coverage. Ginny Marvin wrote about paid digital advertising and analytics news and trends for Search Engine Land, Marketing Land and MarTech Today. With more than 15 years of marketing experience, Ginny has held both in-house and agency management positions. She can be found on Twitter as @ginnymarvin.

Related Topics

AmazonAmazon AdvertisingCommerceContentGoogleGoogle AdsGoogle AssistantGoogle ShoppingGoogle Shopping AdsSEOVoice Assistants

Get the daily newsletter search marketers rely on.

Processing...Please wait.

See terms.

ATTEND OUR EVENTS

Learn actionable search marketing tactics that can help you drive more traffic, leads, and revenue.

March 8-9, 2022: Master Classes (virtual)

June 14-15, 2022: SMX Advanced (virtual)

November 15-16, 2022: SMX Next (virtual)

Learn More About Our SMX Events

Discover time-saving technologies and actionable tactics that can help you overcome crucial marketing challenges.

Start Discovering Now: Spring (virtual)

September 28-29, 2022: Fall (virtual)

Learn More About Our MarTech Events

Webinars

Take a Crawl, Walk, Run Approach to Multi-Channel ABM

Content Comes First: Transform Your Operations With DAM

Dominate Your Competition with Google Auction Insights and Search Intelligence

See More Webinars

Intelligence Reports

Enterprise SEO Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Identity Resolution Platforms

Email Marketing Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Sales Enablement Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Digital Experience Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

Enterprise Call Analytics Platforms: A Marketer’s Guide

See More Intelligence Reports

White Papers

Reputation Management For Healthcare Organizations

Unlock the App Marketing Potential of QR Codes

Realising the power of virtual events for demand generation

The Progressive Marketer’s Ultimate Events Strategy 2022 Worksheet

CMO Guide: How to Plan Smart and Pivot Fast

See More Whitepapers

Receive daily search news and analysis.

Processing...Please wait.

Topics

  • SEO
  • PPC

Our Events

  • Search Marketing Expo - SMX
  • MarTech

About

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Marketing Opportunities
  • Staff

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Newsletters
  • RSS
  • Youtube

© 2022 Third Door Media, Inc. All rights reserved.