Google has launched a suite of new online shopping tools ahead of the festive season, including a list of top toys that lets shoppers inspect potential purchases in 3D, along with listings and even floor plans of nearby stores.
The tools appear in Google’s shopping channel, and a 3D swivel icon shows which products can be viewed in the new mode.
Vineet Buch, Group Product Manager of Google Shopping, posted on the Inside AdWords blog that consumers who search for toy subsets on Google Shopping will now see 360-degree interactive images of the products to bring an in-store feeling even when browsing online.
The tools will improve consumers’ overall shopping experience, but won’t necessarily drive Web traffic to retailers or create direct revenue streams, says Google Shopping chief Sameer Samat. “If we’re helping consumers be more effective in shopping and more activities, they will find Google more relevant and valuable as a company. That’s a good thing for Google, long term,” he explains.
In addition, Google has introduced Shortlists, a new tool that helps research for products and plan purchases with friends and family.
It consolidates a consumer’s entire shopping research in one location, which saves time previously allotted for bookmarking websites and opening URLs from long lists in documents.
Shortlists monitors products from Google Shopping and other websites, views product information (photos, prices and specs) side-by-side.
Shoppers can create a shortlist by clicking the “Add to Shortlist” button when browsing products on Google Shopping.
Here are a few of the other tools the Google Shopping team created to make holiday shopping, which have been pasted from the blog below:
• Not sure you’ve found the perfect gift? Read reviews from people you know and write your own product reviews on Google Shopping.
• Found an item that’s almost perfect but not quite? Now you can view “visually similar” results for even more types of products and categories, including jewellery, coats, handbags and more.
• Buying an important gift? Look for the Google Trusted Store logo as you shop. It indicates a store ships quickly and delivers excellent customer service.
• Shopping on the go? Browse for gift ideas, find local sales and research products with the new and improved Google Shopper 3.0, currently available for Android.
• Still need some inspiration? Browse holiday catalogs from the top retailers directly on Google Shopping.
Read the official blog here
