Google launches new search product for online retailers

Internet search giant Google will launch a new product today designed specifically for online retailers that will allow them to use the search giant’s own technology to power search results on their own website.

The Commerce Search product is designed so online retailers can use the native Google search technology that users are already accustomed to, but the company says it’s also a response to a relatively poor performance by Australian online retailers.

Google head of retail, entertainment and consumer products, William Easton says Australian retailers haven’t been able to provide solid in-site search and the Commerce Search product is an attempt to fix this.

“I think it’s pretty well recognised that over the last five years, we’ve seen a significant increase in the number of consumers using the web to make decisions about what they want to buy, and where to buy it from. The internet is becoming an integral part of the consumer cycle.”

“The challenge is that as we see more consumers move online, the expectation is that they will be able to move relatively quickly and find what they need in an instant. For many sites, we believe there’s room for improvement.”

This issue will only become more important as online retail becomes more popular and competition increases. New data from PayPal shows online retailers based overseas are taking 40% of Australia’s online retail spending, meaning Australian sites are missing out.

Additionally, the eBay-owned payment company predicts online retail spending to reach $33.8 billion by 2012 – a significant improvement from $24 billion during 2009.

However, Easton says less than 50% of the top 50 retailers in Australia don’t have comprehensive in-site search. “We compare this to walking into a retail store and being ignored by the sales person.”

The new product, which is cloud-based, integrates into the back-end of an existing website. Retailers sign up with Google, provide a list of all the products offered on the site along with prices, and then it takes about a week for the search to come online.

When users type a query into the search box, a drop-down box with different recommendations will appear. After searching for a particular product, a number of navigation options will appear on the left-hand side of the page, similar to a normal Google search, with the ability to filter results by brand and price.

While Easton says there are sites already using Google-powered search, they aren’t tailored for retail. The Commerce Search product provides specific recommendations and navigation options for shopping.

The product is handled entirely by Google – businesses only need to tweak the user interface to their particular needs. Additionally, different products can be pushed to the top of search results if businesses want to promote a particular sale or discount.

Google Commerce Search product leader Nitin Mangtan says the Commerce Search product will remove the burden of having to handle heavy amounts of data, and the subsequent hardware issues.

“The search is powered by Google but the user-interface is designed by the retailer, so they can tweak the look and the user-interface and everything.”

“This is also cloud-based, like a lot of our products. It means tech requirements are external to the business and retailers can focus on delivering good products and search, and don’t have to be IT managers. It’s a very quick and easy solution to implement.”

The whole product costs $US25,000 for a year, which provides infrastructure for up to 50,000 products in a retailer’s store and support.+