Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) has come up with an innovative new way to help high street retailers entice customers into their stores by using people’s smartphones. Google has been trying to find ways to effectively use its Google Now function to compete with Amazon. Google Now used to be focused on providing options for people on things like the price of flights, or updates to travel information.
Recently, Google changed the format to allow product listing ads, otherwise known as PLAs, to appear on a user’s smartphone, showing a pictures of a product, and the price, instead of just a list of links. This new format was designed to mimic the search results received when using Amazon. Google has now taken this initiative a step further, with a new feature for Google Now.
The new feature is a version of an automatically generated shopping list that uses the GPS data in a smartphone. If a user is searching for a particular type of product, for example a new suit, then the app will search the shops in the area near the smartphone. If there is a store nearby that is selling suits, it will let user know, and guide them to the location.
Google has not yet announced how the retailers will be able to upload the information for this new feature, or whether there will be an advertising feature linked to it. This new feature also allows Google to better utilize the inventory information it receives from retailers. This is not the only shopping innovation that Google is introducing. They are also expanding their shopping express service to new cities including Manhattan, and parts of Los Angeles.
