Google Shopping Is Free for All Merchants, but Large Retailers Still Have an Advantage

Bans on gatherings of 10 or more can’t stop Google from throwing a search party. The guest list: retailers hoping to catch customers in the discovery phase.

Yesterday, Google said it would make product listings on Google Shopping free for all merchants. Since 2012, Google had charged retailers an advertising fee to use the platform.

• The rollout starts in the U.S. next week, then moves worldwide over the coming months.

Why now? Take a wild guess. Google had planned to make Shopping listings free for merchants at some point, but it pushed up the launch due to the pandemic. Bill Ready, president of Google Commerce, told The Verge its goal is to help small businesses that closed their stores and now rely exclusively on e-comm.

It’s not what it looks like

Google’s really going after e-comm enemy No. 1: Amazon.

Let’s recap: Last October, Google zhuzhed up its Shopping platform to attract more retail clients and lure shoppers from Amazon. But retailers didn’t notice Google Shopping’s new fillers.

• About 4,000 merchants signed up for Buy on Google in 2019.
• Sources told Reuters that number fell short of internal targets, even with temporary discounts.

So this time around...general listings are free, but retailers will still have the option to pay top dollar for promoted ad spots. Just like on Amazon.

The move could make Google’s paid spots more competitive, but there’s no guarantee a wave of retail clients will join the platform. And there’s a lot of ground left to cover: Two-thirds of shoppers start their product searches on Amazon, per Feedvisor.

My takeaway: Free Google Shopping does give merchants millions of eyeballs when they most need them. But over time, larger retailers may start paying for preferred results. So really, we’re right back where we started.