Google Strives To Transform Shopping With Innovative Discount Search

As reported by TechCrunch, Google
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recently introduced a variety of new search features.

For example, Google now has a dedicated page for deals and new proactive features in Chrome that will hunt down discount codes and provide pricing insights on products for which users have searched in the past.

The best way to think about this?

It’s A New Way To Shop

Imagine searching for “Shop Sneaker Deals” and then being whisked away to a curated page brimming with discounts from across the web. That, in a nutshell, is how Google’s new “Deals” search results idea works.

And, then, to top it off, you can also later open a new tab in Chrome and voilà – a discount tag icon in Chrome’s address bar will also show you all the available coupon codes on shopping sites – and should you choose, you can also even have notifications about price drops sent directly to your email inbox.

It sounds pretty cool because it is.

Universal Appeal

These new features are welcomed innovations over traditional product search methodologies. They represent a keen understanding of the difference between targeted search for specific items alongside the delight of unexpected discovery.

Many people venture into e-commerce with a clear target or purpose. They know what it is they are looking to buy and oftentimes they go directly to Amazon or Google to find it. However, the downside of going to Amazon
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is that it is just that – only Amazon. Anyone who goes to Amazon to find the best deal on the product he or she wants only sees what Amazon has available at the prices Amazon wants him or her to see.

Google’s new update – an idea best encapsulated by the colloquial words “I know what I want, now show me the best price” – goes beyond Amazon. Yes, it serves up the products and the prices on Amazon, but it also expands the universe to show what else is available beyond Amazon at a discount throughout the entire world wide web, too.

Meaning, from a confidence perspective, intentful searchers over the long-run should have more confidence that Google is showing them the best deals versus Amazon.

Reshaping The Search And Discovery Dichotomy

Ah, but what about those that are browsing for discovery without intent?

That’s where the story gets even more interesting.

Online discovery has, up until now, been more the purview of social media, i.e. the Instagrams and the TikToks of the world. But the beauty of Google’s new features is that they stake a claim within the very same territory of social media, only with the aid of pricing also on their side.

For instance, instead of going on a social media platform and typing “Air Jordans,” now a customer can do the very same thing and see all the Air Jordans available throughout the web and all the pairs that also might be available via discount.

Sure, right now, the whole idea is different than just scrolling through Instagram and waiting for inspiration, but when a consumer knows that he or she is at least in a shopping mood, it is conceivable to think that Google, with this latest innovation, could become more of a stopping point than it is, especially when one factors in the long-term potential of indexing Google’s extensive video catalog (let alone the entire web) for product search as well.

The Ripple Effects

Ultimately, therefore, the brilliance of Google’s latest search innovation is not just that it aggregates deals. It also aligns with consumer intent, whether for targeted search or brand-agnostic shopping, and therefore provides a solution that is as efficient as it is expansive. As much as it is about the thrill of finding a good deal, it is even more a glimpse into the future of how Google plans to duke it out with the big guys – aka Amazon, Meta, and TikTok – in the competitive quest to create the most diverse and sophisticated option for end-to-end digital commerce.

Until now, it has never really felt like Google had a real dog in that fight. However, new and never before seen shapes are starting to emerge on the horizon, as sometimes the simplest of intuitive innovations are all it takes to reshape consumer habits.

On its surface, “shop deals” may sound pedestrian. But everyone has to walk before they run.

Even Google.