9 New Google Shopping Features You Need to Know About

We’re back with another Midweek Media Breakdown, giving you the latest social media news through a digital marketing lens. This week, we’re breaking down the nine new shopping features Google unveiled at their?Search On ‘22: Search Outside the Box?event.

Get acquainted with these new and upcoming changes, and learn how to better optimise them for your brand.?

Easier shopping on Google

?This new slew of features goes far beyond the classic Google search box we all know and love. Google is actively working towards creating online pathways that work more like our minds, and less like a machine spitting out results.?

Get ready for more natural, intuitive and visual searching. When it comes to shopping, Google wants users to explore topping more naturally. These updates are designed to create more immersive, informative and personalised shopping experiences. All of this is powered by Google’s Shopping Graph, an AI-enhanced model that processes over 35 billion product listings.

As Lillian Rincon, Senior Product Director of Google Shopping said: “Shopping is about so much more than just buying. It’s about browsing, exploring new products and brands, and finding the best deal.”

Here’s a rundown of the nine new features you need to know about:?

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1. Visual Shopping?

Starting today, when your search begins with the word ‘Shop’, this will generate a shoppable display of products from a wide range of retailers and brands. This gives shoppers an instant stream of products to browse, like digital window shopping.?

Users will also see related research tools and nearby stock related to that product. Google is committed to expanding shoppable experiences like this beyond apparel to all categories, including beauty, electronics and more.

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2. Shop The Look?

Get perfect pairings for whatever you’re searching for. Say you’re searching for a new pair of jeans. Google’s Shop the Look tool will now show you both results for jeans and other complementary pieces, plus options for where to buy them, all within Search. If your product is directly linked to others, or often bought in conjunction with another item, this gives merchants more opportunities to show up in the right place, at the right time.

3. Shop Trending Products

Stay trending. This new shopping feature highlights popular products within a certain category, allowing shoppers to discover the latest models, styles and brands. This feature will be available to US shoppers later this year.?

4. 3D Shopping

3D images produce almost 50% more engagement than static ones. But producing 3D assets is time-consuming, expensive and often requires hundreds of images to generate.

Thankfully, Google has developed a new way to build 3D assets that’s more efficient and cost-effective. Thanks to their new machine learning tech, you can now show off products in 3D with just a handful of still images.?

Google can now generate 360-degree spinning images of sneakers using just a few photos. While it’s not available quite yet, this feature is expected to drop in the next few months.

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5. Buying Guide?

When making larger purchases, most shoppers like to do their due diligence and research the product or category before buying.??

Google is now making it easier to shop with confidence, thanks to its new Buying Guide feature. This update shares helpful insights about a category, from a wide range of trusted sources, all within Search. For example, certain products may be listed with size, weight and information about the materials it’s made from.?

Buying Guide recently launched in the US, with new categories coming soon.?

6. More Page Insights

This new feature gives shoppers key information about a webpage or product they’re visiting. This includes pros, cons and star ratings. This makes it easy to see other shoppers’ thoughts about a certain product or retailer.?

Users will also be able to opt-in to receive price drop updates, a well-timed development for retailers to begin using in Q4.

7. Hyper-Personalised Results?

Google is continuously working towards creating more personalised pathways online. They’re now expanding this so shoppers will get more tailored results, based on previous shopping experiences.?

For example, users who have previously searched within the ‘Women’s’ category will be shown women’s products first in their next search.?

Shoppers will also get the option to set preferences directly within Google, easily turning off personalised results if desired.

8. New Shopping Filters

Shop?precisely?what you’re looking for with new whole-page shopping filters. These options will now be dynamic, adapting based on real-time Search trends. Depending on what’s popular, you may be suggested certain styles or colours of a specific design, like wide-leg or boot-cut jeans, for example. Of course, these will change over time depending on what’s trending according to Google.?

These dynamic filters are currently available in the US, Japan and India and will come to more regions soon.?

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9. Beyond the Search Box?

Google wants to usher in a new era of digital window shopping. The ultimate way to get inspired is by using the Lens feature. Simply tap on an item of interest and see options of where to buy, along with suggested searches and similar, trending styles.?

This feature has been developed to create more immersive, interactive and intuitive shopping experiences on Google.?

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Conclusion

These updates certainly create some exciting new options for brands looking to up their paid search game.

Which of these nine new features are you most looking forward to?

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Thanks again for tuning into another weekly roundup with The Graygency.?Check out our blog?for more Midweek Media Breakdown posts.

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