If you rely on Google Shopping to help you make your purchases, you"re in for some good news today. At least, if you live in the United States. The Mountain View giant has announced an update to the Google Shopping experience for both desktop and mobile devices, and it includes some new capabilities and features.
For starters, there"s a redesigned homepage with more helpful product suggestions and sections for specific kinds of products. There"s also a price tracking feature, so if you"re waiting for something to get a discount before buying it, Google can let you know when that happens.
Finally, Google will now let you make purchases directly through Google Shopping, without taking you to the seller"s website. With built-in checkout, you can pay using the information already on your Google account, and Google will also take care of refunds or returns if necessary, which might bring some added peace of mind if you"re buying from a seller you don"t know that well. Google will even invest in clean energy initiatives anytime you buy directly through Google Shopping, to help offset the impact of shipping your order. You"ll need to keep in mind that not every store will support buying directly from Google, though.
The improvements to Google Shopping should be available to users in the U.S. now, but it"s unclear when they"ll make their way to other countries.