Amazon is public enemy number one when it comes to retail giants like Target, Walmart, and Costco, as it provides everything retailers do and then some. According to Venture Beat, Google is teaming up with major retailers to create their own online shopping platform that’s as powerful as Amazon’s, so that Google is no longer just where people go to find their favorite products—its where they go to buy them. Though they haven’t exactly been the shoulder to cry on for those who are falling behind in a rapidly digitizing economy, Google is looking to compete with Amazon just as much as retailers are, and so an unlikely marriage has become inevitable.
One of the best parts about shopping on Amazon is that shoppers can buy their favorite obscure indie record in the same place as their new laptop, or a student could add a sweater that they come across after filling their cart with books for the new semester. It’s more centralized than the mall and provides more products than even the largest brick-and-mortar department stores, tied neatly with the bow of online convenience. This partnership between Google and retail giants offers consumers another universal shopping cart platform, making Amazon no longer the sole provider of centralized access matched with at-home convenience.
Google Express, Google’s shopping platform, has witnessed a 20% increase in the number of items in their shopping carts since the launch of their partnership with major retailers. The involved retailers have seen an average of a 30% increase in shopping cart size, with Ulta experiencing a 35% jump in average order value. If these numbers keep growing, Amazon may be facing its first major battle for dominance in the online shopping market in a very long time.
Of course, it’s not enough to go face-to-face with an online shopping monopoly, as Google wants to challenge Amazon’s hold on voice shopping technology as well. According to Juniper Research, Amazon Echo and Google Home will be installed in 55% of homes by 2022, making voice technology the newest frontier in the online shopping market. Target and Walmart are ahead of the curve in this regard, striking a deal with Google last year to appear in more search results on Google Home.
When it comes to getting ahead in the online shopping market, the main priority must be convenience. That’s how online shopping became so quickly integrated into our lives in the first place. Now, Google and its new retail partners are attacking Amazon’s hold on the convenience of centralized shopping, and are not waiting around before they do the same with voice technology.
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