Google has decided to become more social.
The search kingpin is revamping its shopping service into a more Instagram-slash-TikTok-esque feed, showing users an infinite scroll of products that its algorithms think they might be interested in. It’s a move toward making e-commerce more granular and personalized, a tactic that TikTok is also pursuing.
For You, and You, and You…
According to The Verge, the facelift for Google’s shopping service is rolling out on phones first, which makes sense given the product has the look and feel of a “For You” feed. As you scroll, Google will show you static and video ads for products. Of course, Google’s throwing some generative AI in for good measure: AI-generated text will give users tips on what to look out for when they buy the item they want. We’re sure that advice will be entirely unbiased and untouched by advertisers.
Google’s revamp is part of a wider industry trend toward making e-commerce an individualized one-stop-shop. TikTok, which has already seen hefty success with its e-commerce operations in Asia, is trying to attract US consumers:
- According to a July report from Momentum Works, a Singapore-based consultancy firm, TikTok Shopping’s annual gross merchandise value in southeast Asia quadrupled last year, from $4.4 billion in 2022 to $16.3 billion in 2023.
- A big part of TikTok’s US strategy involves “affiliate marketing,” a.k.a. getting influencers to sell stuff. According to a report published Monday by Rest of World, TikTok is going for something of a scattergun approach by paying lots of influencers with relatively small followings rather than seeking big, pricey placements with multimillion-follower accounts.
IP… Oh No: Shein, one of the biggest e-commerce players to come out of China in recent years, is planning to launch its IPO in London following a chilling of political hospitality in the US. However, that cold front increasingly looks like it’s blowing across the Atlantic. On Monday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer told Bloomberg in response to a question about Shein that all companies looking to list publicly in the UK would face scrutiny over the “rights of the workforce.” It’s far from a nail in the coffin, but accusations of forced labor in Shein’s supply chain have dogged the company.
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