Google Shopping announced some big changes yesterday.
Speaker AAccording to a company blog post penned by Sean Scott.
Speaker AGood alliterative name the VP GM of Google Shopping, a number of changes are coming, and here is how they work.
Speaker ASay, for example, Ann, you were to search for men's winter jacket for Seattle.
Speaker AAnd then Google will now provide an AI brief with the most important things you should know before investing in a new coat for this climate.
Speaker AIt'll show products recommended by sources from across the web and an explanation of why they're a fit for your needs.
Speaker AYou also see categories that give you a more organized view of the types of jackets to consider.
Speaker AAnd for those who want to research more deeply on the web, you can also easily click through to relevant articles, which is a key point.
Speaker AIn addition, your results will also include dynamic filters that let you zero in on your preferences, like if you need a certain size or want something available near you.
Speaker AAlso important.
Speaker AAnd finally, Ann, because I know you were curious, I know how big of a Google fan you are.
Speaker AWhat about pricing?
Speaker AI'm sure that's what's going on in your head.
Speaker BOh, yes, I want to know.
Speaker AShopping feature.
Speaker AYou want to know, right?
Speaker BYes.
Speaker AThe new Google shopping features not only include deal finding tools like price comparison, price insights, and price tracking throughout, but also a new dedicated and personalized deal page where you can browse deals for you by just clicking the deals link at the top of your page to explore.
Speaker AAll right, ad, since you started me off hot, I'm coming in hot and I'm going to put you on the spot this week.
Speaker AThis is not the official a and M put you on the spot question.
Speaker AThis is the walton put you on the spot question.
Speaker BJunkyard version.
Speaker BThe junkyard version of the a and M put you on the spot.
Speaker BYes.
Speaker BOkay.
Speaker AExactly right.
Speaker ALast yes, I'm gonna hold your feet to the fire.
Speaker AAnd because last week you said Google's lens announcement was a headline of the year candidate, so does this week's Google shopping headline rank higher or lower in your estimation than Google Lens did last week in terms of the long term impact on retail scale?
Speaker AThe floor is yours.
Speaker BYes, I would say.
Speaker BLet me clarify.
Speaker BI think that the component of the headline of the year last week with Google Lens was really more about how it's going to be a key component to changing how we search.
Speaker BAnd that's really a combination of both using visual elements to search in conjunction with the ability to use text search in that whole search experience to use voice to help you search.
Speaker BAnd so I don't think that they're mutually exclusive.
Speaker BI think this is probably the headline, but, but lens is a key component of this announcement, too, because this, to me, this ultimately signals like we, Google is changing where we go to search when we're shopping for things.
Speaker BAnd the key thing that's differentiated between Google and Amazon here is that Google is enabling discovery and like your, your seek and destroy mission, as you would say, Chris, to, to find that product and take it home with you.
Speaker BAnd so I think that's what's fundamental here about what Google is doing.
Speaker BI think it's just going to keep getting better as the algorithm learns more and the product descriptions get better and companies start to feed some of the content that's in these algorithms.
Speaker BAnd I think lastly, this also makes a case again for own it or another platform that we've talked about on the show multiple times, because you, as the owner of the product, as the person selling this product, you have so much more data about that that you can start to feed into the shopping experience that will ultimately make that better for the consumer.
Speaker BSo I tell go to Google shopping.com, like, go down there right now.
Speaker BCheck it out.
Speaker BIt is so awesome.
Speaker BI'm so excited for this, Chris, it's a long answer to your question, but that's how I feel about it.
Speaker ASo, so if I sum it up and you basically say this is the more important headline, this is the headline.
Speaker AMy, my hunch, though, in fairness to you, my hunch was you already thinking about this in terms of when you were discussing last week's headline for sure, just assuming this was going to come too, right?
Speaker BYes, correct.
Speaker BCorrect.
Speaker BYes.
Speaker BAnd shout out to our friends at Google shopping who are putting this on our former Target store, the future team, too.
Speaker BWe got some people over there that are helping make this happen.
Speaker BSo go check it out.
Speaker BDrive traffic to the site.
Speaker AYes.
Speaker AWell, and I mean, I 100% agree because I actually, I actually think this trumps Google lens.
Speaker AAnd the reason I say this, because Google, because it works with Google Lens, right?
Speaker AI mean, Google Lens is a part of it in the broader context.
Speaker AAnd it, like you said, it ultimately changes how consumers search and buy products regardless of how many people adopt Google lens for their searches.
Speaker ARight.
Speaker ASo the macro impact of this is potentially bigger.
Speaker ABut I think, I think this is, this headline is also important for a number of other reasons because I think, like you mentioned, I think it signals and tells everyone, you know, what's coming next.
Speaker AAnd so, first of all, like you, and there's four points I'd call out.
Speaker ASo first you've got national natural language based search, which is, we've talked about a lot.
Speaker AIt's coming.
Speaker ABut then the other interesting one that I alluded to when I was reading the headline, filtering searches down based on language versus preset filters divided by, decided by some random taxonomist, which has always been a crutch of e commerce.
Speaker AIt used to frustrate me like hell when I was running e commerce, because you can't keep pace with the amount of change that's happening in consumer trends by putting that on a taxonomist to chronicle and catalog and update your website.
Speaker ASo that's coming to you.
Speaker AThe third part is, um, which I think this part's really interesting.
Speaker AIt goes back to own it thing, too.
Speaker AThe compliment, the complimenting of the searches with credible source material.
Speaker AYes.
Speaker AWhich is something that Google can probably do better than anyone.
Speaker AAnd then, of course, lastly, the showing of the market availability of the products broadly, like where can you get them across all of retail, side by side alongside, you know, with price comparisons.
Speaker ALike, that's pretty powerful stuff, and that's why Google here is very well positioned.
Speaker ASo, but the implications, I think the implications of this are also really important if you're a retailer brand listening.
Speaker BYes.
Speaker ABecause if you don't have your site built to operate on what people are searching Google for and the questions they are asking Google, if you don't have your product information synced up to that and other people do, you are going to lose, in the long run.
Speaker AYou are going to lose ecommerce volume in the long run.
Speaker ASo that is something you really have to think about.
Speaker AAnd you've got to start developing a strategy now to compensate for it.
Speaker BYeah, 100%.
Speaker BChris, the other question that I have to ask you is that I think bringing Google lens into this one more time.
Speaker AYeah.
Speaker AWhat do you.
Speaker BBecause Amazon, they've had visual search, right on the Amazon platform for how long?
Speaker BLike, oh my God.
Speaker BRight.
Speaker AYeah, I think, like probably ten years.
Speaker AClose to ten years.
Speaker BBut don't you think it's interesting that Google, like, lens was kind of the first, like, that was something that they launched?
Speaker BAnd I feel like Google Lens is so, so much more widely known than any other, like, individual brands visual search function.
Speaker BSo, like, this is another component of it that I think is interesting to kind of go backward into that and now, like, using our normal search language, like, we type something into Google to find products.
Speaker BI just, I think it's so much more natural to, like, human behavior to search Google in this way.
Speaker BAnd the results are so much better.
Speaker BBut what do you think?
Speaker AYeah, I mean, I think that's your point.
Speaker AI mean, the statistic for me was, like, 20% of.
Speaker AWhat was it?
Speaker A20% of product searches are using Google lens in their search, like, when people are searching products or using Google lens.
Speaker ASo I think that's really powerful.
Speaker ABut the other thing, and I think we all know at this point that you love Google lens.
Speaker AI think it's like, it's like you think it's the greatest thing since sliced bread.
Speaker AI think.
Speaker AI think that is clearly, clearly on the table.
Speaker ASo I don't know.
Speaker AI don't think, I don't think we need.
Speaker AI think the audience and I are very comfortable with your.
Speaker AWith.
Speaker BYou don't want to hear any more.
Speaker BAll right.
Speaker BAll right.
Speaker AI'm.