A new Google platform will make it easier for shoppers to compare prices of products and find the best deals. Photo / 123RF
A new Google platform will make it easier for shoppers to compare prices of products and find the best deals. Photo / 123RF
A Google platform being introduced in New Zealand will make it easier for shoppers to compare prices of products and find the best deals, a marketing expert says.
Google Shopping's arrival in New Zealand lets people Google and item and compare prices on different websites within the search results page.
Managing director of digital marketing company Pure SEO Richard Conway said most consumers don't search past the first page of Google search results and could miss cheaper deals on products.
An example of using Google Shopping to search for manuka honey.
"Kiwis using Google may have already started to find a 'carousel' of images of products and their prices at the top of the search results.
"What used to be a manual process of opening each site and checking for the correct product and lowest price will now take a fraction of the time," Conway said.
Google Shopping makes it more cost effective for New Zealand exporters to reach global markets, Conway said.
"What this will mean for Kiwi businesses is a levelling of the playing field against dominant larger competitors.
"As the cost to reach each consumer comes down, those Kiwi businesses which sell direct to consumers will find it easier to compete with the marketing spend of larger players."
Conway said one business was able to reduce their marketing spend with Google by 45 per cent in a recent trial of the Shopping platform.
"New Zealand businesses spend tens of millions each year advertising online and this is expected to reach $900 million by 2020.
"The introduction of new technology like Google Shopping will help improve the online shopping experience for Kiwi consumers and we expect it to open up new markets for Kiwi retailers almost overnight."
Traditional text adverts won't be replaced by the new platform.
"Research has found that this new advertising service actually complements traditional AdWords, as when a consumer is faced with both Shopping and text ads, more than 90 per cent visit the website and 83 per cent make a purchase," Conway said.
"Because of this, we expect to see to see businesses incorporating the new technology rather than replacing an existing one."
