Google has struggled for years to build an online shopping
business that can seriously compete with
Amazon. Now, as Google’s prized advertising business faces a growing threat from Amazon, the search giant is planning new steps to bolster its shopping presence. Google is testing a new feature on its YouTube video service that displays product prices and recommendations under videos playing on the site, and makes it easy for viewers to buy them on Google. It’s rapidly adding retailers to its Google Express marketplace, which it plans to rebrand as Google Shopping, according to two people familiar with the business. And earlier this year it launched “shoppable images,” which allow advertisers to highlight products in ads in Google image search results.
