Editing Google Shopping (section)

=== Google Shopping (2013 –&nbsp;present) ===
Alongside the announcement of an immediate re-brand to '''Google Shopping''' on May 31, 2012, Google also announced that in late 2012, it would change the service to use a "pay-to-play" model, where merchants would have to pay Google to list their products on the service, with results influenced by both relevance and the bid amounts they pay. Google justified the move by stating that it would allow the service to "deliver the best answers for people searching for products and help connect merchants with the right customers."<ref name="Google Commerce: Building a better shopping experience" /><ref name="Google Product Search To Become Google Shopping">{{cite web|url=http://searchengineland.com/google-product-search-to-become-google-shopping-use-pay-to-play-model-122959|title=Google Product Search To Become Google Shopping, Use Pay-To-Play Model|last=Sullivan|first=Danny|date=May 31, 2012|publisher=Search Engine Land|access-date=July 9, 2012}}</ref>

The change proved controversial; some small businesses showed concern that they would not be able to compete with larger companies that can afford a larger advertising budget.<ref name="wsj-p2p" /> [[Microsoft]]'s [[Bing (search engine)|Bing]] also attacked the move in an advertising campaign known as "[[Scroogled]]," which called Google out for using "deceptive advertising practices" and suggesting that users use its competing Bing Shopping service instead.<ref name=iw-scroogled>{{cite web|title=Microsoft Scroogled Site Challenges Google Shopping Honesty|url=http://www.informationweek.com/byte/personal-tech/consumer-services/microsoft-scroogled-site-challenges-goog/240142956|publisher=InformationWeek|access-date=March 30, 2013}}</ref>

Google also revealed plans to integrate [[Google Catalogs]] with Google Shopping, to give users "more ways to find ideas and inspiration as you shop and engage with your favorite brand."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://techcrunch.com/2012/10/01/google-catalogs-comes-to-the-web-now-integrated-with-google-shopping/|title=Google Catalogs Comes To The Web, Now Integrated With Google Shopping|publisher=TechCrunch|access-date=October 1, 2012}}</ref>

In June 2017, Google Shopping was fined a record €2.4 billion by the EU Commission for giving its own online shopping services top priority in search results.<ref name=rapid-1784/>

In March 2018, Google introduced Shopping Actions, a commission based model, where customers can shop "on the Google Assistant and Search with a universal cart, whether they're on mobile, desktop, or even a Google Home device"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.blog.google/products/ads/shopping-actions/|title=Help shoppers take action, wherever and however they choose to shop|date=March 19, 2018|website=Google|language=en|access-date=March 12, 2019}}</ref>

Initial case studies on the impact of Shopping Actions vs Google Shopping alone show positive results, with higher Average Order Value, increase in basket size, and higher revenue to merchants.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://searchengineland.com/google-shopping-actions-vs-google-shopping-a-real-world-case-study-313688|title=Google Shopping Actions vs. Google Shopping: A real-world case study|date=March 11, 2019|website=Search Engine Land|access-date=March 12, 2019}}</ref>