What Google Shopping has (not) done for the competition. Report
Google has added ways to show competitor shopping sites in Google Shopping, but competitors say it doesn't work. This is what emerges from a study commissioned by 25 comparison shopping sites
On Google Shopping Big G has done little to respect the competition.
According to a recent study, the search giant's overhaul to grant competitors access to its retail platform made little difference. The Financial Times first reported it.
Despite the modification of its practices after the sanction for alleged anti-competitive behavior received in 2017 by the European antitrust, Google is still putting its EU rivals at a disadvantage.
This is what emerges from a new study commissioned by a group of rival buying comparison websites.
WHAT A STUDY REVEALED
Less than 1% of traffic through Google Shopping is currently directed to rival comparison shopping sites such as the UK's Kelkoo and Germany's Idealo. That's what the study claims, commissioned by 25 comparison shopping sites, based on the analysis of 10.5 billion clicks.
In the three years since Google updated its policy to grant rivals "access" to its purchasing platform, its competitors' visibility and profitability have halved. According to research.
AFTER THE EUROPEAN FIN
In 2017, Google revised its purchasing search policy after the European Commission fined the tech giant with a record € 2.4 billion for abuse of dominant position. On the occasion, Brussels had stated that Big G must "offer advertising space under the same conditions to Google Shopping and its competitors".
Also in 2017, competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager stated that "Google has given its comparison shopping service an illegal advantage by abusing its domain in general Internet search".
LESS THAN 1% OF USERS
Despite the review of the tech giant, it seems that there are still competition problems on the Google Shopping platform.
“Less than 1% of users who click on Google Shopping boxes will see any rival price comparison website, because Google boxes only link directly to merchant websites,” said Thomas Höppner, author of the report. and partner of the law firm Hausfeld which provides consultancy to companies.
Hoppner said Google's rivals continued to be at a disadvantage despite the changes because the tabs within Google Shopping units – boxes that appear above its main search results – link directly to retailers' websites, bypassing the price comparison sites.
THE GOOGLE POSITION
Google's reply was not long in coming. “These figures ignore the facts of the purchase decision. The remedy has worked successfully for three years, generating billions of clicks for over 600 comparison shopping services and is subject to intensive monitoring by the European Commission ”. The Mountain View giant commented on the publication of the study.
As the Financial Times recalls, Google is contesting the fine and has denied any wrongdoing. By insisting that it is not against competition rules to develop a winning product.
His lawyers argued in February that the changes made to Google Shopping to open the service to displaying products from competing sites address concerns in Brussels.
The research anticipates the decision of the Court of the European Union which should rule on Google's appeal against the fine by the end of the year.
Already last November, Commissioner Vestager had declared that the Google review was not working. "We still don't see much traffic for good competitors when it comes to comparing purchases."
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/cosa-non-ha-fatto-google-shopping-per-la-concorrenza-report/ on Tue, 29 Sep 2020 06:00:36 +0000.