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How Google Shopping works
Consumer information
When you use Google Shopping, you’re browsing products from advertisers and merchants who have chosen to feature their products on Google Shopping.
By default, ranking on Google Shopping is based on a combination of advertiser bids and relevance, such as your current search terms and your activity. You can view your activity from your Google Account by going to My Activity and visit Google’s Consumer Ads Help Centre to learn more. To block specific advertisers, opt out of personalized ads or confirm your opt-out status, visit Google’s Ads Settings. Google has a relationship with and is compensated by these advertisers and merchants. Payment is one of several factors used to rank results.
Note: In India, Google Shopping functions differently. Google is not compensated for clicks on shopping search results in this region, and ranking is based solely on relevance to search queries with some influence of advertising data to improve quality.
To customize your Google Shopping results, you can sort or filter by things like price, product category, and brand.
The products displayed on Google Shopping search results may not include all available products.
Product information
Merchants and advertisers who feature their products on Google Shopping are participating in commercial activity. They must comply with Google Shopping policies that spell out what can and cannot be listed on Google Shopping.
Google Shopping will remove items that don’t comply with these policies and may suspend a merchant who violates these policies.
Advertisers provide details about their products and update their listings on a regular basis. After an advertiser updates a listing, there may be a slight delay before the new information shows up on their listing on Google Shopping.
Reviews
To help you research products, we gather reviews through the Google Customer Reviews program. These reviews are completely voluntary and we don’t compensate reviewers for submitting their opinions.
We also gather reviews from advertisers, merchants, and third-party review providers. They are required to provide all reviews (both positive and negative) and they may have compensated reviewers for giving their opinions.
An automated system processes these reviews before they show up on Google Shopping to remove spammy or inappropriate language. Spammy content includes reviews with the same content posted multiple times or from multiple accounts.
After a review is published, it can’t be modified or updated and we aren’t able to contact reviewers or ask reviewers to update what they wrote. However, we may take down reviews that are flagged to us, in order to comply with legal obligations. A review can appear on Google Shopping for as long as the reviewed item is advertised on Google.
Reviews may be sorted in a number of different ways, including chronologically.
Making a purchase
When you find something you’re interested in on Google Shopping, you’ll see the item price and applicable taxes. You can click on the product to go to the merchant’s site and purchase it.
Shipping costs can vary depending on destination, shipping method, and merchant so it’s a good idea to check the final price on the merchant’s website. On the merchant’s site, you’ll also find information about any applicable insurance or warranties.
Each merchant is responsible for their own customer support. If you have any issues with your purchase, please contact the merchant directly.
If you need help with something you bought via Google Express, see the Google Express help center.
Notice to purchasers regarding Connecticut sales and use tax
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 12-408f(b)(1) Notice: Connecticut tax may be due on purchases delivered to persons in the state. Connecticut requires purchasers to file a use tax return if sales tax due was not collected by the retailer. Visit this link for additional information.
- What is Google Shopping?
- How does Google Shopping work?
- How can I use Google Shopping to find exactly what I’m looking for?
- Can I search for products within a particular category?
- How are the products in the “Recently Viewed” section on Google Shopping generated?
- How does Google Shopping compare with other sites?
- How are product recommendations on Google Shopping generated?
- Can I buy something with Google Shopping?
- How up to date is the information?
About Google Shopping
Google Shopping is:
- Powerful: Google Shopping applies Google’s search technology to help you find and research products from online stores across the web and then points you directly to where you can buy them.
- Comprehensive: Find everything from common to unusual products.
- Fast: Almost instantly after entering a search, you’ll see photos of relevant products and links to more information, including the stores that sell them.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Google Shopping?Google Shopping is a new product discovery experience. The goal is to make it easy for users to research purchases, find information about different products, their features and prices, and then connect with merchants to make their purchase.
- How does Google Shopping work?Google Shopping enables users to view product information from merchants that is updated on a regular basis by the merchants. Online retailers submit feeds containing product information to Google Shopping and pay each time someone clicks to their website or makes a purchase directly from their site. Since this product information comes directly from the merchant, this means we are able to show the current prices, latest offers and current product availability.
Note: In India, Google Shopping functions differently. Google is not compensated for clicks on shopping search results in this region, and ranking is based solely on relevance to search queries with some influence of advertising data to improve quality.
To learn more about how our product feeds and submissions work, visit our Google Merchant Center Help Center. - How can I use Google Shopping to find exactly what I’m looking for?When you do a search within Google Shopping you’ll see a variety of filters (like price, size, technical specifications, etc.) on the left side of the page that can help you quickly narrow down to the right product. You can also choose to display items in either a list or grid view by selecting one of these options in the top right hand corner above the results. When viewing certain apparel product detail pages (like dresses, coats and shoes), you’ll also see items that are “visually similar” to the item you’ve selected. These are just a few of the many tools within Google Shopping and we look forward to providing more in the future.
- Can I search for products within a particular category?You can narrow your results by category. For example, a search for “bulb” shows results for both the plant and lighting categories. By clicking on your desired category link on the left hand side toolbar, you’ll see results only in the category you’ve selected.
- How are the products in the “Recently Viewed” section on Google Shopping generated?The products shown in the “Recently Viewed” section on Google Shopping are items from your Web and App Activity in My Activity. Visit your My Activity page to view or delete items.
- How does Google Shopping compare with other shopping sites?Google Shopping does not sell products directly to shoppers; instead we collect product information from participating merchants and make those products searchable for you. Our job is to find the product you want and point you to the store that sells it based on our assessment of what’s most relevant to your search.
- How are product recommendations on Google Shopping generated? (available in the US, UK, Germany, and Japan)Product recommendations are based on information from your Google account including your Web and App Activity. To view or delete items from My Activity or turn off recommendations, click here.
- Can I buy items directly from Google Shopping?On Google Shopping, you can find the best products, prices, and places to buy. Search thousands of stores to find whatever you’re looking for. Products you can buy directly on Google are marked by the cart icon.
- How up to date is the information?Most of the information that you see on Google Shopping is provided by participating merchants. When a merchant updates its information – such as changing the prices of a product – there may be a delay before that information goes live on Google Shopping. Therefore, you should check the merchant’s product landing page for the most up to date information.
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