Google’s latest shopping tools designed to support small businesses

Author: Jaelyn Campbell

Google is launching new shopping features that will make it simpler for retailers to display crucial shop information in an effort to draw in more customers and enable them to update product imagery quickly using generative AI (artificial intelligence). 

Starting today, Google merchants in the U.S. can now identify themselves with a new “small business” attribute, which helps customers recognize mom-and-pop-style stores. Businesses that adopt this new feature will have their stores prominently marked as small businesses in Google Maps, and their products will have a “small business” tag in Google Search results.

Google’s vice president and general manager for merchant shopping, Matt Madrigal, made an announcement in which he discussed the company’s most recent features—and how they’re assisting retailers in making a difference. 

“Today’s newest features are all about how we help small businesses put their best foot forward and connect with as many customers as possible,” said Madrigal.

There are three primary components to the announcement: 

• The first is the “small business attribute.” During the holidays, it can be difficult for consumers to find and shop at new small businesses. However, to address this, the small business attribute helps merchants clearly show their small business status on Maps and Search.   
• In addition, Madrigal admitted that although the current knowledge panel facilitates connection-building, it isn’t perfect. Madrigal noted that when consumers search for products, the available information frequently focuses on corporate details that aren’t very helpful, such as location and employee count, rather than essential details, like store hours. Furthermore, Google Shopping seeks to address this by offering valuable data for all eCommerce companies, regardless of size, emphasizing assisting customers in making decisions through its knowledge panel.
• Finally, Google is also launching Product Studio. This AI-powered tool was first unveiled in May and enables shopping merchants to remove backgrounds from product images and enhance low-resolution images instantly. In addition, users can customize product images without requiring a studio setup by using text-to-image prompts to create new backgrounds. This lets them add flair to their listings for events like seasonal promotions.