Google has announced that it has extended its product listing ads on smartphone globally. This is an addition to the Product Listing Ads that shoppers can view on desktops and tablets. Although, Google has called it a global launch, the service will be available only in countries where Google Shopping has already transitioned to Product Listing Ads on the web. This list includes United Kingdom, Germany, France, Japan, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Brazil, Australia, Switzerland and the Czech Republic, however it does not include India. What does this new service entitle? When a consumer does a shopping related search on mobile, the result page displays ads similar to the desktop search result page. Users can tap on any ad for more details or to buy the product. They can also tap on 'Shop on Google' to see more ads sponsored on Google. Google claims to provide better price and product comparison to consumers by displaying all its sponsored ads at one go which is then supposed to aid them in narrowing their search. Users can then shop from the retailer's website upon deciding on the product. It appears that Google is trying to create a market place through its existing database of retailers advertising with it. Businesses have been depending on Google for online advertising for a very long time and Google seems to be consolidating on this dependency with a new packaging. Why India could use a service like this? It is interesting to see that Google hasn't launched this feature in India at a time…
