Google reveals Shoploop, bringing together social, video and ecommerce into one shoppable app
Google is looking to join up the worlds of social media and ecommerce – along with video and influencers – with a pilot project designed, it says, to cater to the new way consumers shop.
Shoploop, developed by Area 120, Google’s internal R&D division, is designed to let shoppers discover, research, question and purchase in around 90 seconds, combining video, social and influencer interactivity into a single shoppable platform.
The idea is inspired by the way people shop now, says Google. Today, consumers use a combination of social media and e-commerce sites together when considering purchases. For example, users will move between Instagram for inspiration, on to YouTube demos, unboxings and tutorials, then on to either a branded site or a marketplace to actually make a purchase.
Shoploop aims to bring this all into one platform and joins a growing raft of interactive video and image shopping platforms. Instagram, for instance, is already making its feeds shoppable, while Amazon has opened up its Amazon Live shopping channel.
What Shoploop is aiming to do is bring together all aspects of these ideas into one seamless experience. It is designed to offer rapid and informative overviews and distil down the ‘how to’ content into relatable material that inspires.
The move continues Google’s quest to find a way into ecommerce and to compete with Amazon.
Marcel Hollerbach, CMO at Productsup, comments: “The new Google video and shopping platform shows the constant growth and importance of social shopping. With TikTok on the rise and Facebook continuously launching new features for Instagram, Google’s Shoploop shows that the company does not want to miss out on the social shopping experience. Shoploop is like a modern telemarketing channel that offers new opportunities for brands and companies to show their products in a different environment and adds the entertainment factor to the shopping experience. With Google’s understanding of how to handle product data, we can expect a seamless shopping experience for customers.”
