Google Unveils Deal-Finding Tools for Shoppers

With the holidays approaching and consumers increasingly worried about costs, Google has unveiled a series of tools designed to help them find deals when they shop.

“Coupon codes are a great way to save, but finding them — and making sure they work — can be challenging,” Shashi Thakur, Google’s vice president/general manager for consumer shopping, wrote in a blog post on Tuesday (Nov 1). “To help shoppers save money and time, we’re bringing promotions front and center in product searches.”

Google’s new promotion badge will appear during searches on items running a promotion (the company gives the example of “15% off with coupon code HOLIDAYS”).

“While in the past we’ve shown when items are on sale or the price has dropped, you can now see specific promotions and compare them to others right in Search,” Thakur said.

Google is also adding a “coupon clipping feature,” which lets shoppers copy promo codes when they’re ready to buy. These features will debut in the coming weeks.

In addition, the search giant will make it easier for people to see a side-by-side comparison on different products. It’s also bringing its price insights feature to search to help consumers understand the prices they see and make more informed buying decisions.

And consumers are likely to be more discerning as the holiday shopping season ramps up. Recent research by PYMNTS found that two-thirds of retail shoppers say they are spending less on “nice-to-have” products than a year ago, while 58% of grocery shoppers say the same.

Read more: Google Unveils ‘More Visual’ Shopping Tools

Last month, Google introduced new features designed to offer “a more visual experience” to people using its desktop search to shop for products.

“New dynamic filters will also help you refine your search to find something specific,” the company explained. “So if you’re shopping for a new coffee maker on desktop, you can search ‘shop coffee makers’ and filter by type, brand, retailer, nearby or on sale to find the best option.”

Google also introduced a way for users to read about products without disrupting their search by clicking on that product to instantly get more information.