‘Buy on Google’ for Google Shopping is shutting down in favor of a more streamlined experience

During the Google Marketing Live event last year, Google revealed upcoming changes to enhance the customer shopping experience. Starting from September 26, 2023, ‘Buy on Google’ for Google Search and Shopping will cease to exist, except for Buy on Google for YouTube, which will remain active for U.S. merchants until further notice.

Buy on Google is a feature that allows retailers of all sizes to sell products directly on Google without commission fees, and offers a seamless checkout experience for users. Retailers could collaborate with their preferred third-party providers for payment processing, offering them a cost-effective and convenient way to list products.

A Google spokesperson informed Search Engine Land that “Our goal is to support an open ecosystem by connecting shoppers directly with merchants, and this is a big priority for us. We developed a new streamlined checkout process that allows shoppers to go directly from Google to the checkout flow on a merchant’s website when they’re ready to buy. We’ve received great feedback from merchants and users. Buy on Google was a small feature that a very limited number of merchants used, so we’re investing in this new buying experience instead.”

4. Creating a more streamlined buying journey for shoppers. Instead of a multi-step buying journey, people who are ready to buy will now have the option to go directly from Google to the checkout flow on your website. Once there, they will see the chosen product already in their shopping cart and can checkout on your site with whatever payment method they select. We will be piloting this experience on Google and YouTube with select merchants and will share more information as we’re ready to take on additional partners. 

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Replacing Buy on Google is a new pilot program that aims to simplify the checkout process for consumers. Additionally, the company plans to prioritize Multisearch, AR, and visual inspiration on Shopping and Search. While it will take some time to fully implement the new program, merchants can express their interest by accessing a new form. Starting September 26, 2023, the ‘Buy on Google’ option will no longer be displayed for any listings on Search or Shopping.

I’m kind of bummed and disappointed by this decision, as the ‘Buy on Google’ feature made Google Shopping feel like a competitor to Amazon, even in some small way. The ability to filter out the ‘Buy on Google’ option was the only reason I even used it! Now, without the option to bundle purchases into a single checkout cart and avoid separate fees from different stores that all have minimums, the service seems to have reverted to a glorified Google Search.