Google has dropped commission fees for retailers selling on its search engine as competition in e-commerce intensifies with Amazon.
The search engine giant previously charged brands a commission of between 10 and 15pc to make sales over its Buy on Google tool.
Buy on Google allows customers to make instant purchases from its Google Shopping site without having to check out through another website. Instead it uses details they have saved with their Google account. Shoppers click an instant buy button that appears in Google’s shopping search function.
It signals the latest effort from Google to add to its online retail tools and take on rivals such as Amazon.
Amazon already has approximately 38pc of total online sales in the US, while Google is not in the top 10. Cnet first reported the news.
Bill Ready, Google’s President of Commerce, said: “By removing our commission fees, we’re lowering the cost of doing business and making it even easier for retailers of all sizes to sell directly on Google, starting with a pilot that we’ll expand to all eligible sellers in the US over the coming months.”
While sellers would still pay to have their items promoted or advertised, they will no longer have to pay extra fees to process a payment.
Google will also let retailers sell using payment services from eBay and services from Shopify, an Amazon rival.
The decision to slash its fees comes as Google, Facebook, Amazon and Apple all prepare to face an interrogation before the US Congress over competition concerns.
Google’s shopping service has also come under scrutiny before for stifling rivals, leading to a £2bn fine for its shopping service in 2017. Google is still appealing the penalty.
