What you need to know
- Google is formally launching Google Shopping in the U.S. — a revamped version of Google Express.
- New features include price tracking, stock availability at nearby stores, and "Buy on Google."
- There's also a new Google Lens feature.
Google Express, Google's online shopping service in the U.S., is no more. The company announced early last month that Express would be rebranded as Shopping, and today, that new direction is being pushed live for everyone in the country to access — along with a few new features to make it more useful than ever.
One of the features we're most excited about is Google Shopping's new "track price" toggle. This will now show up when viewing a product on Google Shopping, and once enabled, you'll receive a push notification from the Shopping app whenever the price of said product drops.
Google Shopping's also gaining a couple of tools that integrate with local stores in your area. When searching for something in the app, you can enable a new "Nearby" filter that will show stores near you that have that product in stock. Similarly, the Nearby filter will also show the price of products at local stores, ensuring you get the best deal possible for whatever it is you're buying if you'd rather shop in person.
Should you decide to buy something through the Google Shopping app rather than driving to a nearby store, you'll notice a new "Buy on Google" option when you go to checkout. Buy on Google uses your personal information that's already saved to your Google account, meaning you don't have to go through and enter name, contact, and address information every time you buy something.
Buy on Google also comes with the "Google guarantee", with Google noting that:
And every order is backed by a Google guarantee, which means you can rely on Google's customer support and we'll have your back for easy returns and refunds. Buying on Google also means you can shop from any store with confidence and discover new ones you'd never considered before.
Lastly, while it isn't directly related to Google Shopping, Google Lens is gaining a new feature called "style ideas." It's available first in the U.S., and it'll allow you to take a picture of a clothing item and see recommended styles for how it would look on different outfits. This feature also works if you take a screenshot of a jacket or something you see on social media and then tap the Google Lens icon in the Google Photos app.
The new Google Shopping experience and Lens's style ideas are live now in the U.S.
