Google has updated the look of its product-oriented knowledge panels on mobile to display additional details about specific products in search results.
They have added multiple new features including more product images, third-party editorial reviews, relevant videos and even shopping ads, all in an effort to offer a one-stop-shop resource panel for product information. The example shown below from Vlad Rappoport highlights the new key features.
Google’s latest updated shopping panel offers users all the information they might search for before buying a product online. This keeps users engaged with information about the product they sought out to buy and decreases the chances of other internet noise that might distract users from what they are looking for.
Other new things users will see when searching for products on Google are:
- Different tabs for reviews and stores
- Updated carousel scrolling features
- A details tab
- A blue header
- Multiple images of the product
- Editorial reviews, if applicable
In Vlad Rappoport’s screenshot, you see a sponsored ad directly under the reviews from trusted sources. This section has the ability to display multiple ads at once in a carousel scrolling fashion which is helpful for price comparison. The reviews are taken from various trusted online sources, such as brand website, e-commerce stores, and notable publishers.
Outside of the informational tabs for products in blue, nearly everything can be placed in a carousel sideways scroll, effectively eliminated having to visit a separate page for various features. Multiple product images, pricing comparisons, editorial reviews, and videos now feature this sideways scroll, making it a lot easy to fit more information into one mobile search.
Google’s tweet, which announced the implementation of these new features, illustrates in a GIF how users can scroll and interact with the new panel and how to access all the information. To see Google’s animations, watch the GIF below:
Get shopping information in a snap. Now with a single search, you can quickly find product photos, videos, reviews, descriptions and more. pic.twitter.com/4w0OXyvAJ2
— Google (@Google) November 14, 2017
With the holiday season approaching, Google is beginning to look at the battle ahead of them to position themselves above Amazon, eBay and other online retailers for product search volume.
When searching for products that people would rather pick up in a store or buy directly, Google’s tabs can help with that. In the image below, a search for a “chromebook hp 14” turns up a tab for stores that carry the laptop and also a ‘Details’ tab that gives more information about the specifics of the computer’s hardware.
The ability to carousel scroll the multiple images saves users a lot of time and is bound to be beneficial to Google when it comes to pulling traffic away from its competitors. It will be interesting to see if updates come from Amazon or eBay to try and optimize their user interface before Christmas gets too close as well.
Overall, rather than cutting important features on an already overcrowded user interface to make room for others, Google has found a clever way to make space and room for everything. No matter what you prefer to consult before making a purchase online, you’ll have all the options on one search page in the palm of your hand.
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