Google Base Retail Rumours Confirmed

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Google Base Retail Rumours Confirmed

Posted by ryuzaki0 on Thursday March 16, 2006 @04:26AM from the all-their-base-etc-etc dept.

kaufmanmoore writes "According to an MSNBC report, the head of Google's European arm has said that Google wants to use Google Base for brick and mortar stores to submit lists of goods and prices in order to create an online presence." From the article: "Google would index and package the information into a consumer-friendly search engine, giving its users a virtual supermarket across a number of retail brands. Mr Arora said: 'Google Base is going to have a huge impact on retailers," adding that the move reflected internal research, which found many leading European retailers did not feel they were competitive enough online.'

25 of 87 comments (clear)

Froogle anyone? by myspys · 2006-03-16 04:28 · Score: 2, Interesting

But.. isn't this exactly what Froogle is?
1. Re:Froogle anyone? by wenzi · 2006-03-16 05:00 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  I think it is very similar to Froogle. But I am sure someone in Google has noticed that fact also.
  
  What I think is interesting is how Google payments works with Google base and not Froogle.
  
  I think when retailers go for Google base, there will be a pre-built e-commerce rig waiting to go.
  
  Froogle will be for the rest of us punters.
  
  --
  -- I doubt, therefore I might be.
2. Re:Froogle anyone? by sirambrose · 2006-03-16 05:05 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  It is sort of like froogle without the screen scraping. Because the content provider enters the information about the item, there is all kinds of neat attributes that can be used to narrow the search. For example a honda civic can be classified by price, make, year, color, model, engine, mileage, door count, and body style. You can actually search for a used 2000-2002 civic sedan with 50-75k miles that costs less than $12,000 and is less than 100 miles from your house. It appears that cars.com has put all their car classifieds into the system which means that any car advertised in the washington post is in the system. If the car dealerships started to add their inventories it would be really cool. I'm not sure if it will take off because it of the desire of businesses to keep their prices from being compared.
Let's get this out of the way now by eldoo77 · 2006-03-16 04:36 · Score: 4, Funny

All your base are belong to Google... Really!
1. Re:Let's get this out of the way now by Tackhead · 2006-03-16 04:42 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  > All your base are belong to Google... Really!
  Well, it's a database-driven app, so it's gonna be something like this:
  SELECT * FROM BASE;.
  Either that, or we go the retail website route:
  # chown -R google /htdocs/products/*/base
Well.. by ackthpt · 2006-03-16 04:36 · Score: 3, Interesting

After attending SDWest yesterday and listening to Jeff Barr from Amazon Web Services, I expect Google has to be doing something. I don't mean to evangelize Amazon, but to shed some light on what they have been doing, which was brought to light on the 14th, regarding this online storage. They have web services, which you can program and wot and build your own online businesses with, which for a small brick and mortar, could be quite a bonus (Amazon have worked with small booksellers and wot for years, now anyone can.)
Check it out, at least, at aws.typepad.com

--

A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
Google Base? by user24 · 2006-03-16 04:38 · Score: 4, Funny

Am I the only one who (for a second) thought that google were actually beginning construction of their other base
Google Base joke... by revery · 2006-03-16 04:39 · Score: 3, Funny

Seems like there should be a joke that I could make about Google Base... and how everything will belong to them...

Google: All the retail is ours.... No that's not right...

Something really obvious...

Google: We own you... No...

Oh well. Maybe someone can set me up the joke...

No? OK....
1. Re:Google Base joke... by hey! · 2006-03-16 04:55 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Face it my friend, in Internet terms we're older than the hills, and the youngsters here are rolling their eyes every time we give a phlegmy chuckle at one of those catch phrases from the good old days. Still, I for one welcome our new Google Base overlords, so long as they have Natalie Portman as their spokesmodel, naked and petrified.
  
  --
  Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
2. Re:Google Base joke... by fbjon · 2006-03-16 05:59 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  Slashdot isn't really slashdot without some base-jokes, overlords, and Natalie Portman sprinkled around.
  And don't forget the trolls, GNAA, and spelling errors compliatn with ISO Flaming Standards.
  
  --
  True confidence comes not from realising you are as good as your peers, but that your peers are as bad as you are.
Still leaves a lot to be desired. by Shivetya · 2006-03-16 04:40 · Score: 5, Interesting

So they will index deals submitted by stores.

Who is going to collect the funds?

Who is going to deal with the fraud?

Who is going to be responsible for the accuracy of the information presented?

Will google police stores that advertise one price but sell at another (or just bury more profit in S&H?)

Sounds like a high tech flea market. Without any guarantees this could devolve quickly into a disaster. Is Google prepared to vouch for the information, if not how will they convince people to use a service they won't stand behind?

--
* Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
1. Re:Still leaves a lot to be desired. by 222 · 2006-03-16 07:06 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  Is Google prepared to vouch for the information, if not how will they convince people to use a service they won't stand behind?
  
  Ever actually tried to get Ebay to resolve a fraud issue? It was easier (and cheaper!) just to forget the whole thing.
Tick Tock, Tick Tock. by aphoenix · 2006-03-16 04:42 · Score: 4, Funny

And the Google Countdown to Evil continues... Don't get me wrong, I love Google, but they really need to make sure that they're using their powers for Awesome.
1. Re:Tick Tock, Tick Tock. by onetwentyone · 2006-03-16 05:31 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  By the time that happens, Google will already know you hate them and will start serving you little, unobtrusive text ads reminding you of how insignificant you are to them. ;)
Google Information by VeryHotTopic · 2006-03-16 04:44 · Score: 3, Informative

FYI, Google Base is still under development. Most likely the service will give retailers access to hundreds of millions of Google users. You can visit it at base.google.com.
I'm wondering the same thing by blueZ3 · 2006-03-16 04:47 · Score: 3, Interesting

When I'm searching for something online, I'm usually looking for a single item or a set of related items. This usually makes Froogle a good starting point; I search for arcade pushbuttons, and I get links to stores that sell them along with other arcade console items. Poking around a few sites usually leads to one with good prices on the things I want, and I make a purchase.

Really, I don't see the benefit of aggregating content across stores. How often does someone go looking for a doorknob, a picture frame, and a KVM all at once? Online shopping is fundamentally different than shopping at a physical store, but it's not that different: I want to find a competent supplier of each thing, not a one-stop-shop where I have to wonder about the quality of service and related issues. And if they're just showing me info from three different places in a single search, but I am actually making three orders, what's the advantage?

Color me unimpressed

--
Interested in a Flash-based MAME front end? Visit mame.danzbb.com
1. Re:I'm wondering the same thing by corbettw · 2006-03-16 05:36 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  How often does someone go looking for a doorknob, a picture frame, and a KVM all at once?
  
  Have you not noticed the recent Wal*Mart ad campaign? "I went in for chips and salsa, and walked out with this great deck furniture." Or "I went in for hemorhoids cream, and walked out with a new car." That kind of thing.
  
  The point is, when someone's in the mood to browse and spend, the more products you can put in front of them, the more they'll buy. "Stack 'em high and watch 'em buy" is a retail maxim. Why do you think Fry's Electronics (for those unfortunate enough to have one near them) load up their check out lanes with all kinds of random junk? This is just more of the same, present as many products as possible, and people will inevitably buy them. It's just how our culture is.
  
  --
  God invented whiskey so the Irish would not rule the world.
I can personally confirm this... by Zelph · 2006-03-16 05:08 · Score: 2, Interesting

I was invited to use Google Base using the Google Payment Corp. Google has a payment service that people can pay me with, and it is better than PayPal.
Now if they add a RFID "service"... by csoto · 2006-03-16 05:43 · Score: 3, Insightful

then you have the ultimate in Mom-and-Pop competitive advantage to big corporate box retailers. I'd love to be able to find just the right product at a shop down the street than have to go to Best Buy or Amazon.com. Increasing the ability to find their inventories will help immensely.

This is where the moronic book publishers get things wrong - by Google helping consumers actually FIND the crap they sell, they DRIVE business TOWARDS your stupid company. Oh, and ISPs get it wrong too. The only reason we pay monthly fees to get IP service is because companies like Google provide compelling reasons to do so. Otherwise, I'd take up windsurfing or something...

--
There exists no way of exchanging information without making judgments. --Bene Gesserit Axiom
Brick and Mortar? by MaWeiTao · 2006-03-16 05:45 · Score: 2, Insightful

People will probably consider this trolling, but I can't stand that expression brick and mortar.

Why can't it just be called a physical store? What if my store is made of wood and sheetrock? Who comes up with these obnoxious, self-important business terms?

And with that, I have to go pull the trigger on something...
1. Re:Brick and Mortar? by kruczkowski · 2006-03-16 05:58 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  The name comes from Banks. During US expantion in the 1800's, Banks held a lot of cash and were the only buildings in town to be built with "bricks and mortar".
  
  --
  hmm... for fun I enjoy launching DDoS attacks against 127.87.42.5
Re:What does WOT mean? by ackthpt · 2006-03-16 05:48 · Score: 2, Informative

Wot approximates to 'whatever' or 'whatnot' it's old.

--

A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
You just don't get it by Infonaut · 2006-03-16 05:56 · Score: 2, Funny

Who comes up with these obnoxious, self-important business terms?

Google is unleashing a long tail, soup-to-nuts integrated solution that satisfies pent-up demand and synergizes efficiencies. It's a slam-dunk no-brainer!

--
Read the EFF's Fair Use FAQ
Retail Execs to Google: Yeah, I'll get right on it by xxxJonBoyxxx · 2006-03-16 06:54 · Score: 2, Insightful

"Nikesh Arora, head of Google's European arm, said in an interview with the FT that Google wanted companies in retail - and possibly sectors such as real estate - to submit details of their goods and prices. Google would index and package the information into a consumer-friendly search engine, giving its users a virtual supermarket across a number of retail brands."
Typical Retail Executive: "Yes, thank you, Google, for offering me an easy way to redefine the retail brand I've been building for years as just another price player. Would you like me to send over demographics of my key customers and how we reach them via advertising too? Yes? OK, I'll get right on that. (click)"
This is great! by British · 2006-03-16 08:52 · Score: 2, Funny

I can't wait to shop with Google Base at PriceRitePhoto!