Google Base Retail Rumours Confirmed

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.'

Comments

Still leaves a lot to be desired.

[Shivetya]

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?