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| Google Shopping continues to hurt its competitors |
A new study says Google's online shopping service changed its practices three years ago due to regulatory measures, but Google's online shopping service continues to hurt competitors in the market. European Union.
Analysis of over 10 billion clicks shows that less than 1% of Google Shopping traffic is currently directed to competitive comparison sites like Kelkoo and Idealo.
Research shows that since sanctions were imposed on the European Union for anti-competitive behavior, Google has updated its policy to give competitors access to their shopping platform, visibility and profitability. Competition with Google has been halved in three years.
Google overhauled its shopping system in 2017 after the European Commission imposed a record fine of 2.4 billion euros on the search giant on suspicion of misuse. However, actions by Google in response to this step have failed. Do not address the concerns of the organizers.
The Lademann & Associates study is the first comprehensive empirical study to show that a solution chosen by Google still poses a threat to competition.
Despite the changes, Google's competitors still struggle with the disadvantage that the Google Shopping service ads (shown in the box above the search results) link directly to the retailer's website, bypassing the comparison site. Than the price.
The study shows that less than 1% of users who click on Google Buy Box see a competing site to compare prices because Google Boxes only links directly to the retailer's website.
She added that Google's top search results, which are the main source of traffic, were also unaffected by the changes. This means that the general changes in Google have never improved their competitive position.
The committee has always rejected Google's notion that the problem is with access to Google Shopping, and has insisted that it relates to equal treatment across the full page of Google's public search results.
The search giant questions the fine and insists it doesn't violate competition rules.
This study includes data from the German website Idealo, UK Kelkoo and Poles (Ceneo) that were published before the court ruling and is expected to be published no later than the end of this year.
"The competition law does not force Google to hold back innovation or compromise on quality. Adapt to the competition," said Thomas Graf, partner in law firm (Cleary Gottlieb), on behalf of Google, during a three-day hearing in Luxembourg in February.
The European Union Competition Commissioner said in November last year: Google's changes will not help. In terms of price comparison, we don't see much traffic for viable competitors.
However, Olivier Guersent, general manager of the European Union's competition division, said officials have seen positive developments after Google put forward more options in the procurement division.
The data cited by Gersent shows that 83% of business domains have at least another competitor and that about 47% of clicks are for those units.
Google said the study: These figures ignore the reality of purchasing decisions. These changes have been successfully implemented for three years, have received billions of clicks for over 600 comparison services for shopping, and are closely monitored by the European Commission.