Google reportedly planned to pull the plug on its Shopping app in the near future, potentially due to an inability to cement its position in a segment largely dominated by big-name rivals including Amazon.
The company told 9to5Google the shutters will come down for Android and iOS users in the coming weeks, though the functionality will remain available within the Shopping tab in the Google main app and on the web, for which the company was tipped to be developing fresh features to boost user experience.
Google launched Shopping as a standalone iOS app in 2013, with an Android version the following year.
Information on Google Play shows the dedicated app was installed more than 1 million times to date, while Amazon Shopping has more than 100 million since its launch in 2014.
Uptake
Sensor Tower data showed downloads of shopping apps increased 20 per cent year-on-year during 2020, credited to physical store closures caused by Covid-19 (coronavirus).
However, Appfigures data showed Google’s dedicated service ranked outside the top 200 shopping apps on Google Play and failed to make the top 400 on App Store.
Its estimated downloads for the year across both marketplaces were 264,700.
Apptopia data showed the most downloaded shopping app in 2020 was Amazon with nearly 170 million, followed by Shopee and Wish on close to 140 million each.
