Google Shopping app has been discontinued

Google will shut down the Shopping application due to redundancy with what users can already do with the Shopping tab online, a report from 9to5Google says.

Google reportedly said it was discontinuing support for the Shopping app on Android and iOS, and the customers will be working until June.

Google has recently been expanding its shopping features through Search, Image Search, and YouTube, as well as improving augmented reality.

“We will continue to develop features on the Shopping tab and other Google platforms, including the Google app, that make it easy for people to discover the products they love,” said a Google spokesperson.

Google Shopping version 59 has already started rolling out with a “something went wrong” message asking users to “continue shopping on shopping.google.com.” However, there aren’t many details about what this message means for the users who are unaware, the report says.

The Android and web interfaces are essentially identical experiences. The “Home” feed also includes a list of recommendations for other products you may be interested in, and a list of items you have “saved”.

9to5Google’s report notes that Shopping doesn’t need its own unique app, as many users end up just using Search when looking up products, and the tech giant can save resources by closing the app.

With the pandemic fueling it, e-commerce has grown significantly in the past year. PYMNTS data has uncovered a major trend toward data democratization, providing tools that consumers can use to meet transaction, work, and education needs. That’s despite some inequalities and inequalities out there.

Since the pandemic, PYMNTS has observed that digital consumers are more often than in the past over 40, lower incomes and women. Consumers in the UK who made the leap to digital were on average 53 years old. Sixty-one percent are women.