study

Google Shopping Study 2022

This study takes a fresh look at Google Shopping data. Building on the findings of our studies from 2018 and 2019, we look at over 1 million Google Shopping ads across Germany and the UK.

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by Tom Wells

In 2017, Google was hit with a landmark €2.4 billion fine by the EU Commission – upheld in 2021 – for effectively stacking the deck against comparison shopping sites. The Commission ruled that Google treated these sites unfairly while improving its own comparison service, Google Shopping.

Clearly, Google did not have fair competition at the heart of its experience, but does the data show that Google has reversed its strategy?

Sneak preview: In the UK, the top 20 CSS partners that publish shopping ads have close to zero organic traffic. Even though a requirement for becoming a CSS is to have a shopping site that collects all the product offers, these shopping sites play no role in organic search. This clearly shows that CSS partners simply fulfil the requirements, while larger more established shopping retailers and comparison sites continue to perform well and serve their users.

Through our data-driven approach, the study answers:

What are the most common CSS partners in Germany and the UK?
Do these CSS partners feature in organic search results?
Has Google’s response to increasing competition really benefited the overall user shopping experience?
Post EU-fine (and post-Brexit), are there now observable differences between Google’s approach to shopping ads in the UK compared to Germany?

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Tom Wells

As VP Strategy, Tom Wells combines over a decade of industry experience with data-driven insights to help Searchmetrics blueprint its future success.

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A Technical "Non-Content" Audit