- Google (GOOG, GOOGL) launches Shopping Actions that allow users to make purchases through Google search and Google Assistant.
- Users store payment information in the linked account for the instant checkout.
- Google is telling potential shopping partners that the companies can be allies against Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), which has shopping on its e-commerce platform built into the Alexa devices.
- Companies who have signed up so far include Target, Walmart, Home Depot, Costco, and Ulta Beauty.
- Google gets a part of the profit of each purchase from the retailers, which steps away from its typical ad revenue model.
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Sliding ad share: The shift from ads comes as eMarketer predicts the combined U.S. digital ad market share for Google and Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) will fall for the first time this year, from 58.5% last year to $56.8%.
- The overall digital ad market will likely grow nearly 19% to $107B this year, but competitors including Amazon are chipping away at the market share of the leaders.
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In other news: Google Pay launches mobile tickets for the Las Vegas Monorail, which is powered by NXP’s (NASDAQ:NXPI) MIFARE tech.
- The Monorail is the first transit agency allowing for prepaid tickets or passes with Google Pay but the company says more cities will come soon.