Google Shopping has gone through quite the metamorphosis over the years. Back in 2002, it was called Froogle upon launching – a pun on the term frugal – and was later renamed to Google Product Search in 2007. Then, it was renamed yet again to Google Shopping in 2012 and went through several iterations even within itself relating to how information was presented to users. Prior to being baked right into Google Search as a complete service, it remained a standalone website. Now that it’s become central to Google’s strategy and Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai loves it so much, it’s begun to innovate in how it approaches shopping content.
In addition to integrating Shopping products into Youtube videos and even releasing a 2020 Holiday Gift Guide, Google Shopping just launched a new microsite that features 1,000 of the most popular products across shopping categories. What’s exciting about this microsite is that it’s fully animated and lets you click and drag to pan across a large board filled with category cards. You can also simply scroll down the page with your mouse wheel – either way, you’re presented with a seemingly endless wall of content. If you scroll long enough though, you’ll notice that it’s all just looping, but it’s still really neat.
