• Financial Times, Thursday, March 16, 2006 10:30 AM

As expected, Google is developing its Google Base platform into an online retail service, but the company has set its sight on conquering the European retail market first, according to the Financial Times. The proposed service would give retailers access to hundreds of millions of Google users. However, to get the service going, retailers, real estate brokers and others first need to give Google details of the goods and services they offer; the search giant then packs and indexes that information into a user-friendly search engine, giving users a massive database of brands offering different goods and services. Google execs noted how internal research illustrated a need among European retailers to be more competitive online.   Having said that, many of the world’s top retailers have also invested heavily online--such as Wal-Mart, Home Depot, and UK-based Tesco--so it's unclear how some companies will respond to the new Google Base, but the vast majority of small to mid-sized retailers still do not have an online presence. This would be the market Google is most likely targeting in its short-term rollout of Google Base.     

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