• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, December 16, 2014

Google has become the latest company to explore the "buy" button on its search engine, as it looks to improve the e-commerce experience for consumers. While Sears Hometown Outlet Stores CMO David Buckley declined to say whether the store is part of that trial, he said it would make sense to add a buy button in search results depending on transaction agreements and relationship with customers. 

The Sears Hometown store's showroom model would allow consumers to walk into the store to touch and feel the product. Consumers could either buy the dishwasher from a salesperson in the store or go home and buy it online from a listing on the search engine. Buckley points to issues around scheduling deliveries and installations of appliances when buying them online. A services offering similar to the one that Amazon recently launched would resolve that issue.

"The scariest part is who owns the customer relationship and the data around it, and who owns the customer experience," Buckley said, remaining adamant about retaining the relationship and data ownership. "Does it make sense because the buy button will become more efficient and I'll close at a higher rate, but I'll pay more for it? I'm assuming."

Several days after Buckley and others debated a buy button at the MediaPost Search Insider Summit, The Wall Street Journalreports that Google, in fact, has approached retailers about testing a buy button in Google Shopping to compete with Amazon, and Search Marketing Daily confirms hearing something similar. 

Amanda Valle, U.S. president and chief strategy officer at Mavens of London, said it's important to maintain an offline and online relationship with brands and retailers.

"The on-demand economy" is increasingly becoming an expectation, said Darren Clark, CTO at YP, which integrated with Fandango and OpenTable on the its site. 

If Google puts a box and a button on the search engine, Rick Galan, director of digital marketing at Blendtec, would do that as a manufacturer. "It would cut into my ecommerce sales, for sure, but as a manufacturer that option is fantastic," he said. "It's direct to consumers. The margins are better. Amazon takes your lunch money, and working with them is a nightmare. Assuming that working with Google would be a bit easier."

For every upside, where's a downside. Giving consumers the ability to purchase anywhere puts a stain on maintaining relationships. It would lead to a huge amount of online sales, and take sales out of the hands of retailers, per Galan.

"Buy Button" photo from Shutterstock