MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., May 16 (UPI) -- In the coming weeks, if you use your cellphone to perform a Google search for a product-related item you will start seeing "buy" buttons next to some results -- a modification the tech company has decided to implement to capitalize on the surging use of smartphones, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
However, the new buttons will only accompany paid for, or sponsored, search results. Normal results returned by the site's regular search algorithms will not display the "buy" button, sources told the Journal.
The search company's change, which experts say is almost sure to be met with some controversy, is viewed by many as a move intended to better compete with e-marketplace juggernauts like Amazon and eBay for mobile phone customers.
The sources reportedly said when shoppers click on the button, they will be directed to a Google product page where they will be able to customize purchase options and complete the order.
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It wasn't immediately clear whether the buttons would simply take shoppers to the "shop" region of Google with the pre-entered search criteria, where consumers are already able to purchase items from a third party distributor. One such distributor, Macy's, is reportedly in discussions with Google to participate in the "buy" button change.
Further, the sources told the Journal, Google will only use a small sample size to test the change -- meaning every product-related mobile search won't yet return the button.
The move is somewhat of a risky one for Google, experts say, as research has indicated that people generally react negatively to sponsored advertisements on the Internet.
The Journal said Google's move signals a strategy shift for the company, from being simply a redirective search results service to more of a transactional e-hub.
One particular concern for some retailers is that the move might ultimately lead to Google receiving orders without ever sending shoppers to the retailers' own sites -- effectively reducing them to back-end order-fillers and jeopardizing their relationships with customers, the Journal's Google beat writers, Alistair Barr and Rolfe Winkler, wrote.
But one of the sources said Google is moving to settle those concerns, by allowing shoppers to opt in the same marketing program they would see at the retailers' own websites. Participating retailers, the insiders say, will continue to hold a great deal of control over the sales.
Additionally, the sources said Google does not plan to take any percentage of button-derived sales.
The company's decision to limit the buttons to mobile searches is at least in part due to recent surges in smartphone use -- as search inquiries from smartphones now outnumber those entered by computer in 10 countries, including the United States, the Journal report said.
Google declined comment on the matter, USA Today reported.
