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Google chairman Eric Schmidt has revealed that Amazon is its biggest search competitor.
In a speech in Berlin, Schmidt pointed out that internet users are likely to go directly to the retailer when shopping, stating: “Many people think our main competition is Bing or Yahoo. But, really, our biggest search competitor is Amazon.
“People don’t think of Amazon as search, but if you are looking for something to buy, you are more often than not looking for it on Amazon.”
Google has been trying to build its e-commerce services in a bid to combat consumers going direct to Amazon. Last year it partnered with retailers to offer same-day delivery services. The scheme started in the San Francisco and today has extended to other areas of the US, including D.C, Boston and Chicago.
The service, called Google Express, enables desktop, mobile and tablet users to order items from a variety of stores and – provided they are in the designated service area – receive their goods later that day.
Schmidt added that Google needs to keep innovating, or “someone else will innovate around us – leaving us obsolete over time.”
