Google acquires Pointy to help SMBs list product inventory online
Google said Tuesday that it's acquiring Pointy, makers of a platform that lets small business brick-and-mortar retailers list their in-store product inventory online. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
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Based in Dublin, Ireland, Pointy fits in to Google's small business services portfolio and supports its efforts to embed more e-commerce tools throughout its search portal. Google first partnered with Pointy a few years ago, offering its functionality to local retailers looking to display product inventory data within Google search results.
To use the Pointy platform, retailers can either plug a piece of hardware into their barcode scanner or install the Pointy app on their point-of-sale system. Once installed, the platform surfaces the retailer's product inventory directly into the "See what's in store" section of their business profile on Google Search.
"One of the challenges small merchants face is getting their in-store inventory information online in a way that is easy to manage and reliably up to date," wrote Google senior director of SMB Product Peter Chane in a blog post. "Since organizing the world's information is core to what we do, we've been working to make it easier for local merchants to better showcase their products to interested shoppers on Google."