As you know, shopping via your smartphone can be a real hassle. Everyone from Facebook to Amazon have been working furiously to come up with a solution that makes the experience as easy as possible.

Last week, Google announced a new search feature that can help improve the mobile shopping experience. The feature is called Purchases on Google and will enable consumers to buy products directly from mobile search ads.

When an ad appears in the search results, a checkout option is available for the consumer. With this feature, merchants will still be handling the product fulfillment while the pages will be still managed by Google.

When using the feature, the shopper searches on mobile for a certain product from an ad. Once they’ve clicked the ad, the shopper is taken to a retailer-branded product page. After checking out through a seamless and simple process, payment credentials are charged to a Google Account.

Check out the smartphone image below to see how the new tool will work.

POG - Under Armour

It has been made clear by Google that the company is trying to reduce friction in mobile purchases without interfering with the merchant and consumer relationship.

“This isn’t about cornering the market on measurement,” Google says, but about helping consumers “understand their purchases” better.

The feature is designed to add to the easy and smart shopping experience along with other Google features such as Google Voice and Google Now. Once released, Google for Purchases is claimed to be a huge step towards assisting retailers in gaining more customers and driving more mobile conversations.

Companies that have engaged in mobile are exited and already on board with what Google has to offer. Executive Vice President of Global E-Commerce of Staples, Faisal Masud, is eager in partnering with Google.

 “Working with Google on this offering will make the discovery and purchase process even easier for the customers we serve, with the power of both of our companies behind it.”

Currently, Google is testing the feature with a limited number of retailers. The company first reported that this feature was being worked on in May and while stating that it should be made available by late 2015 or early 2016.

About the Author: Jamie Turner is the CEO of the 60 Second Marketer and 60 Second Communications, a marketing communications agency that works with national and international brands. He is the co-author of “How to Make Money with Social Media” and “Go Mobile” and is a popular marketing speaker at events, trade shows and corporations around the globe.

60 Second Marketer