In 2015, roughly 54% of product searches started on Google, and 46% started on Amazon; by 2018, those numbers had flipped, The New York Times reports. Now, the two companies have a range of overlapping activity in the consumer retail space—despite very different business models, their touchpoints with consumers increasingly overlap.

In 2019, for example, Google leaned into eCommerce with a shopping feature that allows consumers to make purchases directly from searches, images, and YouTube videos.

Meanwhile, consumers increasingly turn to Amazon as a means to find product information, effectively using the eCommerce marketplace as a search engine—whether or not they make a purchase there. Amazon also stands out for its “sponsorship” opportunities, where retailers can secure premium attention via Amazon’s recommendation engines.

And increasingly, Google and Amazon share customer touchpoints. Google Auction Insights reports suggest that among retailers, Amazon is a regular competitor in Google Shopping and Google Paid Search. Meanwhile, Amazon is increasing its investment in over 150 private-label and Amazon-exclusive brands, raising its stake as an independent retailer whose products will undoubtedly appear in Google search results.

Their ubiquity aside, the two companies embrace highly different models. Amazon has effectively captured its own retail market, just as Apple has done with its integrated but exclusive product lines.

Meanwhile, Google has increasingly used tools like Google Express and Shopping Actions to leverage the existing brand recognition of mainstream retailers and broadly provide them with a competitive edge, according to Forbes.

Amazon offers its own internal advertising and marketing services, whereas Google seeks to span multiple existing markets, connecting with touchpoints among traditional eCommerce retailers.

As these two goliaths permeating consumers' markets, what does it mean for traditional retail brands?

Q2 2020 Report:

‘Goliath vs. Goliath: Why Testing New Methods and Creating the Right Content is Imperative for Retailers in the Battle between Amazon and Google’

In this 2020 report, we explore how leading retailers not only survive but thrive in this new, search- and marketplace-driven retail environment. We learn which combinations of methods and content initiatives are working for them between the two giants.

We uncover their best practices for investing in the two channels’ properties, whether it’s Google’s Paid Search or a presence in Amazon’s marketplace. Finally, we get an insider’s look at what it means to work simultaneously with and against these unavoidable presences in modern retail.

Access the Full Report: Available May 2020