Google and Walmart team up to take on a common enemy: Amazon

The monster threat posed by Amazon is making for some strange bedfellows in the tech and retail worlds.

Google and Walmart announced a partnership on Wednesday that will make items from the big-box retailer available through the search engine's Google Express shopping service.

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Probably the most significant part of the deal is that shoppers with Google Home devices can now order Walmart products through the tech giant's digital assistant, just as Amazon customers do with its own Echo gadgets. 

While this type of voice-activated shopping is still in its relative infancy, it's growing fast, and experts expect it to play a big role in the future of online retail.

The agreement appears to be the result of two very different businesses bonding over a common enemy. Walmart's been aggressively bulking up its online shopping operations and fleshing out its tech capabilities as part of an all-out war with the e-commerce juggernaut.

Meanwhile, Google's been worried about a growing number of shoppers starting their product searches on Amazon rather than its own site, allowing Amazon to sell ads around them and eat into Google's market.  

Yet Google's never had much luck challenging Amazon's online shopping dominance on its own. The company's forays into "buy" buttons, shopping services, and grocery delivery all failed to gain much steam.

Walmart, which has been growing its e-commerce sales at a breakneck pace under the guidance of Jet.com founder Marc Lore, could provide the infrastructure to help fix that losing streak.

In return, Google would lend its artificial intelligence and data expertise to simplify the shopping process.

Lore, who took over Walmart's e-commerce arm after the company bought Jet last year, said the company plans to integrate a voice-order feature that will let customers set auto-buy lists of frequently purchased items. That type of ingrained routine would be immensely valuable for retailers looking to hold onto loyal customers.

"This will enable us to deliver highly personalized shopping recommendations based on customers’ previous purchases, including those made in Walmart stores and on Walmart.com," Lore said in a statement.

Both companies face an uphill battle in this regard, though. Amazon currently controls around 70 percent of the voice-controlled speaker market. One in five consumers now say they've shopped on a smart home device, but around 16 percent say they own the Echo and only 6 percent a Google Home, according to a report from Walkers Sands.

Walmart says the deal will go into effect in late September.

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source:AFP