It looks like Google is starting to cut back on some of its less successful mobile apps. Earlier today, we reported that the Google+ Local app has disappeared from the App Store a few weeks ahead of its planned shutdown, and now, the company has announced that it is going to shut down the standalone Google Shopper app for iOS and Android on August 30.
Given how much online shopping has moved to mobile, that’s a bit of an odd move, but Google says it wants to focus on Google Shopping and Google Search “to create a better, more consistent shopping experience across all devices.” Over the last few months, Google says it introduced “360-degree product imagery, Shortlists and more relevant reviews” on Google Shopping, and it will put its resources into improving this service going forward.
Shopper, which launched in early 2010, allows users to check online and local prices by scanning cover art and barcodes, as well as through Google’s standard text and voice searches. The last iOS version only has a 3-star rating, though it looks like the Android version was reasonably popular, with over 34,000 ratings for a 4.2 star average.
Google argues that users can still find all of the information from Google Shopper through its search app on mobile and by visiting google.com/shopping.
Despite today’s announcement, the company is also teasing some new shopping products for mobile. “We look forward to sharing some great things we have coming on mobile for the holidays,” Google Shopping VP Sameer Samat writes in today’s blog post. Those new features, though, will likely be part of Google’s existing apps and won’t come in the form of a standalone app.
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