This particular move, though, is a not-so-subtle signal to the marketplace that Google intends to become the dominant player in global ecommerce – which in the U.S. alone is already a $186 billion goldmine. Yes, for Google this is not just about going deeper into the ads business. The ever-expanding behemoth’s intention is to take a bite out of retailers margins too, starting first with those generated by ecommerce websites.

The first stop for shoppers

The Channel Intelligence purchase adds to the buzz that Google created back in October when it shifted its Google Shopping property to a fully paid ad marketplace, which by many accounts generated some $1 billion in the fourth quarter. And a Conductor study says that Google already influences over a quarter of all e-commerce transactions through its little search engine. These recent moves indicate that it seeks not only to go toe-to-toe with Amazon, but also to sneak up on other retail giants that sell both online and in stores.

Channel Intelligence (now part of Google) has a robust set of leading retail advertisers, which provides Google access to detailed retailer pricing and inventory data. Even more importantly, Google will get more valuable data on how those retailers convert browsers into customers. The ability to use its vast data resources to better understand retailer margins ultimately gives Google more pricing power for its ads.

Being able to offer retailers an easier way to deliver product inventory into its search engine will make Google a more formidable player in online shopping. Judging from the growing volume of retail-driven search on both Google and Amazon, it is clear that users are choosing to go to one of those spots to get the most up-to-date pricing and product availability. This is a two-way battle to be the consumer’s first stop. The winner of this battle will become the gatekeeper of the consumer through which all retailers will have to go to sell products.

Evolution to a digital store shelf

With the advent of today’s on-demand culture, Google is betting that it no longer matters who actually sells the product. Consumers are squarely in control and Google will increasingly help them find that product they are looking for, and do so at the right location for the right price. This was traditionally the role of ecommerce players like Amazon and massive offline retailers like Wal-Mart and Target.

However, with the growth of Google Shopping and the integration of those results into its core search engine, Google is quickly becoming the “digital store shelf” that it had always promised. For example, Google web search results today for retail queries tend to have at least 10 to 15 product images in addition to the traditional blue links. As Google starts to aggregate retailers’ local inventory – a probable next step on its roadmap with Channel Intelligence – it will be able to compete more aggressively in the mobile commerce space as well, directing consumers to physical stores in exchange for more ad dollars.

Not just ecommerce but all commerce

Make no mistake about it, Google is making a play for all retail with its recent moves and every retailer should be worried about the implications. (Rumors are swirling this week that the company has plans for its own branded retail outlets.) However, while Google is dominant in search, it is not the global ecommerce leader yet. It does not own significant pieces of the customer relationship (e.g. shipping, customer support, and retention marketing) and retailers can remain competitive by investing in areas that will stave off commoditization. Because as we all know, once you are a commodity, you will be traded like pork bellies and sold to the highest bidder. And that’s no place for a great retail brand to be.

The promise of e-commerce is having informed consumers finding the products they need from the brands that they love. Here are a few things marketers should employ to fend off Google’s advances:

• Focus on your brand’s value proposition and how it will be perceived in a Google search and other ad channels. Highlight what makes you unique so that you don’t become just another slot in a price list.
• Stay away from Google’s tools that track revenues/profits. Otherwise you’re simply handing over your business’s most valuable data.
• Develop mobile sites and apps that are a first stop for shoppers on the go, offering a better alternative to a Google search for prices.
• Devote resources to customer experience and personalization as a way of differentiating and bettering a basic search that’s more challenging for consumers.

Jason Lehmbeck is CEO and co-founder of DataPop, an online advertisement optimization company that works with retail, travel and automotive brands.

Photo courtesy of Anneka/Shutterstock.com.

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According to the new survey conducted by Chetan Sharma Consulting, mobile payments and commerce will not only get big but they’ll be powered largely by the old-school financial companies. The survey’s participants appear to have arrived at the conclusion that the carriers, Google and even trendy new startups like Square had their chance to jumpstart mobile payments and largely blew it. Now Visa, the banks and more established online payment companies like PayPal will clean up their mess.

When polled, 50 percent of Sharma’s panel identified financial institutions and PayPal as the companies most likely to dominate the m-commerce/payments market. And they expected the overall mobile commerce and retail market to become huge. Almost 60 percent of those polled expect m-commerce to surpass e-commerce by 2016 in North America, with Asia and Europe shortly behind.

Sharma asked his panel a host of questions about all aspects of the mobile industry. Here are some of the most interesting tidbits:

The headline of 2012 was supposed to be the saga of Apple vs. Google fighting it over the smartphone OS, but the big battle turned out to be between Apple and Android proxy Samsung. The courtroom brawl between the two mobile titans was the biggest drama of last year, according to the survey, but respondents expect Google to enter the fray directly in 2013.

Google has for years been perceived as the most open player in mobility, and though that reputation has dipped slightly in the last three years, it’s still well ahead of any other wireless industry company or group in the eyes of Sharma’s survey participants. What’s particularly interesting is that Apple’s already poor reputation for openness fell to an all time low this year. Even the carriers — which traditionally are the most closed of any group — scored higher than the iPhone maker.

Apple may have donned the black hat when it comes perceptions of openness, but that has no impact on how its peers view its prospects for success. When asked who the four most important players in mobile are, nearly 100 percent of respondents both named Apple and Google in their picks. Samsung was named by about 75 percent of the survey, while just over 35 percent of the panel named a major global carrier.

The panel also expects Apple and Google’s respective strengths in smartphones to carry over to the tablet — a segment Apple currently dominates. Some 65 percent or respondents believe Android will dominate in tablet unit shipments, but an even greater number believe Apple will keep its lead in total tablet revenues due to its higher device prices.

In 2012, Apple’s new iPad and iPhone were the most compelling mobile gadgets of the year, but expectations are high that Samsung will best its long-time rival in terms of product innovation this year. After the success of the Nexus 7, a good portion of respondents expect Google to come up with another desirable gadget in 2013. There also appears to be some anticipation of an Amazon smartphone.

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Its $89.5 million investment values Nook Media at $1.789 billion, the same as when Barnes & Noble span the digital book outfit out in to a separate company in October.

But its comes on the same day Barnes & Noble told Wall Street its holiday sales, announced on January 3, results “will be below expectations and that the Nook business will not meet the company’s prior projection for fiscal year 2013″.

When Barnes & Noble span out Nook, Microsoft invested $300 million for a 17.6 percent stake. Pearson’s announcement today, however, puts Microsoft’s stake at a reduced 16.8 percent. Barnes & Noble’s stake is put at 78.2 percent (down from 82.4 percent).

That is because new equity was issued. Pearson, whose John Fallon (pictured) becomes CEO on January 1, has a further option to buy another five percent later on.

Why is Pearson putting up the money? Its North America CEO Will Ethridge (via announcement) says:

“With this investment, we have entered into a commercial agreement with Nook Media that will allow our two companies to work closely together in order to create a more seamless and effective experience for students. It is another example of our strategy of making our content and services broadly available to students and faculty through a wide range of distribution partners.”

Barnes & Noble says (via announcement):

“Pearson’s strategic investment in Nook Media will accelerate customer access to digital content by pairing its leading expertise in online learning with Nook Media’s expertise in online distribution and customer service. This will facilitate improved discovery of available digital content and services, as well as seamless access.”

Separately, Barnes & Noble adds: “Nook Media and Pearson will be also entering into a commercial agreement with respect to distributing Pearson content.”

In other words, it’s a classic vertical integration play — for the digital age. By owning both content production and a part of retail distribution, Pearson can begin to become more certain about selling its wares — at a time when publishers, in the consumer space, have been pit against all-powerful retailers like Apple and Amazon.

Pearson has previously conceded its printed text book business is challenged, whilst its Penguin book publisher saw ebook sales grew 33 percent during 2012.

However, Pearson’s investment is not solely about digital content. Its announcement notes that Nook Media now also operates Barnes & Noble’s network of 674 booksellers at US college campuses — giving it continuing certainty over the delivery of those printed education books.

For Nook, guaranteeing content supply in the increasingly important education sector could prove positive.

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Facebook has been experimenting with e-commerce on the site, allowing users to purchase items from a variety of sources including Brookstone, Baby Gap, Dean & Deluca, Fab, iTunes, Starbucks, and many others. With the site already collecting data on birthdays and anniversaries of all its users, it’s not hard to see how gifts are well-suited for the company’s business model. And Ryan Kim wrote why it’s in Facebook’s best interest to see it succeed:

“Gifts represents a big commerce opportunity for Facebook. Since it knows a lot about what’s happening within your social network, it can push users to make targeted purchases throughout the year. Also, getting people to buy even one product allows Facebook to get a credit card on file, which could turn out to be important if Facebook builds out its own payment system.”

By November, Gifts was only available to about 20 percent of users, but beginning Tuesday, all users in the United States will have access. The company also announced in November that it would be selling wine in the coming weeks, and it will be available for purchase on Tuesday.

The company has also added several new partners selling wine on the site, including: Amuse Bouche, Blackbird, Bonterra, Capture Wines, Clark-Claudon, David Family, Domaine Chandon, Goose Cross, Mondavi, Mutt Lynch, Recuerdo, Tasting Room, Terra Valentine, Titus, Twisted Oak, and Wine Country Gift Baskets.

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The likes of ASOS, Birchbox and Telegraph Fashion have been marrying the two for a couple of years. Now women’s weekly magazine Grazia is the latest to try profiting from the collision.

The U.K. title has launched a new “shoppable” iPad edition. According to publisher Bauer Media:

“[It] enables the reader to buy items directly from Grazia’s influential fashion pages, acting on impulse as soon as they see items on screen. They will also be able to link through to purchase everything from theater and gig tickets to books and technology products.”

Although the iPad edition has a £1.99-per-edition cover price through Apple Newsstand, that hasn’t stopped Bauer Media also leaning on what it’s calling an ecommerce-centric “Shop, Share and Save” mentality for extra revenue.

The many clothes and beauty items featured in the title link through to purchase options, powered by PopSugar’s Shopstyle, with which revenue is split. And Grazia has inked a specific partnership with high street retailer Boots both to process beauty transactions and to feature a feed of top products from boots.com.

Bauer Media lifestyle MD Abby Carvosso (via announcement):

“We’re already in discussions with premium brands seeking innovative new advertising solutions. We know readers buy products recommended by Grazia and this new iPad edition offers them the ease and simplicity to buy a product as soon as they see it.”

Two years ago, Advent Ventures partner Frédéric Court wrote on paidContent:

“Media companies now have a chance to monetise their audiences not just through plain ads, but also through transactions.

“On the flip side, ecommerce companies have begun to create their own content – using articles and videos to provide curated commerce experiences – and to monetize their audience, like publishers before them, by selling ads.”

This fusion is a natural fit for a title like Grazia, which is obsessed by products and adept at editorializing to advocate them. With featured clutch bags, for example, retailing at prices like £2,045, Bauer could be on to a winner if this works.

All publishers, however, must be careful not to let the commerce tail wag the content dog so much that readers balk.

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New York-based Hukkster launched in this past summer, allowing people to “hukk” or pin a product using a browser bookmarklet. When you come across a product you want to buy but would like to get for a cheaper price, you just hukk it from your computer and Hukkster will alert you via email or text message you when it goes on sale. So instead of opening up an inbox full of retailer emails on sales for things you don’t always want, you can just see when the item you’re pining for is now within reach.

Hukkster scrapes data from hundreds of websites including J. Crew, Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and Anthropologie. If a user isn’t ready to buy immediately, Hukkster will continue to send alerts until the item is removed from a user’s Hukk list. It can also send alerts on items with coupon or promotion codes.

Hukkster’s co-founders Katie Bell and Erica Finnegan last week raised the company’s total funding to $1 million, including $750,000 in new money led by the Winklevoss twins. The two met six years ago as merchandisers at J. Crew and reunited as management consultants before giving their idea a go in April.

Hukkster co-founders Erica Bell and Katie Finnegan

Bell told me Hukkster, which now has 30,000 registered users, works for consumers because it’s not overtly social, so it allows people to shop and save items without feeling like they need to broadcast their shopping list. She said retailers also win because they can move inventory that might not get purchased were it not for sales alerts.

Hukkster doesn’t have direct partnerships with retailers but Bell said the company will pursue those next year. That could mean direct data feeds from the retailer and potential revenue sharing. More immediate plans are in place for an iOS app which is coming soon.

“Consumers and retailers don’t speak today. Retailers are putting out marketing campaigns and consumers are getting frustrated with hundreds of emails. We think we can facilitate those conversations,” Bell said.

Trunqit, another New York City startup, is now coming out of stealth with its own shopping tool, an iPad app that allows people to browse certain stores through the in-app browser and save products they want to track. Trunqit then sends alerts when the product goes on sale.

Trunqit is trying to make its name by going mobile first, banking on people’s affinity for shopping via a tablet. The app also features different ways to discover what other shoppers are saving or “trunqing.” So users can filter by products or stores to see what sales are going on and what products other users are trunqing. Mick Malisic, the founder of Trunqit also created a separate iPhone app called Salestreme that allows people to just see streaming sales information.

So far, the service is starting off more slowly with more than 20 stores supported including Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, Victoria’s Secret, Zara and others. Additional stores will be added each week and Android and browser-based versions of Trunqit are also planned.

Malisic told me he tried to start on a desktop browser but found the experience to be “sub-optimal.” He said the iPad provides a cleaner experience and it’s where shoppers are moving to.

“It’s like the Wayne Gretsky quote: we’re skating to where the puck is going to be. Things are going mobile now,” Malisic said.

Malisic, former director of marketing at Frog Design and founder of Hedgeye and Kapitall, said the focus right now is nailing the consumer experience. But like Hukkster, he sees business opportunities in providing a utility to retailers.

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Zulily said it now has 10 million members who come every day to check out more than 35 sales events. Sales are announced each morning in an email and last around 72 hours. The company also just launched an iPad app, which is important because Zulily now gets 30 percent of its sales on mobile devices.

But aren’t daily deals doomed? Well, not if you believe Andreessen Horowitz partner Jeff Jordan, who said Zulily is positioned for even more growth ahead as a leader in “ecommerce 2.0.” He wrote in a blog post that the company plays in big markets and is very efficient but doesn’t go head-to-head with Amazon. Instead, it works with designers who don’t have national distribution and creates a long-tail catalog of products similar to Fab.

Zulily isn’t a traditional daily deal site, it’s more of a mix with a flash sales site like Gilt. And it doesn’t seem to be slowing down. The company previously raised $53.6 million including $43 million last year at a reported $700 million valuation. Earlier on Thursday, Fortune reported that Zulily was now valued at $1 billion though that was based on a report that the company was raising $100 million.

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In the UK, Domino’s has launched what it’s calling Pizza Box Office, an initiative giving online pizza orderers their choice of complementary movie streamed to PC, Mac or tablet (release).

The initiative is designed to incentivise ecommerce orders and illustrates how digital movies, like music tracks before them, can now be used as the auxiliary content of wider marketing campaigns.

If pizzas and movies really do go hand in hand, as Domino’s wants to suggest, this marriage could snag one-time buyers who don’t necessarily need to subscribe to a monthly service.

But pizza eaters shouldn’t expect a Netflix-beating selection of titles. Domino’s has only secured repertoire from one studio – Lionsgate UK. And Pizza Box Office is not yet streaming to TVs, on which most pizza eaters will prefer watching their flick.

This year, online began accounting for the majority (58.4 percent) of Domino’s UK orders. In the year to September, ecommerce sales rose 42 percent to £184.9 million ($297 million) (release). That was thanks to a 46.9 percent rise in mobile internet orders, which now make up 18.5 percent of online sales.

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