Anyone in the US doing their holiday shopping from the product showcases that appear at the top of Google’s search results is almost certain to pay substantially more than if they delved deeper into the search engine.
Five out of every six items in the panels shown on a Google search in the US are more expensive than the same items from other merchants contained deeper in the index, with an average premium of 34 per cent, according to Financial Times analysis.
The apparent premium-pricing drew complaints from some Google critics, who said it echoed issues that are at the heart of an antitrust case in Brussels in which the company has already reached a tentative settlement with European regulators.