Google Acquires Like.com

Google has acquired Like.com, a Visual Shopping Search Engine which has its presence in e-Commerce and fashion. Though the price of the deal is not yet disclosed, analysts believe it to be somewhere around $100 million. Like.com was founded by Munjal Shah in 2006 and has multiple startups under its belt which include shopping personalization engine Covet.com, a visual styling tool Couturious and a recently launched fashion Q&A site, What to Wear.

Like.com is Google’s 24th buyout this year and it has come as a surprise to many. This recent acquisition by Google doesn’t seem to fit with the social-network strategy which the company has pursued for some time now. So, what value does this acquisition add to Google? Well, one factor which could have propelled Google for this purchase is its fascination with Visual search technology and Like.com possesses a real visual search technology that would surely add to Google’s advantage. Google has other experimental products like Goggles that could also benefit from the technology.

Another factor which could have helped Google to make this purchase is its emphasis on Product Search business. Over the years, Product Search has evolved as a business and has a potential to provide incremental revenue of $200 to $300 million per year. The data from Product search can be used to create targeted ad formats for the merchants thus adding to the profits. The recent acquisition of ITA and now Like.com, can thus serve to be an indication that Google is trying hard to transform itself to be more competitive in eCommerce platform. So, both from Technology and Business strategy viewpoint Google stands to take advantage from this acquisition.

With Google busy in expanding its empire, it will be interesting to find who will be its next target. So, what do you think about this aggressive shopping stance adopted by Google?