Google adds new warnings for online shoppers
This Black Friday and Cyber Monday have been marked by a huge surge in online scams, with phishing attacks and fake websites tricking consumers under the guise of special holiday discounts and offers. The FBI has issued a warning and guidance for online shoppers, and now Google has revealed it will do the same.
As spotted by X user Leopeva64, “Google is preparing another AI-powered feature for Chrome called ‘Store reviews,’ this feature will show you a ‘summary of reviews from independent websites like Trust Pilot, ScamAdvisor, and more,’ this summary will be displayed in the page info bubble.”
This is an excellent move. It should help consumers tell fake sites form real, without having to rely on telltale signs such as the mark-up of the page, the URL or the consistency of its information. Under that Store Review option within Site Information dropdown, various review site findings can be seen immediately.
Adobe reported that this year generated record levels of spend, suggesting “consumers will spend a record $241 billion online during the 2024 holidays, up 8.4% from 2023.” Salesforce also reported record spend (via TechCrunch); “Thanksgiving generated $33.6 billion in sales online globally, up 6%. The U.S. market alone was up 8% to $8.1 billion. Europe was also a standout, growing 10%.”
The balance is shifting further from physical stores to online, putting ever more emphasis on consumer protection within the browsers they’re using. And none are bigger than Chrome. This is a great use of Gemini AI to enhance security, and is added to the varying levels of AI-driven browsing protections that can warn if a website has been flagged or is exhibiting dangerous real-time behaviors.
Adobe found that “mobile spending momentarily overtook desktop spending during the 2023 holidays and will be even more prominent in 2024. This holiday season, Adobe forecasts mobile revenue share will hit a record 53.2% of online shopping and account for $128 billion.”
As Leopeva64 points out, “this feature is still under development and the summary is not yet displayed; apparently there will also be a button that will open a dedicated Side panel with ALL the reviews.” But it can’t come soon enough.