Since pulling out of the search market in China in 2010, Google has gradually shut down its other products as well. The company added to that tally on Wednesday, when it announced the shuttering of its shopping search service in China.
Announced on its official blog, the company cited an effort to “better optimize resources” as the reason for the closure. The original goal of the product was to serve as a bridge between consumers and retailers and traders, but it did not meet expectations. The closure is effective as of today (December 12).
Google did note that it remains committed to aiding Chinese citizens looking to export goods overseas, and Google Shopping in other markets should still be available to Chinese customers.
The closure of Google’s shopping site follows the silencing of its music service in China in September.
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Google maintains a troubled relationship with the Chinese government. For a short period of time in November, access to nearly all of Google’s services, including Gmail, Google Maps and Google.com, was blocked by the Chinese firewall.
As is to be expected, Google’s departure from China has heavily impacted its market share there. Its search engine, which reroutes to servers in Hong Kong, is currently in fourth place and its maps product has slid to sixth place.
Image credit: Li Xin / AFP / Getty Images
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