Google Chairman Eric Schmidt said the company's biggest rival in online search is e-commerce giant Amazon. Mr. Schmidt responded to those who believe Google enjoys unparalleled dominance in the online search market: "A lot of people think our main competition is Bing or Yahoo. But, in fact, our biggest competitor in search is Amazon," he said in a speech in Berlin.
“People don’t think of Amazon as a search engine, but when they want to buy something, they more often search through Amazon,” he added. “Amazon is clearly more focused on commerce, but at the same time, they answer users’ questions and searches, just like we do.”
Big acquisition by Amazon
Amazon Amazonpaid $907 million for the acquisition, making it one of the largest acquisitions in its history. Google was also reportedly interested in acquiring Twitch Interactive, but Amazon’s offer ultimately prevailed.
But even though Google holds the dominant position – accounting for more than 90% of the online search market – Schmidt is wary of the future. “Someone, somewhere in a garage, is ready to shoot us. I know that, because a while ago we were in that garage. Change comes from where you least expect it,” he added.
