Google is testing using its top card format for shopping and e-commerce related queries and information. This shows product results with pricing on the left, with popular stores on the right, and then some review content in the from on content and videos on the right side of that.
Brodie Clark spotted this and posted some examples both on X and SERP notes. Brodie wrote, "Google is now testing out a full-width rich card section at the top of search results for eCommerce queries. This is the first time Google has brought this rich card treatment to the eCommerce segment, first starting to show in 2022 for celebrity names and since expanding to other query segments." Yep, he is right, I've seen this treatment for many other use cases but never for products, shopping or e-commerce flavored results.
Here is one of his screenshots:
This is what I see for that query:
I will say, I prefer the card format for this query over the one I am getting.
Brodie added:
Interestingly, the top 8 organic product grid results are just the listings that would tend to appear lower down the page. This gives considerably more visibility to products featured here, likely having a noticeable impact on CTR.The rich results section also features a top 5 list for popular stores by default, along with links to informational content or other category pages within the righthand column of the rich cards.
Optimizing for merchant listing results continues to be an important part of eCommerce SEO in 2024 and beyond, with this desktop test further enforcing the benefits for online stores in maintaining a merchant listing strategy.
Forum discussion at X.
Update: More variations of this:
Google is now testing out a new treatment for the eCommerce full-width rich cards display from last month. There are two variations, one that includes a more full-bodied format and another that highlights the first result more heavily. See examples: https://t.co/WupmipgeQg pic.twitter.com/VI1hxfKm8L
— SERP Alert (@SERPalerts) October 22, 2024