Google acquires Irish startup Pointy to find what local retailers are selling

For long, Google has been working closely with brick-and-mortal retailers. Now, it looks like the company has extended the same functionality with a new acquisition. Well, Google has acquired Pointly, an Irish startup that has built both hardware and software technology to help retailers, especially when there is no proper track of the e-commerce industry.

It is reported that Google has acquired Pointy. If this turns out to be true then it will definitely be a spectacular return for Pointy. For now, neither Google nor Pointy disclosed the final value of the deal and it is likely to be closed in the coming weeks. But Rob Moffat, a London-based Balderton VC revealed the amount as $160 million (nearly €144 million) and claimed to be as a European Xoogler successor story.

Heads up about Pointy!

Founded in 2014 by Mark Cummins and Charles Bibby, Pointy gives small retailers an option to take their stocks online sans the necessity to invest in an e-commerce system. The app directs buyers to the specific items that are available locally instead of taking them to big e-commerce players.

Even post the acquisition by Google, Pointy is believed to operate from its offices in Dublin and develop its own product platform. We can expect the company to provide better services in the future as it is backed by Google.

How does Pointy work?

Well, Pointy’s core product is a piece of hardware that is plugged into the barcode scanning units of stores. After connecting the Pointy box to the barcode scanner in the shop, retailers can use it as usual. The device will be pre-paired with the Pointy site and once a retailer uses the scanner, the system will use machine learning and algorithms to estimate stock levels. It will keep the stock numbers up to date.

Pointy’s hardware is priced around $700 (nearly €630). Also, there is a free app that works with specific PoS devices from Lightspeed, Vend, WooPOS, CashRx POS, BestRx, and Lightspeed.

Why Google acquired Pointy?

The Irish startup Pointy was established with the mission to make things better for local retailers. And, the startup is not alone in this mission as Google also focuses on the same. As the mission of both companies is the same, the integration of these services is believed to make it better.

Well, Google has been committed to help small businesses grow and thrive in the current competitive online world. By acquiring Pointy, the company can stick to this mission and help small merchants survive the online competition.

Initially, Google partnered with Point in 2018 to load many e-commerce tools in the search portal. Even Amazon was ramping up its own efforts with physical retail and this was a huge threat for Google. Two years from then, the competition has grown bigger, which is one reason for Google to invest in Pointy. With this acquisition, the Irish startup can deeply integrate the tech and build upon it.

Pointy has been one of the key partners of Google in helping thousands of local merchants display their inventory data within Google. With this acquisition, more local retailers are expected to bring their product inventory online.

Main image picture credits: Pointy

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