Google has been testing a new “Value Alert” tag to Google Shopping search engine results. The alert shows below the store name on the Google Shopping results page similar to the Special Offer tag or a star rating and seems to showcase items that are on sale. This was first spotted by Elizabeth Marsten at CommerceHub on Thursday; and since then SearchEngineLand, myself, and a few others have picked up on it.
Google has not commented on the Value Alert tag on Google Shopping, but experts have guessed that it is related to Trusted Stores (the listing it was spotted on was from a Trusted Store) or a significant price drop on an item.
The idea that a price drop triggered the Value Added tag to show up in the shopping results seems most likely. Search Engine Land tried to find the product on the seller’s website but was unable to, which could mean the item sold out due to a new lower price or that the item was accidentally priced exceptionally low and removed from the site.
This could be a pretty awesome new feature however, especially for sellers who could now have the ability to make their product listing stand out when items go on sale.