Google acquires Irish retail tech startup Pointy

Google has acquired Pointy, a startup that helps physical retailers with showcasing their products online. Pointy has been a partner of Google for years, for the search engine’s “See what’s in store” section that is shown on business profiles on Google search.

With Pointy, retailers can either plug a small box into their barcode scanner or install an app on their POS system, after which the products they sell are directly shown in the “See what’s in store” section that surfaces when a user is looking for a specific retailer.

See what’s in store

Google introduced this feature in June 2018, when it allowed POS or inventory data providers like Cayan, Pointy, Linx and yReceipts to provide sales and inventory data on behalf of retailers. As a result, retailers were able to show their local inventory in Google’s search knowledge panel.

‘Very close partnership with Google’

Now, Google has acquired Pointy. Founders Mark Cummins and Charles Bibby say they have developed a very close partnership with the search giant over the past several years. “It became clear that we shared the same vision of how technology can improve local retail businesses. So today is a natural next step in our journey.”

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