The news: Google has almost entirely removed product carousels in search results in Europe as it attempts to comply with the EU Digital Markets Act (DMA).

• Google has made Shopping results less accessible, requiring users to take additional steps to reach product listings. The Shopping tab has also been removed from the search engine’s navigation.
• Search ranking platform Productrise has reported a near-total disappearance of product carousel results across thousands of daily queries. Declines range from 90% to 100% over just a few days, notes Ecommerce News.

Why it matters: Online retailers that rely on carousels will have to shift their ecommerce strategies. The format supports several objectives:

• Carousels improve product visibility, ensuring products appear prominently in results—thereby increasing the likelihood that shoppers will consider them during their shopping journey.
• Search engines like Google are a top discovery channel for online shopping, with 59% of US digital shoppers considering them essential for finding products, per Bizrate Insights. In contrast, 36% rely on brand websites while just 12% rely on AI chat tools.
• Carousels support the whole purchase journey, acting as part of a broader strategy to maintain product visibility and optimize search rankings—critical for converting shoppers into buyers.

Without carousels, shoppers will likely find it harder to discover products via traditional search methods, potentially reducing opportunities for impulse purchases. Retailers could lose shoppers to competitors with stronger product discovery experiences that are less dependent on search engines.

Recommendations for marketers: Eliminating carousels suggests that product discovery is becoming more fragmented and traditional search placements less reliable—raising the need for marketers to find new ways to reach shoppers online.

• Strengthen product feeds and listings across search engines and marketplaces to maximize visibility in product discovery surfaces that remain available.
• Prioritize owned channels that can generate repeat traffic and purchases while reducing reliance on third-party discovery platforms.
• Reassess channel mix and determine whether lost search exposure translates into weaker sales or simply shifts demand to other channels.

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