Google has confirmed it is shutting down its shopping service in China, further slimming down its portfolio of products in the country.

The impact of the service failed to meet the company’s expectations, says Google. The service faced the same fate as the company’s free music service which also shut down after struggling to compete with Baidu, which partnered with One-Stop China, a joint venture of Universal, Sony BMG and Warner.

“In order to better optimise resources, we have decided to close our shopping search service in China. The original intent of this product was to set up a bridge between consumers, retailers and traders. The impact of the product, however, did not meet our expectations,” said Google.

“But we remain committed to helping Chinese businesses export their products to countries around the world and helping Chinese retailers use Google Shopping to reach consumers in other markets,” promised the company.

Google says it will focus on in-app mobile advertising with AdMob, mobile and desktop display and export-oriented search advertising.

GB