Google maps find their way to gas pumps
The Internet giant will join with another firm to give directions at service stations. — Lost drivers soon will be able to Google for help at the pump. — As part of a partnership to be announced today, the online search leader …
Context & Ripple Effects
This pump-side deal extends a car-focused year for Google Maps: back in March 2007 the team shipped Send to Car, letting users push a mapped destination from their desktop browser to a vehicle's navigation system. The new service-station partnership takes the same logic offline entirely — no home computer required, with directions delivered at the point where a driver realizes they need them.
First-order effects
- Lost drivers refueling at participating stations get driving directions directly at the pump, giving Google Maps usage that never touches a PC.
- The unnamed partner station operator gains a differentiator at the forecourt, converting a commodity fuel stop into a service touchpoint.
Second-order effects
- Web-mapping rivals face a new distribution front: Mapquest still leads the category, and putting Google directions on pumps is an attempt to win trips before a competitor is ever consulted — a contest the Hitwise traffic data will be positioned to measure.
- In-dash navigation providers see free, ad-supported directions creep closer to their paid hardware, squeezing the case for standalone units.
Third-order effects
- If maps keep migrating toward the vehicle — through send-to-car features, pump kiosks, and eventually the Android platform Google's Open Handset Alliance unveiled days earlier — navigation shifts from a product you buy to a service Google distributes across whatever screen is nearest.
The trend: Google is pushing Maps out of the browser and into every screen between a driver and the road, from desktops to pumps to dashboards.