Google Core Revenue Driver Now is Advertising; Could Commerce Lead in Future?

Google's development of products and services has sometimes confounded observers who wondered what the heck those developments had to do with the core advertising business.

The answer seems to be that not everything Google works on is related, even tangentially, to the core advertising business. The self-driving car is the best example of that. 

But even when there is a somewhat-clearer relationship between operating systems, devices, apps and capabilities, it is not always immediately clear what value Google sees. 

Some might argue that operating systems, browsers, devices, maps,  search, Google Now, Google Wallet and  the Play store could be assembled as a complete ecosystem for finding and buying products and services.

In that sense, all the various pieces would add up to a commerce, or shopping, revenue capability.