Lifestyle Home Google Launches New Feature That Will Make It Easier to Find and Support Black-Owned Businesses “We want to make it easier for people to support and spend dollars with the Black businesses they love,” the company shared By Maria Pasquini Maria Pasquini Maria Pasquini is the staff editor for human interest’s digital vertical at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2017. People Editorial Guidelines Published on February 4, 2021 03:39PM EST Photo: Getty Google is making it easier to support Black-owned businesses. In honor of the start of Black History Month, on Feb. 1, Google announced they were launching a new shopping feature that will help users find and purchase products from Black-owned businesses. Over the past 12 months, search requests for "Black owned businesses" have increased by 600 percent, according to the company, which noted that people are looking for recommendations for everything from restaurants to bookstores, beauty products and more. "We want to make it easier for people to support and spend dollars with the Black businesses they love," the company wrote in a blog post. PEOPLE Editors' Favorite Black-Owned Brands to Shop This Black History Month — and Always! Expanding upon a feature previously launched over the summer, which allowed businesses to identity as being Black-owned on Google Search and Maps, the attribute will now be available to use on Google's Shopping tab. All participating businesses will also have a custom badge by their name: a black heart on top of an orange-colored background. The tool will be available for all shoppers and Google Merchants in the United States within the next months, according to Google. RELATED VIDEO: Celebs on Activism and the Future of Black Americans The addition follows similar actions taken by major retailers. Over the summer, Target launched a badge on its website and app, allowing users to easily identify Black-owned or Black-founded brands. "We have carried a number of Black-owned brands for years and continue to listen to guests to ensure we offer a compelling and relevant assortment that supports our guests' needs," a Target spokesperson told Yahoo Finance at the time. Want to get the biggest stories from PEOPLE every weekday? Subscribe to our new podcast, PEOPLE Every Day, to get the essential celebrity, entertainment and human interest news stories Monday through Friday. Get a taste of the podcast below. "Based on what our guests are searching for, we have started to implement icons online to help our guests find and support Black-owned brands and founders when they shop online," the spokesperson added. Online retailer Etsy also allows customers to search for Black-owned shops.