Google Expanding Options That Will Help Boost Sales For Retailers
By Christine Kern, contributing writer
Buy Button, beacon technology among their latest ventures.
Google announced a number of important new developments last week that could have a significant – and positive – impact on online retail sales. Among their new ventures are tests of a “buy button” in some Google ads, and an expansion into beacon technology.
The new buy button feature will allow shoppers to purchase items directly from ads in Google search results using payment information linked to their Google accounts. The pilot will be rolled out over the next few weeks, featuring about a dozen U.S. merchants. The new feature is called Purchases on Google and is only available in the U.S. according to Venture Beat.
Although Google facilitates the purchase with the buy button, retailers will still be responsible for selling and shipping the products. According to Google, the buy buttons will increase the chances that shoppers will make purchases on mobile devices, and it is anticipated to increase Google’s competition with Amazon.com and eBay, according to USA Today.
Staples will be one of the first companies to pilot the new feature, and the compan6y stated that select Staples products will be available to a limited audience via Google Shopping. “This launch will also help us learn more about our customers buying behavior,” explained Staples executive vice president Faisal Masud. “We know that for the retail industry as a whole, mobile conversation has not been growing as fast as mobile traffic, but now merchants will be able to leverage Google searches to buy instantly.”
Jason LaRose, Chief Revenue Officer, Digital at Under Armour concurred, stating: "As the consumer continues to rapidly adopt mobile as their primary device, we have to move at a similar pace in how we reduce purchase friction and enhance the user experience with our brand. Google's technology solutions help us innovate, so our collaborative efforts are rich and ongoing.”
Among other product launches announced by Google were conversational search for Google shopping and a two new cards offered through Google Now to help provide shoppers with real-time information. The Google Now in-store card appears when a shopper approaches a store, and provides sales, closing hours, loyalty card data, and other pertinent information. When users click on “search store inventory,” the card provides a Google-hosted retailer-branded local storefront that allows him to browse the store’s shelves.
Google also announced the Google Now price drop card, which highlights significant price cuts on products previously visited by the shopper, providing greater compulsion to make the purchase either online or in-store.
And Google has launched Eddystone, Venture Beat reported, a new open way for Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons to communicate with mobile devices. The standard can be used by for both Android and Apple phones.
According to Google, Eddystone will offer precise location capabilities, making it easier for apps to find and communicate with nearby devices and beacons.
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