Google plans a souped-up Buy on Google product so that participating sellers won’t have the pay the Big Tech firm a commission fee and shoppers will get to pay through such third-party providers as PayPal and Shopify.
“Over the past few months, we’ve made significant changes to help businesses reach more consumers and help people find the best products, prices and places to buy online,” Bill Ready, Google’s president for commerce, said in a Thursday (July 23) blog post. “We made it free for retailers to list products on Google Shopping in the U.S., and we brought these free listings to Search as well.”
Ready added, “These changes are about providing all businesses — from small stores to national chains and online marketplaces — the best place to connect with customers, regardless of where a purchase eventually occurs. With more products and stores available for discovery and the option to buy directly on Google or on a retailer’s site, shoppers will have more choice across the board.”
Buy on Google is the company’s checkout setup coming out of product listings.
“While retailers have several options for driving traffic to their websites, with free listings or with Shopping ads, many also use Buy on Google,” said Ready. “By removing our commission fees, we’re lowering the cost of doing business and making it even easier for retailers of all sizes to sell directly on Google, starting with a pilot that we’ll expand to all eligible sellers in the U.S. over the coming months.”
Google has “heard from retailers that they want the ability to choose their preferred services for things like payment processing, inventory, and order management,” Ready said, which is why Google is opening up its platform to “more digital commerce providers, beginning with Shopify for inventory and order management and PayPal and Shopify for payment processing.”
Earlier this month, Google rolled out Shoploop, a synthesis of social media and eCommerce. The video-shopping platform hosts 90-second tutorials on various products.
When consumers see something they want, the app allows them to “save” the item for later or move immediately to a merchant’s website to buy.
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