Tag Archive for: online retail

Google’s E-Commerce Service Merchant Center Is Becoming Merchant Center Next

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Google is transitioning its popular e-commerce service Merchant Center to a new, easier-to-use tool called Merchant Center Next.

As announced during the recent Google Marketing Live 2023 event, Merchant Center Next is not only getting a fresh coat of paint, it is being upgraded to automate tedious processes like updating product data and delivering better insights.

What’s Changing

While the original Merchant Center made retailers manually set up a product feed and add details like pricing, imagery, and descriptions, Merchant Center Next will do all this automatically.

Once the tool pulls product data, retailers can edit or update information as they need.

If they desire, brands can also opt out of using the automated features.

Along with this, Merchant Center Next will contain a streamlined version of the current Performance tab, which will include a range of new details like:

  • Overview
  • Competitive visibility
  • Pricing
  • Demand
  • Non-product website results

Merchant Center Next will also allow retailers with multiple physical locations to manage their products at all locations in one view.

Coming in 2024, or Earlier

Some businesses have already been given access to Merchant Center Next, but it may be some time before everyone can use it. Currently, the service is expected to be completely rolled out in 2024.

Once Merchant Center Next is available, retailers already using Merchant Center will be notified.

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Google’s Trusted Store Badge Is Appearing On Free Product Listings

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Google is finally adding its coveted Trusted Store badge to free shopping listings in search results. 

The badge has been available to reliable brands on the platform for nearly a decade at this point and has been proven to increase trust in online retailers by verifying your reputation. 

Stores running paid shopping listings have been able to take advantage of this by showcasing their Trusted Store badge on their ads, however, this has not been an option for those whose free product listings get shown. 

What Is The Google Trusted Store Badge?

The Google Trusted Store badge is a small icon representing that your business has been recognized by Google for delivering great products, fast shipping, and amazing customer service. 

Though the badge is typically thought to represent pages with consistently high Google customer reviews, eligibility is actually determined by Shopping Experience Scorecard scores. These scores are determined by monitoring submitted data from online stores to assess the speed and quality of service. 

If Google determines that you are an upstanding brand, you will then be notified that you are eligible to be a Google Trusted Store. 

What Is The Benefit of Being a Google Trusted Store?

Beyond earning a badge that will now appear on both paid and free product listings, being a Trusted Store brings several benefits for brands, including increased product listing engagement, more prominently displayed product listings, and increased trust from potential customers.

Perhaps most notably, being a Trusted Store also gives brands the ability to offer free purchase protection for customers, up to a specific amount of money. 

New Analytics Tools For Free Product Listings

Along with announcing that free product listings in Google search results may display the Trusted Store badge, the search engine launched a number of analytics tools for free listings. 

These new reporting tools provide details across several metrics including:

  • Total traffic
  • Impressions
  • Conversion rates
  • Pricing competition

This marks the first time performance data has been available to merchants for free product listings. 

The Big Picture

These upgrades to free product listings bring them more in line with paid shopping listings, making them potentially more attractive to online retailers. Thanks to the introduction of the new reporting tools, brands can also start refining their listings to improve click-through and conversion rates based on their recent performance and shopping trends.

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Safe Shopping Made Easier With Google

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Google is making several tweaks to its shopping-related search results to make it easier to find the products you want locally and choose the pickup method you are most comfortable with. 

As the country gradually returns to our normal in-store shopping habits, many are making adjustments to ensure the safest trips to the store. 

For example, Google says that searches for “curbside pickup” and “safe shopping” have increased tenfold over the past few months and remain heightened. 

Making this more difficult, many businesses remain closed after mandatory shutdowns have passed, while others are struggling with inventory due to shipping disruptions around the world. 

With all this in mind, Google has announced three significant updates to shopping search results which make it easier for shoppers to know who’s open, what’s in stock, and how they can most safely make a purchase. 

Filter By What’s Available Locally

When looking for a specific type of product, searchers can now limit their search results to only products available nearby. 

This can be done in two different ways. 

  • Users can tap on the “Nearby” filter when looking at results within the Shopping tab.
  • Users can add “near me” to product searches to automatically find products available nearby.

“Want to see an item in person before purchasing, or can’t wait for shipping and delivery?

Whatever you’re looking for, whether it’s a new laptop for working from home, a baby jacket for fall or a grill for backyard barbeques, Google makes it easy for you to see what’s available locally.”

Compare Local Hours, Locations, and Inventory

Making a trip to the store only to discover they are out of what you are looking for or the store is closed was already frustrating before the COVID-19, epidemic. 

To help solve this issue, Google is making it easier to compare the stock of local shops and see which businesses are open now. 

These details will be shown when searching “[product] near me” in a carousel of images and pricing details.

Find Convenient and Safe Pickup

Since the onset of the pandemic, Google has been prioritizing retailers who offer safe pickup options including contactless delivery or curbside pickup. 

Now, the company is introducing new ways to find safe purchase options with new labels in shopping searches. 

Along with these details, the listings will include a direct link to Maps directions so you can quickly and easily find the stores nearby. 

At the same time, Google emphasizes that calling to speak with someone is the most accurate way to check the inventory of products in real-time.

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US E-Commerce Sales Jump While Overall Retail Sales Stagnate

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A report by the US Commerce Department shows e-commerce sales in the US shot up 14.1 percent over the past year while overall retail sales have only climbed one percent year-over-year.

In the second quarter of this year, US e-commerce sales jumped to $83.9 billion in the second quarter compared to Q2 2014, even after adjusting for seasonality, according to the report published Monday.

In total, 7.2 percent of the estimated $1,171.5 billion in US retail sales transactions took place online during the second quarter, rising from 7.0 percent in the first quarter of the year and 6.3 percent a year ago.

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When not accounting for seasonal retail variations, the Commerce Department estimates US retail e-commerce sales racked up to $78.8 billion, jumping 5.1 percent from Q1 and 14.4 percent year-over-year. When not accounting for seasonality, the report finds e-commerce sales drove approximately 6.6 percent of all retail sales.

The data was based on a sampling of around 10,000 US retail companies, excluding food services, and may have included firms without an e-commerce presence.

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