I’ve long said that if you want to grab the attention of your target audience well, you need to sell on Amazon and offer Amazon Checkout as a payment option on self-managed webstores. Many etailers have avoided taking that plunge because they see Amazon as a direct competitor. The fact is, though, Amazon gets the bulk of the traffic – not becoming an Amazon seller can stifle growth for many micro business estores. Done right, selling on Amazon can actually help you build a more loyal customers base.
Now, Google is jumping on the bandwagon, and will soon integrate buy buttons in pay-for mobile search results. The buttons will live inside the ads that appear above relevant search results, and will take shoppers to a purchase page at Google. This will eliminate the sometimes lengthy process of having to visit an advertiser’s site to add an item to a shopping cart and complete checkout.
Currently, paid listings (including Google Shopping results) take the user directly to a merchant’s website. The buy button – which Google will start testing in the coming weeks – allows shoppers to purchase an item immediately, without ever leaving Google’s site.
Obviously, there are pros and cons to this approach.
Speed and the ability to store payment information directly with Google will entice some shoppers. It could also mean increased sales for popular items, especially for merchants who are competitive with their pricing.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Google will give shoppers the option to share their email address and other data with the retailer, and the product pages hosted at Google will be heavily branded for the company’s selling the products.
Many online shoppers who use Amazon Checkout on other sites prefer storing their payment information with a single source. Merchants that offer Amazon Checkout receive payments directly from Amazon. Google plans to handle payments the same way.
Merchants will be able to opt in to the buy button by indicating whether or not items can be purchased directly from Google’s site.
As of now, this program is scheduled only for mobile search, which means searches from desktop will continue to appear as they always have.
Whether your’re a fan of Google’s latest vie to compete with Amazon (and eBay, too), the buy button is most likely another program etailers will need to participate in if they want to stay competitive.
What do you think? Will Google’s buy button have a more positive or negative effect on ecommerce? Chime in below.
