Category Archives: Google Commerce Blog

The official source for the latest on shopping, retailing and payments technology

Fresh grocery delivery to your doorstep

Everyone wants milk delivered with their cookies — that’s why we're excited to start adding fresh groceries to Google Express. Since we launched Express, you’ve ordered enough water to fill 10.5 Olympic-sized swimming pools and enough toilet paper to circle the earth 15 times. But we’ve also heard your feedback that you’d love for Express to help you check off your entire grocery list, including fruit, vegetables, meat, seafood, dairy, and frozen foods.

And so today we're launching a pilot in select Los Angeles and San Francisco neighborhoods, so that you can get same-day delivery of your fresh groceries. We’ll start in areas of LA including Pacific Palisades, Westwood, Venice, and Marina del Rey, and in San Francisco neighborhoods such as the Financial District, the Mission, and Potrero Hill, along with many others. You can check the maps below to see if you’re eligible.
LA SF Map Groceries.png
Pilot coverage areas in Los Angeles and San Francisco

Whether you need to restock your pantry, get some ingredients for tonight’s dinner, or just need some help carrying the heavier stuff — all you have to do is place your order, and we'll take care of the rest. Fresh grocery deliveries start at $2.99 for members and $4.99 for everyone else, and you can choose when you want them delivered in two-hour windows, available every day. While you’re going about your day, your groceries are kept fresh and cold from the grocery store all the way to your doorstep.

If you’re new to Google Express, sign up now to get a free 3-month trial membership.* Enjoy $15 off your first purchase by entering code TRYGROCERY at checkout.**

We’re always working to make Google Express better, and we hope that fresh groceries make the service even more useful for you.              

*3-month trial offer expires Jan. 31, 2017. After free trial, membership auto-renews. Cancel at any time.
**Applies only to 1st purchase (even if it’s less than the coupon value). Valid until 3/31/16 while your account’s active. Alcohol, gift cards, membership costs and shipping & service fees excluded. For complete terms and conditions, see g.co/express/trial.

Send money to anyone in your contact list with Google Wallet

No email? No problem! Now you can send money to anyone in your contact list using just a phone number.



When you send money to a phone number, the recipient will get a text message with a secure link. They can simply enter their debit card to claim the money and it will be available in their bank account within minutes.



To start using this feature, look for a new version of the Google Wallet app on Google Play or in the App Store in the next few days.


Keep the feedback coming
We’re thrilled with the great feedback we’ve received on the new Google Wallet app, and we’re working hard to make the experience even better.



In recent weeks, we’ve released a number of updates, including:
  • Improved contact suggestions, so you see the people you send money to most often first 
  • A security feature that lets you lock the Google Wallet app with the tap of a button 
  • The ability to link a second bank account 



We’d love to hear more about what features you want to see in Google Wallet. Share your feedback with us in the app or on our Twitter or Google+ accounts.



The Google Wallet Team
Get it on Google Play   

Source: Google Commerce


Google Express: you be Santa; we’ll handle the rest

Every year, there’s a joyous feeling in the air as excitement builds to that special holiday moment with friends and family. Leading up to the holiday break, though, we know you have loads to do, like shop for gifts, pick up holiday decor, and (of course) bake cookies for Santa. Last year, folks from Boston, Chicago, DC, Manhattan, West LA and the Bay Area trusted Google Express to get their holiday must-haves delivered — whether it was the gingerbread cookies in the nick of time for the holiday party, festive lights for the home, toys for the kiddos, or an epic ugly sweater for the company contest. This year, we’re thrilled to reach more than 95 million people (nearly 1/3 of the US — hurrah!) with massive new coverage across most of the Midwest and all of California.

Give me s’more, you say? To help with your to-dos, we’re pleased to work with more of your favorite stores so you can relax and do all your holiday shopping in one place — the palm of your hand.
            
Last year, we noticed that average searches for ‘tableware’ grew three times in December compared to the rest of the year, while searches for ‘baking’ related items peaked a week before Christmas. So, to help with your holiday meal prep, we’re delighted to bring you Bed Bath & Beyond and Sur La Table, where you can find bakeware and festive dinnerware perfect for your holiday gatherings.

In the Bay Area, we saw four times the number of searches for ‘Christmas tree’ right after Thanksgiving, while searches for ‘holiday decor’ tripled the week after. This year, we’re thrilled to work with Orchard Supply Hardware and Balsam Hill to have beautiful trees, home decor and so much more, delivered right to your door.

If you haven’t already, sign up for Google Express and get a free 3-month membership trial* to see how we can make your holidays all the merrier. And for a limited time, enjoy $15 off your first purchase by entering code REINDEER15 at checkout.**

Happy shopping and happy holidays!
The Google Express Team

*3-month trial offer expires Jan. 31, 2017. After free trial, membership auto-renews. Cancel at any time.
**Applies only to 1st purchase (even if it’s less than the coupon value). Valid until Dec. 31, 2015 while your account’s active. Alcohol, gift cards, membership costs and shipping & service fees excluded.
For complete terms and conditions, see g.co/express/trial.



Source: Google Commerce


From hoverboards to adult onesies: the gifts we’re searching for this holiday

If your holiday shopping plan this season involves grabbing a spare minute on your phone to hunt for presents while you’re standing in line or on the train to work, you’re not alone. More than half of holiday shoppers say they plan to use their smartphones in free moments throughout the day to get their holiday list done. As we wake up to what has become the day for online deal hunting—Cyber Monday—we took a look at the top gifts trending on Google Search to help you shop smarter in those spare moments. Here’s a look at online shopping search trends across the U.S., to give you ideas of what your loved ones might like to find under the tree.

Trending Toy Searches
Source: Google Shopping Data, U.S., Oct 2015 vs. Oct 2014

Drones are now toys: Drones are no longer expensive playthings for the tech-savvy. Search for “toy drone” and you’ll find countless inexpensive, easy-to-use devices available from department stores and toy stores. And they’re popular—nationwide, shopping searches for drones are up 80% over the past year, and they’re highest in California.

Hoverboards are real, and they’re trending: While we’re on the topic of electronic toys, hoverboards are so popular this year they’ve even overtaken searches for drones. They may not be exactly like the boards from Back to the Future or the Lexus commercial, but these two-wheeled boards have become a hot toy this season. Searches for “hoverboards” started trending in the summer and are up more than 500% since July.

Trending Apparel Searches
Source: Google Shopping Data, U.S., Oct 2015 vs. Oct 2014

Holiday onesies are the new “ugly Christmas sweaters”: Last year “ugly Christmas sweaters” were all the rage. This year we’re seeing holiday onesies are the new kitsch partywear of choice, as searches for “adult onesies” are trending even faster than searches for “ugly Christmas sweater.” (Hey—we don’t try to explain these trends. We just report them. -Ed.)

Your 90s wardrobe is BACK: Bomber jackets. Levi jeans. Adidas Superstars. Looking at this year’s top-trending apparel list you’ll be forgiven for thinking we’ve gone back to the 90s. Not only have we seen searches for these 90s fashion trends more than double over the past year, each city has their own 90s fashion item of choice—shoppers in Chicago are more interested in Levis while shoppers in New York are on the hunt for Adidas Superstar shoes.

electronics.png
Source: Google Shopping Data, U.S., Oct 2015 vs. Oct 2014

“Smart” devices top electronics searches: With more models on the market than ever, both smart watches and smart TVs topped our list of trending electronics this year—with “smart watch” searches seeing a particularly phenomenal growth, up nearly 300% compared to last year. But as smart devices get more popular, retro electronics are also making a comeback: searches for instant cameras like “Polaroid Camera” and “Fujifilm Instax” have been rising steadily in popularity each holiday season.

So there you have it. Ready to start shopping? To help you search for these gifts quickly and easily while on-the-go, we recently redesigned Google Shopping on mobile. And for more insights behind this season’s trends, check out the Shopping Insights tool. Happy deal-hunting!

From hoverboards to adult onesies: the gifts we’re searching for this holiday

If your holiday shopping plan this season involves grabbing a spare minute on your phone to hunt for presents while you’re standing in line or on the train to work, you’re not alone. More than half of holiday shoppers say they plan to use their smartphones in free moments throughout the day to get their holiday list done. As we wake up to what has become the day for online deal hunting—Cyber Monday—we took a look at the top gifts trending on Google Search to help you shop smarter in those spare moments. Here’s a look at online shopping search trends across the U.S., to give you ideas of what your loved ones might like to find under the tree.

Trending Toy Searches
Source: Google Shopping Data, U.S., Oct 2015 vs. Oct 2014

Drones are now toys: Drones are no longer expensive playthings for the tech-savvy. Search for “toy drone” and you’ll find countless inexpensive, easy-to-use devices available from department stores and toy stores. And they’re popular—nationwide, shopping searches for drones are up 80% over the past year, and they’re highest in California.

Hoverboards are real, and they’re trending: While we’re on the topic of electronic toys, hoverboards are so popular this year they’ve even overtaken searches for drones. They may not be exactly like the boards from Back to the Future or the Lexus commercial, but these two-wheeled boards have become a hot toy this season. Searches for “hoverboards” started trending in the summer and are up more than 500% since July.

Trending Apparel Searches
Source: Google Shopping Data, U.S., Oct 2015 vs. Oct 2014

Holiday onesies are the new “ugly Christmas sweaters”: Last year “ugly Christmas sweaters” were all the rage. This year we’re seeing holiday onesies are the new kitsch partywear of choice, as searches for “adult onesies” are trending even faster than searches for “ugly Christmas sweater.” (Hey—we don’t try to explain these trends. We just report them. -Ed.)

Your 90s wardrobe is BACK: Bomber jackets. Levi jeans. Adidas Superstars. Looking at this year’s top-trending apparel list you’ll be forgiven for thinking we’ve gone back to the 90s. Not only have we seen searches for these 90s fashion trends more than double over the past year, each city has their own 90s fashion item of choice—shoppers in Chicago are more interested in Levis while shoppers in New York are on the hunt for Adidas Superstar shoes.

electronics.png
Source: Google Shopping Data, U.S., Oct 2015 vs. Oct 2014

“Smart” devices top electronics searches: With more models on the market than ever, both smart watches and smart TVs topped our list of trending electronics this year—with “smart watch” searches seeing a particularly phenomenal growth, up nearly 300% compared to last year. But as smart devices get more popular, retro electronics are also making a comeback: searches for instant cameras like “Polaroid Camera” and “Fujifilm Instax” have been rising steadily in popularity each holiday season.

So there you have it. Ready to start shopping? To help you search for these gifts quickly and easily while on-the-go, we recently redesigned Google Shopping on mobile. And for more insights behind this season’s trends, check out the Shopping Insights tool. Happy deal-hunting!

Welcome to a new Google Wallet

Today, we’re announcing a new Google Wallet app -- now focused exclusively on sending and receiving money. You can use Google Wallet with your Android or iOS device to send money to anyone in the US with an email address, even if they are not a Wallet user. And now, when you receive money through Google Wallet, you can quickly cash out to a debit card or linked bank account.

It's easy, fast, and free to send money directly from your bank account, debit card or Wallet Balance. When you receive money through Google Wallet, you can spend it using your Google Wallet Card wherever Debit MasterCard® is accepted in the US, use your Wallet Card to withdraw it from participating ATMs, or cash out to a debit card or linked bank account.

We’ll be announcing more Google Wallet news soon, and would love to hear your feedback (just select Help > Feedback in the app). For updates on Google Wallet, subscribe to this blog, or follow Google Wallet on Twitter and Google+.

The new Google Wallet is available today on Google Play, and will be available in the App Store in the next few days. Visit the Google Wallet website for more.

Posted by Pali Bhat, Director of Product Management, Android Pay

P.S. Looking to pay with your Android phone, or store loyalty and gift cards? Click here to learn more about Android Pay

*MasterCard is a registered trademark of MasterCard International Incorporated.

Source: Google Commerce


Google Express: Now available to over 25 million more people in the Midwest

Today, we’re delighted to launch Google Express to over 25 million more people, with overnight delivery in the Midwest—across six different states and the Greater Chicagoland area. That’s right, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin: we’re coming to a doorstep near you.

Since launching Google Express just under two years ago, we’ve made many shoppers very happy, alongside our wonderful stores. Whether same-day in our seven metro areas or overnight in Northern California, it’s been a pleasure to see the service become part of people’s lives.

One thing is especially clear: people love saving time with us. That’s what we’re really about. Think back-to-school shopping that gives back those last moments of summer. Or family shopping that leaves more time for the family.

In the Midwest, we’re delighted to offer Google Express with the following wonderful stores. Deep breath... Ace Hardware, Barnes & Noble, Costco, Fry’s Electronics, Kohl’s, L’Occitane en Provence, Moosejaw, PetSmart, Road Runner Sports, Staples, Toys “R” Us & Babies “R” Us, Treasure Island Foods, Ulta Beauty, The Vitamin Shoppe, Walgreens and Wrigleyville Sports. Phew!

So, we hope you enjoy easy, convenient and speedy shopping, Midwesterners. We’re certainly going to enjoy being in your part of the world—getting things you need delivered from stores you love.

Posted by Brian Elliott, General Manager, Google Express

Source: Google Commerce


Reach more customers online: Add GTINs to your Google Shopping data feed

With Google Shopping, finding the right customers starts with creating a good product data feed: the better your feed, the more easily we can connect you with online shoppers, searching for what you sell. Key to creating a complete feed is clearly and accurately specifying which products you have for sale.

For most products, the manufacturer will provide a Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) to uniquely and completely identify a product in the global marketplace. We’ve found that providing GTINs in your product data feed increases the likelihood that your offers are matched to the Google Shopping product catalog. This helps us surface relevant, accurate results on Google Shopping; in fact, early experiments indicate that offers matched to the catalog receive up to 40% more user clicks than those that do not1.

That’s why, as part of the 2015 update to the Google Shopping Products Feed Specification shared in June, we refined our guiding principles and requirements around GTINs. Starting September 15, we’ll require Google Shopping feeds targeting Australia, Brazil, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom or the United States to submit valid ‘gtin’ and ‘brand’ for all products when the ‘brand’ is a designated brand and the ‘condition’ is ‘new’. At that time, we’ll disapprove offers that do not meet this requirement or are submitted with invalid GTINs.

If you don’t already have correct, complete GTINs in your data feed, here’s how you can easily find them:
  • Find GTINs individually. Look for the 12 or 13 digit number printed below the barcode on your product’s packaging. For example, the ASUS Flip C100PA DB01 10.1″ Touchscreen Chromebook should be submitted with a ‘gtin’ as 00889349062166 and ‘brand’ as ASUS. 
  • Find GTINs in bulk. GTINs are used in many warehouse management systems to identify and manage inventory and can often be exported from this in bulk. Check with your IT colleagues to see if they can help you get GTIN data in your feeds. 
  • Make sure you’re using the correct brand. Merchants may mistakenly give us the incorrect brand for a product by using ‘brand’ to indicate that a product is compatible with, or an accessory or replacement part for a product from that brand. For example, a mobile phone case that is compatible with an Apple iPhone 6 listing “Apple” as the brand is misleading to shoppers and can result in your ads being disapproved. Instead, it should provide the brand for the product, and use the ‘title’ and ‘description’ fields to explain compatibility information instead.
Note: It’s important to not try to make up a placeholder GTIN or use the same one for multiple, different products, as our systems will detect this and disapprove your offers. Once you’ve updated your data feed with valid, accurate GTINs, you can resubmit your feed for processing and get more of your products on Google Shopping.

In some rare cases, you’ll find products from a designated brand where no valid GTIN exists (these are often products where you are the sole merchant selling this product or for replacement parts). If you encounter this situation, we’re rolling out a new feature in Merchant Center that allows you to request a review of disapproved offers. Starting September 15, if you believe your item was incorrectly disapproved and would like to request a manual review, follow these steps to get your products approved and showing on Google Shopping:
  1. In the Products tab, click on the title of the item to view the page for that individual item. 
  2. Click the link for "Why is this item disapproved?" 
  3. Review the policies related to your item disapproval, and then check the box that acknowledges that you reviewed the information. 
  4. Select "Request manual review."
This gives our team a chance to review your products; if we determine that there is not a valid GTIN available, your offer will be reinstated.

We’re really excited to be working through this new requirement with you. Not only will it help improve the richness and relevancy of ads we show to potential customers, it has the chance to improve your performance on Google Shopping.

Posted by Rob Rekrutiak, Product Manager, Google Shopping


1.Google internal data, 2015

Source: Google Commerce


Pay your way with Android

Credit cards, debit cards, loyalty cards, cash, coins. Forget fumbling through your wallet next time you’re in a store—what if you could pay with just a tap?

Introducing Android Pay, the simple and secure way to pay with your Android phone.

Things are more interesting when we create them together. So we’ve approached Android Pay the same way we approach every other part of the Android family -- partnering with the ecosystem -- bringing together mobile carriers, payment networks, banks and retailers to deliver you choice and flexibility. And offering developers an open platform to collectively push mobile payments forward.

Tap to pay in stores
With Android Pay, you can simply unlock your phone like you normally do, place it near a merchant’s contactless terminal, and you’re good to go. Android Pay does all the heavy lifting. You don’t even need to open an app—just tap and go. You’ll also see a payment confirmation and get transaction details right on your phone.

Also, with select retailers, your loyalty programs and special offers will be automatically applied at checkout. For example, when you tap to buy a Coke at a vending machine, your MyCokeRewards will be automatically applied. With Android Pay the contactless terminal not only receives your payment info, but also your loyalty programs and offers.

Tap to pay in apps 
Making an online purchase? The days of entering your credit card and shipping address each time you make a purchase online will be a thing of the past. Just select “Buy with Android Pay” and leave the rest to us; checkout is as fast as a tap.

To make it easier for developers to add Android Pay to your favorite apps, we’ve designed our platform to work with any payment processor. And we’re partnering with top payments processors including Braintree, CyberSource, First Data, Stripe and Vantiv to make integration even easier.

The choice is yours 
With Android Pay you will be able to pay with your credit or debit card, across multiple Android devices, and at thousands of stores and apps that you already know and love. And by enabling bank apps to integrate with our platform, you’ll be able to add your credit and debit cards directly from bank apps for use with Android Pay.

It's still early days, but we're very excited and think that this type of open platform will help drive adoption in mobile payments.

Security is at the center of Android Pay
We know how important it is for you to keep your personal and financial information secure. Therefore, we’re working with leading payment networks and financial institutions in the US to deliver industry standard security tokenization, to support Android Pay’s launch later this year.

So when you shop at a store, Android Pay won’t send your actual credit or debit card number with your payment. Instead we’ll use a virtual account number to represent your account information -- providing you with an extra layer of security. And if your phone is ever lost or stolen, simply use Android Device Manager to instantly lock your device from anywhere, secure it with a new password or even wipe it clean of your personal information.

Shop at your favorites 
Android Pay will soon be accepted at over 700,000 store locations from your favorite brands across the US, and in over 1000 Android apps. And we’ll be adding more every day. 

Android Pay in stores


Android Pay in apps

Stay Tuned
Android Pay will be available on Google Play for download soon. And when your bank integrates, you could also activate Android Pay directly from your bank app. We are also working with major US mobile carriers (AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon) to help ensure that when you buy a new Android phone, you can walk out the door ready to use Android Pay.

Look forward to sharing more in the coming months.

Posted by Pali Bhat, Director, Product Management

Source: Google Commerce