Tune in to I/O Live

Google I/O is just around the corner! With tickets selling out in 20 minutes, we know that many of you who wanted to attend are unable to. In an effort to bring I/O to you, we’re live streaming some of the sessions.

Tune in on Wednesday, June 27th at 4:00 PM PDT to catch our session on monetizing digital goods online with Google Wallet, featuring Google engineers and a guest partner.

For links to this session and all the live streams, stay tuned to our Google I/O site:
developers.google.com/io.

And remember that you can get in touch with us year-round. We hold bi-weekly office hours on a Google+ Hangout to answer your payments-related questions. Find the next scheduled office hours at developers.google.com/live.

Posted by Peng Ying, Developer Programs Engineer

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Enjoy a summer of free wi-fi in NYC, courtesy of Google Offers

Since launching Google Offers in NYC a year ago, we’ve worked with hundreds of local businesses to bring great deals to New Yorkers who want to make the most of their city. This summer, we’re excited to bring another great deal to New York City: free Boingo Wi-Fi in subway stations and Boingo hotzones across Manhattan. People can surf the Internet, or discover great local deals from Google Offers, while they’re waiting at the subway platform or enjoying summertime in the Big Apple.

Starting today through September 7th, anyone can access Boingo Wi-Fi for free at six New York City subway stations:

• A, C, E station at Eighth Avenue and West 14th Street
• L station at Eighth Avenue and West 14th Street
• C, E station at Eighth Avenue and West 23rd Street
• 1, 2, 3 station at Seventh Avenue and West 14th Street
• F, M station at Sixth Avenue and West 14th Street
• L station at Sixth Avenue and West 14th Street

To stay connected above ground, Google Offers is also sponsoring free Wi-Fi at more than 200 Boingo hotzones across Manhattan.

To subscribe to Google Offers, please visit: www.google.com/offers. And follow the Google NYC twitter handle (@GoogleNYC) for more details on where you can find free Wi-Fi.

Posted by Jennifer Karakkal, Product Marketing Manager, Google Offers

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Google Offers app now available on iPhone

Today we’re announcing the new Google Offers app for iPhone. Now, iPhone users can discover, buy and redeem Google Offers, as well as deals from our partners, on-the-go.

Some of the features of the new Google Offers app for iPhone include:

• Instant savings, just around the corner: Quickly discover offers near you in map view or search for deals by category to easily find the right deal for you.
• See & use the deals you want, when you want them: All of your purchased and saved offers are tracked in "My Offers,” for easy access from your iPhone or online.
• Savings made simple: Instantly redeem most offers with your iPhone, without having to print vouchers.
• Never miss a great deal: Get notifications when new deals are available or when a deal that you’ve purchased or saved is about to expire.

Browse deals near you in map view, purchase offers directly from the app, and get instant access to all of your deals in “My Offers” 

Download the Google Offers app for iPhone today from The App Store. This app is only available in the U.S.

Posted by Robert Kim, Product Manager, Google Offers

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Father’s Day gift ideas from Google Offers

He’s quirky. One-of-a-kind. There’s no one like him. And best of all, he’s your dad. This Father’s Day, score a gift from Google Offers that’s as original as he is. Whether you’re looking for something to keep Dad busy, stylish, connected, active or just well fed, Google Offers has a wide variety of gifts that he’ll dig—at prices you’ll love.

Discover these great gift ideas for all kinds of dads. Yup, even yours.

For tech-savvy dads
SharperImage.com: $15 for $30 toward electronics, gadgets & more innovative gifts
It doesn’t matter how old he is, Dad sure does love his toys. When it comes to the latest, most creative gadgets, SharperImage.com has everything Dad’s ever dreamed of and a whole lot more.

GoIncase.com: $25 for $50 toward iPhone, iPad & MacBook accessories
Dad taught you how to drive, but you probably taught him how to text. For an extra special Father’s Day message, grab him an Offer from Incase so he can keep his favorite gadget stylish and scratch-free.

Zazzle.com: $9 for $18 toward custom skins for phones, laptops & more electronics
Give Dad’s gadget a whole new look at Zazzle.com, where you can protect and personalize hundreds of devices, from cell phones to tablets, with a custom skin showcasing your own snapshots and designs.

For stylin’ dads
SwissOutpost.com: $75 for a Wenger Classic Field Swiss Military Watch (up to $195 value)
His style in one word? Classic. With a world-class Swiss Army watch from Wenger, Dad’s timepiece can be as timeless as his style.

BNYCOnline.com: $25 for $50 toward designer footwear, clothing & accessories
Give props to Dad’s high style with a Father’s Day gift that speaks to his fashion cred (or passion for staying active). For the latest and greatest sneakers, running shoes, and designer apparel, check out BNYCOnline.com.

For foodie dads
MeatHub.com: $69.99 for your choice of ultimate grilling combos ($169 value)
This Father’s Day, ensure Dad feels like king of the grill—or at least eats like one. Make Dad’s rotisserie dreams come true with the delivery of one of two ultimate grilling combos from MeatHub.com.

For creative dads
Zazzle.com: $37 for a custom gallery-wrapped canvas print ($119 value)
These days, it’s easier than ever to make Dad a one-of-a-kind masterpiece. Visit Zazzle.com and turn that special snapshot into a stunning 20”x16” gallery-wrapped canvas print. Talk about original art.

Check your inbox for other original Father’s Day gift ideas from Google Offers.

To subscribe to Google Offers, please visit: www.google.com/offers. And follow our Google+ Page for news and updates from the Google Offers team.

Posted by Shazia Makhdumi, Sr. Product Marketing Manager, Google Offers

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Connecting shoppers and great stores online

Cross-posted from the Official Google Blog

Online shopping is great for many reasons, but most of all it’s a convenient and fast way to turn your intent to buy that new pair of running shoes, for example, into an actual purchase. But shoppers tell us they’re often nervous about buying from online stores they don’t know. We created the free Google Trusted Stores program to help solve this problem. When shoppers see the Google Trusted Store badge, they know in a snap they’re shopping with a reputable retailer and they can feel confident making an informed purchase.

We’ve been testing the program since last fall with about 50 online merchants and more than 10 million orders. It’s working even better than we hoped, generating positive feedback from shoppers and increasing sales for merchants. Starting today, Google Trusted Stores is open to all U.S. merchants who want to apply.

Helping shoppers choose stores they can trust
When shopping online, you may come across the Google Trusted Store badge. Hover over it and you’ll see a “report card” which shows “grades” for that merchant’s shipping and service, including more precise metrics about what the grades mean.

The Google Trusted Store badge and report card

This badge is only awarded to online stores that deliver a great overall experience, so even if you haven’t shopped with this merchant before, you can easily tell if they are trustworthy, ship quickly and reliably, and offer exceptional customer service. If there’s a problem with your purchase, we’re here to help. When you buy from a Google Trusted Store, you can opt in to get up to $1,000 lifetime purchase protection per shopper. And our dedicated customer service team is there to work with you and the merchant to assist in resolving the issue.

Helping merchants demonstrate their excellence and earn new business
Google Trusted Stores helps online stores attract new customers, increase sales and differentiate themselves by showing off their excellent service via the badge on their websites. Soon the badge will also appear on Google.com ads and in Google Shopping results.

Google Trusted Store badge on AdWords

Over the last nine months of the pilot, our tests show that participating in this program can help merchants big and small. For example, Wayfair, the largest online-only retailer of home goods and one of the top 50 largest online retailers as ranked by Internet Retailer, increased sales* on its site by 2.3 percent with Google Trusted Stores. And Beau-coup, a specialty online favors and gifts retailer, saw an 8.6 percent increase*. Take a look at our merchant success stories to learn more about how Google Trusted Stores has had a positive impact on website conversion rates and average order sizes for online retailers.

Google Trusted Stores is entirely free, both for shoppers and for online stores. We’re still testing the most helpful ways to display Trusted Stores information to shoppers, so you may see different versions, or none at all, while we conduct experiments. If you’re a merchant and would like to participate in the Google Trusted Stores program, please apply.

Posted by Tom Fallows, Group Product Manager, Google Shopping

*Increased sales percentages are based on a combination of uplift in conversion and average order size.

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Schemer brings you Google Offers to help you say ‘I’ve done it’

Cross-posted on the Schemer blog.

Since Schemer launched we’ve been thrilled to see so many schemes marked as ‘Done’, but we know you have more in you! To help you out, Schemer will now scour the plethora of deals on Google Offers and intelligently find ones that match activities you’ve been meaning to do.

We have been pilot-testing this Google Offers integration for the past few weeks and have received wonderful feedback from our users (thanks!). We’re now excited to open it up to more users.

Maybe you’ve always wanted to ‘Go Skydiving’? You might receive an email with a killer deal on a tandem jump from a skydiving company in your area, in which case the time is ripe to jump out of that perfectly good airplane!





Maybe you’ve been meaning to check out what the deal is with that mysterious mansion down the street. Schemer will help you quell that curiosity at the most opportune (and money saving!) time with a brief email:

You can also buy Google Offers directly from a scheme’s detail page if you happen to come across one while searching for things to do:

Worried about getting too much email? Have no fear—Schemer will only send you information about great deals for schemes you’ve specifically said you want to do. Also, you can always opt-out of the offer notifications under your Settings.

You can start receiving offers hand-picked for you by simply adding more schemes. Search for some of your favorite categories, select a few that you’ve always been meaning to do, and indicate ‘I want to do it’. Let Schemer and Google Offers do all the rest.

Intrigued and not on Schemer yet? Join now at www.schemer.com.

We hope that these offers add that little bit of extra motivation you might need to get out there and start marking your schemes ‘Done’.

As always, Happy Scheming!

Posted by Huy Nguyen, Schemer Front-end Engineer

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