Join us for a webinar on the Content API for Shopping

Are you an internet retailer currently submitting products to Google Product Search? Join us for a free webinar on “Keeping your product data fresh using Google’s Content API for Shopping”, on October 26, 2011 at 10AM PT. This webinar is for retailers who use Google Merchant Center and are looking for a more scalable, flexible way to update their product data. If you are a decision maker for your site’s marketing and operations, then this webinar is for you.

In this 60 minute session, you’ll learn about:

• Google Shopping data freshness policy
• The Content API for Shopping
• Analytics and reports on API usage
• Available support for the API
• Using Merchant Center vs. using the API: We’ll walk through the advantages and disadvantages of each

Google Product Search team members will be on hand for Q&A.

Register now for the webinar, and you can also:



Hope to see you at the webinar.

Posted by Amanda Surya, Commerce Developer Relations Team

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Trying on the new Dynamic Views from Blogger

As you may have noticed, the Google Commerce blog looks a lot different today. That’s because we—along with a few other Google blogs—are trying out a new set of Blogger templates called Dynamic Views.

Dynamic Views is a unique browsing experience that makes it easier and faster for readers to explore blogs in interactive ways. We’re using the Magazine view, but you can also preview this blog in any of the other six new views by using the view selection bar at the top left of the screen.



We’re eager to hear what you think about the new Dynamic Views. You can submit feedback using the “Send feedback” link on the bottom right of this page, or just send us an email.

If you like what you see here, and we hope you do, we encourage you to try out the new look(s) on your own blog—read the Blogger Buzz post for more info.

Posted by Jessica Smallman, Product Marketing

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Google Wallet in Action at American Eagle Outfitters in Times Square

If you’re in Times Square this month, drop by the American Eagle Outfitters flagship store. You might notice the large electronic billboard above the store that talks about a Google Wallet Tapping Spree.

 

Since we launched Google Wallet last month on Sprint Nexus S 4G phones, we have been noticing excitement among our first users. We thought it would be a good idea to give this opportunity to more of you, to test out the feeling of paying with a mobile phone. So we partnered with American Eagle Outfitters, who has become one of the first Google SingleTap merchants – meaning that you can not only pay, but also redeem offers and earn loyalty points – all with a tap of a mobile phone.

For the rest of October, if you visit this store, you can borrow a phone with the Google Wallet app and go on a "tapping spree," a concept promotion that allows you to pay and redeem offers with a tap of your phone. Look for surprise offers throughout the store as you fill your shopping cart, and when it’s time to checkout, simply enable the offer you like the most and tap the phone on the terminal to pay. You’ll not only receive the discount from your selected offer, but you’ll also receive an additional $10 towards your purchase in the form of an American Eagle Outfitters gift card.

We’re excited to invite you to participate in this promotion. We hope you can join us.

Posted by Artem Chetverykov, Product Marketing Manager, Google Wallet

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Growing the Google Commerce Search Family

(Cross-posted on the Official Google Blog and the Google Enterprise Blog)

Two years ago in November, we launched Google Commerce Search, which provides the search quality of Google to e-commerce websites with interactive user features such as Suggestions, Search As You Type and Product Recommendations. With Google Commerce Search, retailers such as GNC, L’Occitane and Forever21 are powering fast, interactive and relevant search and navigation for their customers. Simple integration with mobile and local search results allows shoppers to find products in physical stores nearby, helping retailers offer a great shopping experience from start to finish.

We’ve grown both in product features and user adoption in the past two years, but we’re not done yet. In fact, we want to make it even easier for retailers to adopt Google Commerce Search to help them achieve amazing results and meet their customers’ needs.

So today we’re announcing that we’re growing the Google Commerce Search family with the launch of the Google Commerce Search Reseller Program. Through this new program, technology providers can bring the unique capabilities of Google Commerce Search to their retail clients.

We’ve been working with some leading technology providers who have developed solutions around Google Commerce Search for the web and for mobile, and we’re excited to formalize the program and invite even more technology providers to come on board with us.

Our first new reseller is Branding Brand, a leader in the mobile commerce space who works with large multi-channel retailers to develop mobile and social commerce applications. The firm sought out Google when they heard about Google Commerce Search, as they knew it would deliver additional value to their customers. “Mobile users are often action-oriented--whether they’re locating a store, seeing what products are available nearby, or searching for a specific item–so it’s important to quickly provide relevant information in the proper context. Google Commerce Search allows us to do exactly this,” says co-founder Chris Mason. GNC was Branding Brand’s first client to launch with Google Commerce Search earlier this year, and here is what their CMO Jeff Hennion has to say about the results:



In fact, with Branding Brand we’d also like to announce our newest retail customer: Timberland. With Branding Brand and Google Commerce Search, Timberland has been able to make their mobile vision a reality, both in the core site experience but also in integrating the critical search capabilities provided by Google Commerce Search. Timberland makes quality and environmentally-responsible products, so we couldn’t be happier to welcome them to our family.

“At Timberland, the consumer always comes first. Our priority in developing our mobile website was making sure customers had the best experience possible,” said Chris Hardisty, director of Timberland Global E-Commerce. “Shoppers today expect fast and relevant results especially on mobile where speed and interactivity matter most. Since we launched our mobile-optimized website, we have seen mobile sales grow 20 times faster than our desktop site sales.”

We’re also happy to welcome Perficient, a leading technology integrator specializing in e-commerce. Perficient was keenly interested developing solutions around Google Commerce Search given the capabilities it can provide to their clients. “Google Commerce Search brings retailers of all sizes the advanced Google search features that were previously only available to the biggest players in the space, including Search As You Type, local product availability, and engaging mobile experiences,” says Sameer Peera, Principal of Perficient’s National Commerce Practice.

If you’re interested in becoming a Google Commerce Search reseller, please let us know by getting in touch.

Posted by Naveen Viswanatha, Product Manager, Google Commerce

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Shop for your office supplies with Google Wallet

More than 100 OfficeMax stores now accept Google Wallet, so shoppers can pay, use MaxPerks Rewards Membership cards, and soon redeem coupons all with a single tap of their phones. Google Wallet is a mobile application that lets consumer tap, pay and save at enabled retail locations. OfficeMax has enabled stores for Google Wallet throughout the greater New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. areas.

As OfficeMax’s Strategic Partner Development Manager, I’ve had the pleasure of working with OfficeMax from start to finish, culminating in Wallet’s deployment in over 100 of their stores. From the day I shared the vision of Google Wallet, it was clear that they grasped the short-term implications of a mobile payments system built on three pillars - payments, offers and loyalty - and also saw the long-term potential of a more robust ecosystem as we continue to iterate on the product.

Our merchant ecosystem is growing constantly, so visit our website for up-to-date information on locations that accept Google Wallet. You can start using Google Wallet now if you have a Sprint Nexus S 4G phone, or you can buy the phone today on the web or at your nearest Sprint store.

Posted by Robyn Katzman, Commerce Strategic Partnerships

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Shop with confidence across the web

One of the great things about online shopping is that it offers the opportunity to find just what you’re looking for, at a terrific price. But, shoppers often tell us they’re nervous about purchasing from unfamiliar online stores. Is this store trustworthy? How reliable is their shipping? Do they have good customer service? What happens if something goes wrong?

Today we’re announcing the launch of Google Trusted Stores, a new pilot program that helps shoppers identify online merchants that offer a great shopping experience.

The Google Trusted Store badge is awarded to e-commerce sites that demonstrate a track record of on-time shipping and excellent customer service. When visiting a qualifying store, shoppers can hover over the Google Trusted Store badge and see metrics on the store’s shipping and customer service performance.

 

To participate in the program, merchants voluntarily share data about shipments, and Google collects customer service metrics when shoppers seek Google’s help with a problem.

When a shopper makes a purchase at a Google Trusted Store, they have the option to select free purchase protection from Google. Then, if a problem arises with their purchase, they can request Google’s help, and Google will work with the merchant and customer to address the issue. As part of this, Google offers up to $1,000 lifetime purchase protection for eligible purchases.



Starting today, you’ll begin seeing the badge at a handful of online stores, including O.co, Wayfair, BabyAge.com, and Beach Audio. During this pilot, you may occasionally see a different version of the badge on these sites - or no badge at all - while we perform tests to measure the impact of the program.

Over the coming months, we plan to expand the program to include more stores. If you’re an online merchant interested in participating, please fill out this form. To learn more about Google Trusted Stores, visit www.google.com/trustedstores.

Posted by Tom Fallows, Group Product Manager, Google Commerce Team

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Google Offers now available in Miami

Starting today, Google Offers is available in the Magic City! Since June, we’ve brought you great deals from coast-to-coast. Now, we’re excited to kick off in Miami with two great deals from Joe’s Stone Crab and Fandango. 

Buy your ticket in advance and breeze past the box office with today’s offer from Fandango. Spend $5 for one Fandango movie ticket (up to a $13 value) good at any of Fandango’s partner movie theaters.

And keep your eyes peeled for our offer on Wednesday (Oct. 5th) for Joe’s Stone Crab. A family-run restaurant since 1913, this Miami legend will host an exclusive event on October 10th for Google Offers customers only. Wednesday’s deal gets you early access to the restaurant before they officially open for their 99th year in Miami. Spend $69 and get ready to enjoy Joe’s Signature meal (a $135 value), impeccable service and their famous Key Lime Pie. Yum!

Check out www.google.com/offers (and get our Shopper mobile app on Android and iPhone) to subscribe to deals in Miami and find great deals in other cities across the country.

Posted by Laela Sturdy, Google Sales Director (and native South Floridian), Google Offers

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