Introducing the Google Wallet Mobile ATM

While payments are going digital, we realize that some daily consumer interactions will still require cash. So today, we’re excited to announce the release of the Google Wallet Mobile ATM.

The mobile ATM device easily attaches to most smartphones and dispenses money instantly and effortlessly– forever ending your search for the nearest bank or ATM. Just type in your personal pin code on your cell phone and access all your cash from the palm of your hand.

The Google Wallet Mobile ATM technology allows you to enter the amount of money you want to withdraw directly in your phone or use voice-activated dispenser.

                     
Unlike traditional ATM’s, the Google Wallet Mobile ATM even dispenses rare two and fifty dollar bills, as well as more practical one dollar bills. Perfect when confronted by a surprisingly talented “Hippy Mime Banjo Player” on a street corner.

If your mobile ATM is running low on funds, a self-driving, armored, hybrid vehicle will be alerted and dispatched to your location – arriving within minutes to quickly and safely refill their ATM.

We hope you enjoy having easy access to your cash.

Posted by Peter Hazlehurst, Product Management Director, Google Wallet

UPDATE: Happy April Fools Day! While we would all love this feature, technology cannot quite produce this... yet.

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Calling all SF Bay Area residents: help test our new local, same-day delivery service

We all rely on the web to turn our intentions into actions quickly and easily. From planning a spring break or a trip to the movies to finding the perfect gift for someone we love, the world is increasingly at our fingertips. And over the last few years, we've worked hard to bring the speed of the web to the real world. With Google Play, for example, you can now buy or rent books, movies and TV shows in seconds.

Today we're starting a new experiment, Google Shopping Express. It's a local delivery service that we hope will make it possible for you to get the items you order online the same day, and at a low cost. It's incredibly early days and so the service is only available to a small number of people in the Bay Area.

As a tester, you will be able to shop online, in a single place, from retailers such as Target, Walgreens, Staples, American Eagle and Toys“R”Us/Babies“R”Us -- along with locally distinct shops such as San Francisco’s Blue Bottle Coffee, and the Bay Area’s Palo Alto Toy & Sport and Raley’s Nob Hill Foods, and get your items delivered that same day. So hopefully, no more trips across town for simple errands.

If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area (in the city of San Francisco, and the Peninsula from San Mateo to San Jose) and would like to help test this new initiative, please sign up here. We’re still working out our long-term pricing plan but early testers will get six months of free, unlimited same-day delivery. The pilot will expand as we work out the kinks, so please stay tuned.

Posted by Tom Fallows, Product Management Director, Google Shopping Express

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A quicker, easier shopping experience with Google Shopper 3.2

Making informed shopping decisions should be easy, whether you're at home, in a store or on the go. That's why we launched Google Shopper in 2010 -- to make it easy for users to shop smarter. Today, we're making Google Shopper even more useful, with a new version for Android and iOS that makes it easier than ever to find great products at great prices, and more clearly view product details.

Need a new camera, but aren't quite sure which one is right for you? Google Shopper 3.2 allows you to see the most popular cameras on Google Shopping via a specialized result page.

Overwhelmed by choice? Google Shopper 3.2 provides you with the ability to use category-specific refinements to narrow down your search. This means that if you're looking for a point and shoot camera with a 10 Megapixel sensor, you can easily find the most popular cameras on Google Shopping which include that set of features.

Interested in a specific brand, store, price or other criteria? You can also refine your search in those ways, and the most popular products on Google Shopping that match those criteria will show.

Finally, once you've narrowed down your query to a few options, Google Shopper allows you to view detailed product information about each so that you can make an informed buying decision. In addition to reading that information, viewing reviews from across the web or watching video reviews from YouTube, you may find it useful to view multiple high-resolution product images in the new lightbox viewer.

         

You can download Shopper 3.2 for your Android device from Google Play, or for your iOS device from the App Store.

Posted by John-Shriver Blake, Product Manager, Google Shopper

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Reach smartphone users around the world with Google Shopping

People today are constantly connected, presenting a tremendous opportunity for retailers to deliver the right products to them across devices anytime, anywhere. We recently announced the release of enhanced campaigns to help advertisers reach customers in a multi-screen world. Today we're pleased to announce the Product Listing Ads are now eligible to appear on smartphones globally, extending the shopping experience already available desktops and tablets. When a user enters a shopping-related search, a commercial format that displays products in a single unit may appear above organic search results. This ad unit is labeled as a 'Sponsored' and displays rich product images, prices, retailers, and more. This mobile shopping experience will be available in all markets currently serving Product Listing Ads.

Below are a couple of examples of what a shopper might see when searching for a product from their phone.

In the image on the left, a user searching for a plaid tie may see an ad unit displaying three options. He can click any of them to learn more and buy, or click 'Shop on Google' to continue browsing on Google Shopping, as shown in the image on the right. From there, the user can look at an even wider variety of options from different retailers. He can review and compare images, prices, reviews, shopping options and other information. Perhaps he'll narrow his search down to plaid ties over $45, or filter to see just the selections available nearby. Finally, once the user has honed in on the perfect choice, he can easily complete his purchase on the retailer's site.

Ensure your products are eligible to display in this new unit for smartphones.

If you've already upgraded your Product Listing Ads to enhanced campaigns and made appropriate bid adjustments, your products will automatically be eligible to display in the new unit for smartphones.

If you haven't yet upgraded your Product Listing Ads to enhanced campaigns, we recommend you upgrade to increase coverage of your products and easily manage bids across devices, locations, and time of day - all from a single campaign.

Learn more in our upcoming mobile shopping webinar

Google Shopping and Enhanced Campaigns

March 14, 2013 at 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET)

During this webinar, attendees will learn about how Google Shopping and Product Listing Ads work in concert with features that are part of enhanced campaigns. We will also discuss the latest Google Shopping user experience on smartphones and cover new multi-screen opportunities for retail advertisers.

Posted by Erica Sievert, Product Marketing Manager, Google Shopping

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Google Shopping global transition is underway

On February 13, Google Shopping results in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Japan, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Brazil, Australia, Switzerland and the Czech Republic began to transition to a new commercial experience built on Product Listing Ads. If you're a merchant in one of these countries and you're currently promoting your products on Google Shopping for free, you'll need to create a Product Listing Ad campaign to maintain your traffic and presence. You can learn more about this transition in our recent announcement.

Keep your products visible
To ensure that your products remain eligible for promotion on Google Shopping, we've built an easy way for you to create Product Listing Ads.

You can complete the following three simple steps in Merchant Center:

1. Set up a basic Product Listing Ad campaign. You'll be able to create a new AdWords account in Merchant Center if you don't already have one.
2. Customize your campaign. Set a daily budget and one single maximum cost-per-click bid. You can modify these settings any time after you create your campaign.
3. Provide your billing information. You'll be taken to your AdWords account to provide or confirm your billing information.

For a detailed step-by-step guide to getting started with Product Listing Ads and to apply for a promotional credit (available for a limited time only), please visit this page.

Promote your products across devices

With the recent launch of AdWords enhanced campaigns, it's now easier than ever to promote your products across devices. This is crucial in a world where people are constantly connected and moving from one device to another. We encourage you to upgrade existing product listing ad campaigns to an enhanced campaign with appropriate bid adjustments. 

If you need help getting started with Google Shopping, please visit the Google Shopping website or email us through this form.

Posted by Sameer Samat, Vice President of Product Management, Google Shopping

 

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Easily find Google Trusted Store advertisers via new badges in Google Affiliate Network

We're excited to announce an easy way for publishers to identify advertisers within Google Affiliate Network that have earned the Google Trusted Store badge. Starting today in Google Affiliate Network, a badge will appear next to Google Trusted Store merchants in the U.S. that are also Google Affiliate Network advertisers.

About Google Trusted Stores
The Google Trusted Stores program helps shoppers buy online with confidence. The Google Trusted Store badge is only awarded to stores with a proven track record of reliable, on-time shipping and excellent customer service. So when shoppers see the Google Trusted Store badge on e-commerce websites, they know they’re buying from a store that provides a consistently excellent shopping experience. They also know that Google stands behind them when they shop, providing up to $1,000 of purchase protection in the rare event of a problem.

Benefits for publishers
The Google Trusted Store badge is a helpful tool you can use when considering advertiser affiliate programs to join. Look for the Google Trusted Store logo when browsing the Advertisers tab to find advertisers that are validated and certified by Google as providing a great shopping experience for consumers.

Benefits for advertisers
Advertisers have benefited from higher average order sizes and improved conversion rates after becoming a Google Trusted Store. If you’re an advertiser that delivers an excellent shopping experience and would like to learn more about the program, check out the Google Trusted Stores website for more information. If you earn the badge, it will automatically appear within your Product Listing Ads on Google.com and Google Shopping, as well as within the Google Affiliate Network interface.

We’re looking forward to hearing your feedback about this new feature, so don’t hesitate to share feedback via our Google Affiliate Network forum.

Posted by Bill Goudie, Systems Engineer

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Introducing Zavers by Google — helping retailers and manufacturers deliver relevant coupons to shoppers

Today we’re excited to introduce Zavers by Google—a digital coupon solution that enables retailers and manufacturers to reward loyal customers with coupons that are relevant to them -- increasing basket size and redemption rates. So dog owners don’t get cat food coupons and parents of teenagers don’t get diaper coupons.

Unlike traditional media, Zavers’ real-time data gives manufacturers new ways to measure coupon redemptions and analyze consumer preferences so they can manage distribution, tailor campaigns, and optimize budgets for maximum ROI. Zavers also offers access to an extensive network of manufacturer coupons, opening up new retail revenue streams.

With Zavers, shoppers find manufacturer discounts on their favorite retailer websites, and save the digital coupons to their accounts. Then they simply shop for those products and check out as usual. Redemption occurs in real time, with savings automatically deducted at checkout when shoppers provide their rewards cards or phone numbers—no scanning or sorting necessary. Manufacturers only pay when a product is moved off the shelf.

Zavers by Google is growing fast. This month we are thrilled to welcome New York’s Original Grocer, D’Agostino, as the latest partner in our retail network. In the coming months, we will be announcing partnerships with a number of other major retailers.

Retailers and manufacturers can see first-hand how Zavers works by visiting our demonstration booth at the annual NRF Convention & Expo, January 14-15 (booth #2281).

If you are a U.S.-based retailer or packaged goods manufacturer, let us show you how Zavers by Google can help. To get started, please contact our sales team at g.co/contact-zavers or visit our website at google.com/zavers.

Posted by Spencer Spinnell, Director, Emerging Platforms, Google Commerce

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