Hot off the press from last week’s developer’s conference, Google finally confirmed their plans to introduce the forthcoming ‘Buy Now’ button which certainly sparked the key talking point amongst major online retailers.
The announcement was seen as a move made by Google to try and tackle Amazon who is still considered to be the biggest and most significant competition for users who will use the popular website to begin their search through to buying online products.
As a Cheshire web-design agency, we know only too well how performance helps any website grow within search engine results so will take a closer look at not only what the news of the ‘Buy Now’ button means to you, both how it will also impact Google directly and the competition around them.
Introducing the ‘Buy Now’ button
Although statistics provided by ‘Retail Search’ have proven an online purchasing growth of 15.8% in the UK and 13.8% in the USA compared to last year, 9 out of 10 purchases are still made offline.
To quote chief business officer of Google Omid Kordestani, he said Google wanted to reduce “friction” for users so buying things online are much more smoothly in an attempt to increase online purchasing. He also added that the number of location based searched to help users find local products had doubled in the past year.
The impending “Buy Now” button will be added to shopping ads on both mobile and desktop search results that appear alongside paid product listing search results. As part of the change, products sold from the retailers will need to pass on a strict set of data criteria such as product listings, colours, prices and stock status to Google so potential customers can efficiently buy the product through a Google transaction without needing to visit the retailer website.
How will Google benefit from the change?
With search engine algorithms now looking to favour mobile optimised sites following the latest update, the ‘Buy Now’ button is seen as the next step as a key revenue earner in the future of the global company.
With Google Buy set to be introduced to mobile devices exclusively, Google will look to charge online retailers a premium to appear in more prominent positions of search engine results following a relevant search query where retailers will look to increase exposure.
Google will also look to benefit from the impending analytical data that online retailers would usually receive. With the possibility of transactions meaning that users may never have to leave Google, Google will now have access to all the data they need.
What impact will this have for online retailers?
- + Improved Conversation Rates
- – Customer Relationships
- – Loss of Data
Improved Conversation Rates
Google have promised improved conversations rates so this must be seen as a plus to major online retailers. By removing the entire sales funnel process altogether; users will be more exposed to impulse purchasing decision making. By removing the opportunity to abandon your shopping cart, Google can act on quick decision making, especially now that users are able to purchase items through online payment systems such as Google Wallet of the Google Play Store.
Customer Relationships
Customer relationships will take a back seat with online retailers if the user doesn’t physically interact with the website. By reducing the customer’s affiliation with the website, they will miss out on opportunities to allow the user to subscribe to the website or recommend similar products.
Google’s search results will also only be able to give basic information about each product which may have a tougher task of influencing impulse purchasing. Without detailed descriptions or reviews, users may still choose to shop through the retailer if they are influenced by reviews.
Loss of Data
Because transactions will now be able to take place through various Google Apps, online retailers will not be able to claim data that they would receive through regular transactions. Website’s would struggle to view data figures to see how suggested products or abandoned shopping carts would represent in the entire process was handled through Google.
Conclusion
The “Buy Now” button appears to be the next natural step in heading towards E-Commerce and mobile-friendly websites. If you’re businesses is considering expanding your online presence, we are a Cheshire web-design agency who are official Google Resellers and have extensive knowledge in Google Adwords & Google Buy.
Simply contact James Cox on 01565 653616 or send us an email at jc@untitledtm.com don’t forget to share and subscribe to our newsletter if you enjoyed what you read.