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Check off your holiday gift list with Google Shopping
November 21, 2013
Thanksgiving is just a few days away, and if you’re like us, you still have loads of stuff to buy on your expanding holiday gift list. If you can’t imagine braving the crowds to get everything picked and purchased, don’t worry: our elves have made some improvements to
Google Shopping
in time for the holidays.
Find the hottest toys and get inspired with our holiday shortlists
We’ve curated holiday shortlists for top gift categories including
Hot Toys
,
Electronics
,
Google & Android Gadgets
,
Gifts for the Home
,
Gifts for Her
and
Gifts for Him
. For those of you looking for something to delight the kids in your life, here are some of the top trending toy searches on Google Shopping this month:
Rainbow Loom
Minecraft Legos
Monster High Sets
Doc McStuffins Playsets
Nerf Rebelle Heartbreaker Bow Blaster
And for those of us wanting to relive our childhoods, we’re also seeing many nostalgic toys making a comeback this year:
My Little Pony
Barbie Dreamhouse
Furby
Ninja Turtles
Easy-Bake Oven
Browse more quickly and easily
A new
shopping experience
on desktop, tablet and mobile makes it easier than ever to browse and hone in on items you want to buy, whether it’s a
camera
, a
ski jacket
or an
ice cream maker
. Click on a product to preview details like sizes, colors and description, and find out if it’s available at a nearby local store. If you see an item that’s almost perfect but not quite, click to view “visually similar” items.
Make your shortlist and check it twice
Shortlists help you keep track of products that catch your eye, compare them at a glance, and share ideas with friends and family. Your shortlist now also stays with you at the top of each page while you browse Google Shopping, so you can keep track of items as you go.
Check out the product from all angles
Sometimes it’s hard to imagine what an item actually looks like from the online picture. Now, for many items on Google Shopping, you can see a 360° view of the products. These interactive images bring you the in-store feeling of holding and touching a product.
Once you’ve got something for everyone on your shopping list, we encourage you to buy something for yourself. You’ve earned it.
Posted by Karen Corby, Senior Product Manager, Google Shopping
Thanksgiving gone Google
November 19, 2012
Thanksgiving is about sharing,
giving thanks
and connecting with family and friends. Yet, all too often we get caught up in the holiday rat race—the mad dash to the airport, the supermarket, the mall—and forget to take time out to enjoy the holiday.
To kick off the holidays this year, we wanted to crank up the fun and tone down the stress. So we did a little planning for you and created a
one-stop-Google-shop
to get you through the week.
Cooking
With tools like
recipe search
and YouTube
cooking videos
that show you the right (and wrong) ways to carve a deep-fried turkey, Google can help you master your Thanksgiving meal with lots of laughs along the way. You can also join members of the Google+ cooking community for cooking lessons over live hangouts. Learn how to make new dishes like
pumpkin brulee
for the sweet tooths at the table or mix things up this year with a
vegan-friendly feast
.
Connecting
Though we can’t control the skies and guarantee a turbulence-free flight home, we can help minimize the time you spend waiting around, with
real-time flight updates
. Download the
Google Search App
to get flight updates on the go. And don’t forget to download
TV shows
,
music
and more from Google Play to stay entertained on board.
Of course, for those of you who couldn’t make it home this year, you can still get everyone together with Google+ Hangouts. Try
scheduling a hangout
to video chat with up to nine people you’d otherwise miss this holiday.
Sports
Whether you’re rooting for the
Cowboys
or the
Jets
,
Texans
or the
Patriots
, we can help you stay on top of all the scores and stats. If you’re on the run, ask for real time scores or game details using
Voice Search
on the
Google Search App
.
Shopping
This year Black Friday starts on Thursday, with Wal-Mart, Target and Toys R Us all kicking off sales on Thanksgiving night. To help you get a head start on the deal-seekers, try our new
shortlists
, a super-simple alternative to sharing lists of links or bookmarks, as well as 360-degree imagery for many of
the season’s hottest toys on Google Shopping
. For those of you brave enough to face the masses at the store, use
indoor Google Maps
to get in and get out of the mall fast.
By putting all your favorite Google features in one place, we hope we can help make things just a little bit easier this Thanksgiving—giving you more time to make memories with those who matter most and enjoy every last bite of that much deserved pumpkin pie. Visit our
Thanksgiving hub
to get started.
Posted by Carolyn Witte, Search Marketing Team
Deck the halls with tools for shopping
November 13, 2012
I love shopping for gifts for my family and friends, but it’s not always easy. Fortunately, the Google Shopping team has built several new tools to help you (and me!) get an early and stress-free start on holiday shopping.
Explore products in 360-degree detail on Google Shopping
Having trouble imagining what a toy actually looks like from the online picture? Now, when searching for a subset of toys on Google Shopping, you can see 360-degree photos of the products. These interactive images bring the in-store feeling of holding and touching a product to your online browsing.
Look for the “3D” swivel icon on the product image to see a toy in 360-degree view, on HTML5 enabled browsers. We’ve also put together a Holiday Toy Collection featuring this enhanced imagery—explore the collection
on this site
. 360-degree imagery is coming for other types of products soon.
If you’re a retailer or manufacturer interested in displaying these rich images of your products on Google Shopping, please fill out
this form
.
Use Shortlists to stay organized and collaborate with friends
New in Google Shopping,
Shortlists
make it easier to research products and plan purchases with friends and family. Instead of using bookmarked websites and docs containing long lists of URLs, or back-and-forth emails with friends, you can now consolidate all your shopping research in one place. With Shortlists, you can easily:
Keep track of products you like from Google Shopping and across the web
View product photos, prices and specs side by side
Share your Shortlist with friends, who can add their own ideas
Create a Shortlist by visiting
google.com/shopping/shortlists
or clicking the “Add to Shortlist” button as you browse products on Google Shopping.
Discover great deals and store promotions on Google Shopping
To help you make the most of your holiday budget, Google Shopping now shows discounts or promotions on the products you're viewing. If discounts or promotions are available, you can click on the link and visit the retailer’s site to redeem the offer.
That’s not all...a few more new Google Shopping features
Here are a few of the other tools we’ve created to make your holiday shopping a little easier:
Not sure you’ve found the perfect gift? Read
reviews
from people you know and write your own product reviews on Google Shopping.
Found an item that’s
almost
perfect but not quite? Now you can view
“visually similar” results
for even more types of products and categories, including
jewelry
,
coats
,
handbags
and more.
Buying an important gift? Look for the
Google Trusted Store logo
as you shop. It indicates a store ships quickly and delivers excellent customer service.
Shopping on the go? Browse for gift ideas, find local sales and research products with the new and improved
Google Shopper 3.0
, currently available for
Android
.
Still need some inspiration? Browse
holiday catalogs
from the top retailers directly on Google Shopping.
Happy holiday shopping!
Posted by Vineet Buch, Group Product Manager, Google Shopping
Connecting shoppers and great stores online
June 7, 2012
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.
Five tips for stress-free holiday shopping
November 28, 2011
Today, on Cyber Monday—the biggest online shopping day of the year—digi-savvy shoppers will take to the web to get ahead on their holiday shopping. You’ve managed to avoid the Black Friday crowds, but are your online shopping skills up to snuff? Just in the nick of time, here are five tips on how to use Google tools to save time and money this holiday shopping season.
Tip #1. Avoid the lines and parking nightmares—shop from your couch with Google Catalogs
Today we’re announcing a version of
Google Catalogs
for Android tablets, available for free in
Android Market
. Now shoppers can browse Google Catalogs on both iOS and Android tablets. With over 125 of your favorite brands and 400 issues across a myriad of categories, Google Catalogs puts all your favorite print catalogs right at your fingertips. You’ll find pages of gift and decorating ideas and get a head start on your holiday shopping list.
Browse Pottery Barn’s Christmas 2011 catalog on Google Catalogs - now available for Android tablets.
Tip #2. Let Google Product Search do your research for you
With so many brands, models and features to choose from, sometimes finding the perfect gift—especially when it comes to electronics and gadgets—can be overwhelming.
Google Product Search
gives you detailed product information, reviews and price comparisons for all the gifts on your list.
We recently launched a new comparison feature for electronics that lets you quickly see how a particular product stacks up against other similar models and brands. For example, on the
Nikon D3100
product page, you can now see—at a glance—feature comparisons between the D3100 and other Nikon models as well as cameras from other brands. Read more about other recent Product Search updates on the
Google Commerce blog
.
A quick comparison shows the differences in resolution and other camera features.
Tip #3. Bring Google Shopper along as your mobile shopping assistant
Have you ever found yourself standing in a store, trying to decide between, say, two blenders, and wishing you could consult an expert?
Google Shopper
can help. Wherever you are, this free mobile app for Android and iPhone lets you scan a barcode or search by voice or text to get detailed product information, read reviews and compare prices online and at local stores. You can also use Google Shopper to see if a product is in stock nearby.
Research, share and find products near you with Google Shopper.
Tip #4. Take advantage of holiday savings with Google Offers
Before you hit main street for a shopping extravaganza, check out
Google Offers
for great deals on local places to eat, shop and play. Google Offers has teamed up with a number of great retailers this holiday season, making it easy to save while you shop. You can also find and buy great deals from Google Offers with the
free Android app
.
Tip #5. Simplify your online and offline shopping experience with Google Wallet
Save time and money by shopping with
Google Wallet
— a smart, virtual wallet that stores your payment cards, offers and more on your phone and online. When you shop with merchants that accept
Google Wallet online
just use your Google Wallet username and password to complete your purchase—there’s no need to pull out your credit card or enter your shipping address with every transaction. If you’re at the register at stores like
American Eagle
,
Macy’s
,
Gap, Inc
or any of our other
merchant partners
, take a minute to try the
Google Wallet
app, available on Nexus S 4G for Sprint, to tap, pay and save.
I hope these tips and Google tools help to make your shopping experience a little easier (and fun!) this Cyber Monday, and throughout the holiday season.
Posted by Stephanie Tilenius, Vice President of Commerce
(Cross-posted on the
Commerce blog
)
More local deals, personalized to your interests
October 27, 2011
There’s a universe of amazing daily deals out there, but it's hard to find them all in one place—and even harder to discover the ones that really matter to you.
We’re making improvements to
Google Offers
that help address this challenge. First, we’re delivering more amazing deals from a bunch of new categories including outdoor adventure sports, luxury experiences, family-friendly events, classes and more. We’re also introducing a personalization quiz to help you find just the deal you want, all in one place.
Google Offers subscribers in the San Francisco Bay Area will have access to these new deals, and the quiz is now available in all cities. We'll gradually roll out an expanded offers inventory to new cities in the months to come.
To make all this happen, we’ve partnered with the best deal providers in the industry including
Dealfind
,
DoodleDeals
,
Gilt City
,
GolfNow
,
HomeRun
,
Juice in the City
,
kgbdeals
,
Mamapedia
,
Plum District
,
PopSugar Shop
,
ReachDeals
,
Active.com Schwaggle
,
TIPPR
and
zozi
. Now, with one account you can easily purchase, manage and redeem all your offers in one place.
Visit
Google Offers
today
to purchase this great deal from the leading luxury experience site Gilt City
Our new personalization quiz is a first step towards bringing you more relevant deals. You can tell us what categories you’re interested in and where you hang out so we can send you just the tailored offers that match your interests—all in one email. If you’re not the outdoorsy type or interested in cosmetic treatments, then we won’t send you deals for zipline adventures and laser hair removal. Don’t worry, if your interests change you can always update your preferences.
You can select what categories of deals you’d like to receive with the personalization quiz
You can subscribe to receive deals that match your interests and learn more about Google Offers at
google.com/offers
. If you’re a deal provider interested in partnering with Google Offers, please submit your application
using this form
.
Finally, thanks to The Dealmap team that recently joined Google. They definitely helped on this one and we’re looking forward to working with them to develop many new ideas in the months and years to come.
Posted by Nitin Mangtani, Group Product Manager, Google Offers
(Cross-posted on the
Commerce Blog
)
More Google Wallet merchants are live. Now you can pay AND save in a single tap.
October 17, 2011
We’re hearing from people at check-out counters throughout the country that paying with your phone is a little like magic. Just look at the ecstatic reaction on the faces of our friends who made their first Google Wallet purchases last Thursday.
Today, our partners American Eagle Outfitters, The Container Store, Foot Locker, Guess, Jamba Juice, Macy’s, OfficeMax and Toys“R”Us are rolling out an even better Google Wallet experience. For the first time ever in the U.S., at
these select stores
, you can not only pay but also redeem coupons and/or earn rewards points—all with a single tap of your phone. This is what we call the Google Wallet SingleTap experience.
With Google Wallet in hand, you can walk into a Jamba Juice,
American Eagle Outfitters
or any other partner store. Once you’ve ordered that Razzmatazz smoothie or found the right color Slim Jean, head straight to the cashier and tap your phone to pay and save—that’s it. You don’t have to shuffle around to find the right coupon to scan or rewards card to stamp because it all happens in the blink of an eye.
The Offers tab in Google Wallet has been updated to include a new "Featured Offers" section with discounts that are exclusive to Google Wallet. Today, these include 15% off at American Eagle Outfitters, 10% off at The Container Store, 15% off at Macy’s and an all-fruit smoothie for $2 at Jamba Juice. There are many more Google Wallet exclusive discounts to come, and you can save your favorites in Google Wallet so they’ll be automatically applied to your bill when you check out.
Organizing loyalty cards in your wallet is getting easier too. Today, Foot Locker, Guess, OfficeMax and American Eagle Outfitters are providing loyalty cards for Google Wallet so you can rack up reward points automatically as you shop. More of these are on the way.
One more thing—in response to user feedback, we’ve improved transaction details for the Google Prepaid Card with real-time transaction information including merchant name, location, dollar value and time of each transaction. Here’s what it looks like:
Finally, a special thanks to Chevron, D’Agostino, Faber News Now, Gristedes Supermarkets and Pinkberry who are now also working to equip their stores to accept Google Wallet.
It’s still early days for Google Wallet, but this is an important step in expanding the ecosystem of participating merchants to make shopping faster and easier in more places. If you’re a merchant and want to work with us to make shopping easier for your customers and connect with them in new ways, please
sign up
on the Google Wallet site. And if you’re a shopper and want to purchase a Nexus S 4G phone from Sprint with Google Wallet, visit
this page
.
(Cross-posted on the
Commerce blog
)
Posted by Spencer Spinnell, Director, Emerging Markets
Building an amazing mobile shopping experience with Google Commerce Search
October 12, 2011
Mobile usage in retail is on the rise—every year we see an
increasing number of shopping queries
originate from mobile phones. As mobile continues to proliferate, it’s also fundamentally changing the way people shop. Mobile and shopping are made for each other.
Knowing this, we’re sharing a secret with you: it’s not too late to get your e-commerce site ready for the mobile surge this holiday shopping season. In fact, our newest customer, Timberland, just went live with their mobile-optimized website powered by
Google Commerce Search
in a matter of days.
Chris Hardisty, director of Timberland Global E-Commerce, told us: “Our first priority in developing our mobile website was making sure customers had the best experience possible. 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.”
Today we’re growing the Google Commerce Search family by opening up our new
Google Commerce Search Reseller Program
, and welcoming Branding Brand and Perficient as our inaugural resellers. We wanted to make it easier for retailers to adopt Google Commerce Search to help them achieve amazing results and meet their customers’ needs. Through this new program, resellers can work with us to bring the unique capabilities of Google Commerce Search to their retail clients.
Branding Brand has worked with Timberland and—earlier this year—GNC to turn their mobile visions into reality. Before GNC optimized their mobile website, 10 to 15 percent of their e-commerce traffic came from mobile. Since launching it this summer, there are twice as many visitors using search, and mobile search conversions are up 50 percent.
If you decide that building a mobile application is the best choice for you, it’s still important to build a powerful search experience that will help shoppers find exactly what they’re looking for and engage with your brand. In August,
Westfield launched a mobile shopping app
powered by Google Commerce Search for its 55 malls throughout the U.S. Alan Cohen, Executive Vice President, Management and Marketing for Westfield, told us “Whether the shopper is looking for a very specific product or general holiday gift items, the ability to search retailer products effortlessly is of real benefit.”
Ready to get started with your mobile commerce site? With the big holiday shopping season coming soon, we wanted to share some tips based on our relationships with our merchant customers:
Every millisecond counts:
You can’t deliver an amazing mobile shopping experience to your customers by wasting their time. Shoppers should be able to find the products without unnecessary clicks, typing or other steps.
Engage your audience:
Search has become highly interactive with suggestions and auto-complete, while mobile allows consumers to touch and engage with their devices in new and fun ways. Combining the two allows you to intrigue your potential customers for instant gratification.
Get to the point:
Whether someone’s looking for a high-resolution digital camera or orange khaki trousers, you want to make sure that it’s easy to find—with minimal keystrokes, of course. Space is limited on those 3- or 4-inch screens, so make the most of it by providing relevant search results.
Bridge the gap:
According to our holiday retail user survey
, 65 percent of high-end device users report they have used their device to find a business and then made a purchase at that business in person. In other words: mobile provides a great opportunity to drive foot traffic and bridge online and offline sales. You can delight shoppers by showing them when a product is also available in a store nearby—in-line with the search results.
We built Google Commerce Search just under two years ago to help retailers provide a great shopping experience to their customers, and we’ve had
positive feedback from our retail customers
on how they’ve been able to increase search revenues, site searches and online conversions while increasing customer satisfaction. Get started now with
Google Commerce Search
to build a great mobile experience in time for this year’s shopping season.
Posted by Nitin Mangtani, Group Product Manager, Google Commerce
Launching Google Wallet on Sprint and working with Visa, American Express and Discover
September 19, 2011
In May we announced
Google Wallet
—an app that makes your phone your wallet—with Citi, MasterCard, Sprint and First Data. With Google Wallet, you can tap, pay and save using your phone and
near field communication (NFC)
.
We’ve been testing it extensively, and today we’re releasing the first version of the app to Sprint. That means we’re beginning to roll out Google Wallet to all
Sprint Nexus S 4G
phones through an over-the-air update—just look for the “Wallet” app. Here’s a demo of Google Wallet in action:
Google Wallet enables you to pay with your
Citi MasterCard
credit card and the Google Prepaid Card, which can be funded with any of your existing plastic credit cards. As a thanks to early adopters, we’re adding a $10 free bonus to the Google Prepaid Card if you set it up in Google Wallet before the end of the year.
When we announced Google Wallet, we
pledged a commitment to an open commerce ecosystem
. We appreciate Citi and MasterCard for being our launch partners. And today, Visa, Discover and American Express have made available their NFC specifications that could enable their cards to be added to future versions of Google Wallet.
Our goal is to make it possible for you to add all of your payment cards to Google Wallet, so you can say goodbye to even the biggest traditional wallets. In fact, we’ve got a
video of our first customer
, someone who is ready to replace his famously over-stuffed wallet. We hope Google Wallet gives him “serenity now.”
This is still just the beginning, and while we’re excited about this first step, we look forward to bringing Google Wallet to more phones in the future. You can learn more about Google Wallet at
google.com/wallet
.
Posted by Osama Bedier, Vice President of Payments
Shop your favorite catalogs with Google Catalogs
August 16, 2011
(Cross-posted on the
Commerce
and
Mobile
blogs)
For years, shoppers have enjoyed flipping through glossy print catalogs to be inspired, discover new trends and find great products. Today, mobile technologies can make catalog shopping more engaging, social and creative. With that in mind, we’ve created
Google Catalogs
—a free app for tablet devices that enables you to browse all of your favorite catalogs and interact with new layers of rich-media content.
The Google Catalogs app features digital versions of catalogs across many popular categories, including fashion and apparel, beauty, jewelry, home, kids and gifts. We’ve partnered with a variety of top brands including
Anthropologie
,
Bare Escentuals
,
Bergdorf Goodman
,
Bloomingdale's
,
Crate and Barrel
,
L.L. Bean
,
Lands’ End
,
Macy’s
,
Neiman Marcus
,
Nordstrom
,
Pottery Barn
,
Saks Fifth Avenue
,
Sephora
,
Sundance Catalog
,
Tea Collection
,
Urban Outfitters
and
Williams-Sonoma
, just to name a few.
With Google Catalogs, you can:
Interact:
Zoom in to see products up close, tap on tags to learn more about an item or, in some catalogs, view inspiring photo albums and videos.
Find products in nearby stores:
When an item catches your eye, instantly find it in a store near you or tap “Buy on Website” to visit the merchant online.
Express your creativity:
Create a collage of your favorite catalog pages and products. If you need inspiration, you can check out collages created by others.
Share with friends:
Email a product or collage to all your shopping buddies.
Get instant access to new catalogs:
Add catalogs to your Favorites and get notified each time a new issue arrives.
Discover new products and brands:
Search for products within or across multiple catalogs to find exactly what you’re looking for.
To download the app on your iPad, visit the
App Store
. Visit
www.google.com/catalogs/about/
to learn more, and stay tuned for Google Catalogs for Android tablets, coming soon! If you’re a merchant and would like to participate in Google Catalogs, tell us about your catalog by filling out
this form
on our website.
Happy shopping!
Posted by Kinnari Jhaveri, Strategic Partner Development Manager, Google Commerce Team
Google Offers beta launching in New York City and the Bay Area
July 12, 2011
(Cross-posted on the
Google Commerce Blog
)
Following our first launch of Google Offers beta in
Portland last month
, we’re bringing great deals to the Big Apple and the Bay Area starting today. Subscribers who sign up at
www.google.com/offers
or via the new “Today’s Offer” tab in
Google Shopper 2.0
for Android will start receiving emails with local offers in New York and the San Francisco Bay Area today.
We’re kicking off our bi-coastal rollout with offers from some local favorites:
New Yorkers can mix salty and sweet with Belgian fries and mango chutney at
Pommes Frites
, savor chocolate molten cake with a glass of Malbec at
Ayza Wine and Chocolate Bar
or sample a delectable red velvet mini cupcake at
Tonnie’s Minis
in Harlem.
In the San Francisco Bay Area, fresh donuts and apple fritters are served up 24/7 at
Bob’s Donut & Pastry Shop
on Polk Street. You can also get a taste of Provence at the
Le Bateau Ivre Restaurant
in Berkeley.
We caught up with the small business owners of
New York Dog Spa & Hotel
,
Yoshi’s Jazz Club in Oakland
and
San Francisco
plus
Toy Boat Dessert Cafe
in San Francisco to learn more about them and why they’re running Google Offers in the coming weeks.
Also starting later today, you can buy, view and redeem a Google Offer of the day with
Google Shopper 2.0
for Android. Once you’ve bought or saved an offer, it will appear in the My Offers tab in both the Shopper app and when you visit
www.google.com/offers
. Shopper will also connect you to all kinds of deals that are near you in the Nearby Offers tab, so wherever you are, you can still get great offers from Google even if you haven’t signed up for the daily deals in Portland, New York and the San Francisco Bay Area.
This is all just the beginning. Whether it’s
touring Napa wineries
, grabbing a slice of deep dish pizza in
San Francisco
or
Albany, CA
or catching an
improv show in New York
, stay tuned for deals from the best these areas have to offer.
Next up, we’ll be heading to Austin, Boston, Denver, Seattle and Washington, D.C. Point your browser to
www.google.com/offers
to sign up ahead of time so you don’t miss the sweet deals when we launch in these cities.
Posted by Eric Rosenblum, Product Management Director, Google Offers
From acquisition to in-app payments in less than one year
June 6, 2011
(Cross-posted on the
Commerce Blog
)
This is the latest post in our
series
profiling entrepreneurial Googlers working on products across the company and around the world. In this post, you’ll read why one team decided to sell their company to Google, and how they went from acquisition to product launch in less than a year. - Ed.
The decision to sell your company is one of the hardest an entrepreneur can make, and as the CEO of Jambool, I thought long and hard about Google’s offer to acquire us when they came calling in August 2010. Ultimately,
we decided to join Google
for two reasons: one, we shared the goal of offering consumers and merchants unified online payment solutions, and two, we realized that Google was serious about helping us integrate our technology into their digital tools by providing us with infrastructure and other support. Less than a year later, we’ve already taken a major step to help Google deliver on this vision with
Google In-App Payments
, which we announced last month at
Google I/O
. In-App Payments enable web application developers to receive payments for digital and virtual goods without the user ever leaving the application.
Me on stage at Google I/O introducing Google In-App Payments
When we first joined, we expected to spend a lot of time ramping up, meeting people and learning Google’s technology. In reality, our shared vision for the product enabled us to quickly partner with teams across the company to build out our product at scale. As a startup, you spend the majority of your time building teams from scratch to focus on functions like product, sales, marketing, operations and legal. At Jambool, I’d divide my time across operations, raising funds and meeting with outside developers. But at Google, we were able to combine our efforts with teams already in place who could manage those areas while we focused on the core product.
We set an ambitious goal of launching in-app payments nine months later at Google I/O, which motivated us to work quickly. We worked with Google’s established teams—especially Chrome, Android and Google Checkout—to build a simple API and intuitive user interface. During the last few weeks before Google I/O—when we were still working around the clock just to finish the product—we were invited to announce our launch as part of the day two keynote. That gave us even more drive to finish on time. And, thanks to the Chrome team, we found partners like Angry Birds and Graphic.ly, which really demonstrated the product’s usefulness and got developers excited about our broader vision of seamless digital payments.
As a startup, we never imagined we’d stand on a stage like the one at I/O and instantly reach consumers, businesses and developers around the world. In the first 24 hours after the announcement, thousands of developers signed up to use the API. This is something we wouldn’t have been able to do so quickly on our own, and it’s a testament to the big things a startup can accomplish by joining Google. We’re already looking forward to what the next year brings as developers around the world start to build great businesses on our platform.
If you’re interested in integrating your apps into Google’s In-App Payments API, we invite you to
sign up
and
send us feedback
.
Posted by Vikas Gupta, Head of Consumer Payments
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