Google Checkout Update: Burning Rubber but Not Much Movement
A few months have passed and Google is starting to really push their Checkout feature. They are offering $10 off purchases (over $30) bought with Checkout at every retailer that has signed up so far. This is a strong move at the right time; online retailers are looking to get a piece of Holiday sales and offering customers a $10 discount will definitely help get those dollars. Of course, there is a reason Google has to pour money into what is, by some accounts, a stalled venture.
Jeff Molander writes in an article for Seeking Alpha
consider Shopping.com’s bold move into Google’s turf (using both a shop cart and cost-per-acquisition approach). [Shopping.com is owned by eBay (EBAY).] It would appear that Shopping.com smells blood as does eBay who bans the use of Checkout among its merchants.
Bottom line, the slow adoption of Checkout means it’s a great deal for online retailers right now.
With lower transaction costs than credit cards, AdWords discounts, the $10 discount and tighter integration with Google Analytics, Google is making a serious move to become the payment system of choice. What I don’t understand is all the talk about PayPal and their reaction. Sure they’re worried, but more importantly, does anyone think Visa and MasterCard are going to take this lying down? Expect a push by the CC companies to retain online clients.
In related news, Donna Bogatin gives some insight into what Wall Street thinks about Google and its relationship to ecommerce. What they think isn’t incredibly insightful, but it is important nonetheless.
[Piper Jaffray & Co.managing director Safa Rashtchy] told ecommerce firms and multi-channel retailers at the Shop.org conference in New York City yesterday that search engines, and Google.com in particular, are the “new, trusted ecommerce mediums.
I don’t think shopping.com or its ilk would take kindly to singling out Google, but it is interesting to hear Wall Street analysts identifying online search as a “new merchandising medium, the third medium.â€
Google will certainly have an effect on the future of ecommerce, but it is hard to identify what these specific effects will be. Also of note, if the 14-24 age group confuses you, check out Donna’s article on the “Digital Millenials.”
Posted by Chris | October 13, 2006
Google Checkout Rings Up Thousands of New Merchants » eCommerce Cache :: Varien eCommerce Blog :: A blog focused on the design, marketing, and implementation of online commerce October 20th, 2006
[…] I was pretty sure Google Checkout was faltering because of the massive discounts the behemoth was offering, but it seems these promotions have been working because Google says it signed up thousands of merchants in Q3. However, Internet Retailer does say, Google hasn’t released actual numbers of participating merchants or sales volume processed through Google Checkout, but it notes that growth is meeting expectations. “We’re very happy with the adoption and usage numbers,†a spokesman says. […]
Michael Johnson February 3rd, 2008
Your blog has no dates. Are your Google comments months old or years old?