Direct ‘Buy on Google’ checkout in Shopping, Assistant will soon drop commission fees

To aid COVID-19 response, it’s now free for retailers to list products on Google Shopping, while they now also appear in Search. The company’s next step is to make “Buy on Google” checkout commission-free.

With “Buy on Google,” customers can place orders from participating stores directly on Google.com or through voice via Assistant. Eligible products feature a blue “Add to cart” button with an accompanying shopping cart icon in the four Google colors. It’s used by free listings and in Shopping ads.

Ordering information that’s stored in your Google Account is used to quicken the checkout process. Other benefits include easy returns and guarantees on condition and delivery times.

In the coming months, Google will no longer take a commission fee when this direct checkout experience is used. This is part of “lowering the cost of doing business and making it even easier for retailers of all sizes to sell directly on Google.” A pilot program is starting soon and will later expand to all eligible US sellers. Requirements are detailed here, and a waitlist is available.

Meanwhile, Google is opening its platform to Shopify for inventory, order management, and payment processing, with PayPal also providing the latter service.

So, if a retailer wants to sell directly on Google, they can get started even faster and continue using the tools and services that already work for their business. Or, if they’re new to selling online, they’ll be able to choose from multiple options when they sign up in our Merchant Center.

To make it easier for third-parties to list inventory, Google is adding support for “commonly used product feed formats,” so that merchants do not have to “reformat their data.” 

We’re also adding a new option to let retailers add product information (like images or technical specs) by pulling from our existing database rather than having to upload it themselves.

The last update today is an upcoming “small business” filter in Google Shopping, with Google hoping that these changes help stores that are seeing decreased physical foot traffic. It also helps Google significantly compete with Amazon. Commission-free Buy on Google and other changes are first coming to the US, and international expansion is planned later this year and into 2021.