Google Trusted Stores Program: Beginning of a New Buying Experience

Today the meaning of shopping is slowly changing into online shopping. More people began to use web to shop for their variety of items, from clothing’s to electronics devices and to booking for holidays to airplane tickets everything is moving online.  The main reason for this change is people are busy; they want everything from anywhere and anytime. Online shopping gives them this freedom and power. Digital marketing agencies which are working online shopping sites or eCommerce are now little bit happy time after coming this big gift by Google.

But along with these benefits, online shopping also comes with some cons, like you cannot check the item personally to see if it’s described by the seller. And sometimes there are some trust factors which holds a customer to buy something online. In order to resolve this issue Google came into the platform to help the online shopping stores and created Google Trusted Stores program.

In the early June, Google opened these trusted stores for all U.S. merchants. According to this program it not just provides Google’s creditability and reputation to the qualifying online retailers, but it majorly aims to help shoppers to feel more comfortable about the online purchasing.

Retailers that qualify this program can feature Google Trusted Store Badge on their sites which explains the “grades” based on their reliability of on-time shipping, effectiveness of the company and other features which helps in resolving all other customer service issues.

How an online retailer can apply for Google Trusted Store program?

(This program is only available for U.S. retailers; retailers based outside U.S. can’t apply yet)

You have to follow:

1.Sign up with Google and provide required business information.
2. Sign program and shipping agreements.
3.Set up shipping and cancellation data feeds.
4. Add JavaScript code to their eCommerce site.

Then, Google will monitor your business for about a month or something and, if shipping and other customer service metrics meet Google’s standards, the online store will get the certification.

Benefits:

1. Benefits for merchants:

1. Badges builds trust in the customers mind and they shop freely.
2. Google claims that the sales increased to 9%.

2. Benefits for customers

Eligible purchase protection issues include the following:

1. You fail to receive the correct item.
2. The item is not in the promised condition.
3. You are billed an incorrect amount.
4.The item is not shipped in a timely manner.
5. The store does not honor their return policies.

Limitations to purchase protection include the following:

1.The merchant’s return policy and terms still apply.
2. Purchase protection is not a product warranty.
3. Purchase protection does not apply to lost or stolen items. Google does not evaluate or endorse specific products sold by stores in the program.
4. Purchase protection is limited to the item you purchased; it does not apply for identity theft or credit card theft.

Is it necessary to become a Google Trusted Store? 

It completely depends on your choice. Though Google claims that, during the last months of testing on different domains, the presence of the Trusted Stores badge improved their sales but at the end, this is something nobody can force you to implement on your company.

Still, it is just the beginning; eventually this program could gain enough attention to become necessary for successful ecommerce strategies. Still more established and trusted brands will probably afford to wait and see how the program evolves before deciding to attain the certification.