Google’s digital solutions for MSMEs: Google’s Merchant Center Next, a tool which allows retailers to more easily show their business and products to consumers all across Google, will enable small businesses in India with limited resources to build high-quality product catalogues in an easy and intuitive way, said Shalini Puchalapalli, Managing Director, Google Customer Solutions India at Google for India 2023 event on Thursday.
The Merchant Center Next was introduced at the Google Marketing Live 2023 event in May. “Small businesses have limited resources, and it can be hard for them to build high-quality catalogues which deliver more impressions and better engagement. With Google Merchant Center Next, we will automatically populate a merchant’s feed with information that we can detect from their websites, all while allowing merchants full control of what gets added to their feed. Moreover, it offers valuable insights on top-selling products so that they can always plan ahead,” said Puchalapalli.
Earlier, merchants setting themselves up on Google for the first time had to manually add their products, prices, images, descriptions and other details, Google had said in a Blog in May this year on new tools to help small businesses connect with online shoppers.
Moreover, for merchants with online and local brick-and-mortar stores, Merchant Center Next will show all products in one comprehensive view. Hence, it’s easier to manage online and in-store product inventory together, Google said.
Merchant Center Next has already started rolling out for new users and will be available for everyone globally early next year.
Puchalapalli also highlighted that Google is now enabling nearby physical stores (small businesses) to show up more prominently on search since it is critical for small businesses nearby to show up for shoppers to find them. With this, shoppers can now see neighbourhood businesses that may have the product they are looking for and businesses can surface details on inventory, latest deals and even shipping timelines, she said.
At the Google for India event, Puchalapalli also noted that the company’s ‘Business Messages’ feature will be available by the end of 2023. The solution allows customers to ask questions about the product, let’s say warranty, availability, etc., directly to the merchant from ‘Business Messages’ via Google Search.
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According to Google, Business Messages is essentially an asynchronous messaging service that enables users to engage with brands from a variety of entry points, including Google Search, Maps, Ads, and the brand’s own channels.
Puchalapalli also informed that Google is “reimagining the shopping experience via search to make it more visual. For example, you will see a more visual feed of matching products for let’s say a smartphone. You can explore them or use filters to shortlist products. You can click on the product to see the latest offers, information about the store selling the product and even get price alerts.”
Moreover, through its partner ePay Later, a digital credit platform, Google is enabling a credit line facility for merchants to meet their working capital needs, said Bikram Singh Bedi, Managing Director, Google Cloud, India. The app offers credit up to Rs 25 Lakh at 0 per cent interest for 14-30 days without processing fees.
In addition, Google’s payment app Google Pay will be offering small ticket loans beginning at Rs 15,000 to merchants in collaboration with credit platform DMI Finance. Merchants will be able to repay the loans with options starting at Rs 111.