Posted:
(cross-posted on the Google Commerce Blog)

Last week, we hosted a live webinar for Google Product Search merchants, ‘Keeping your product data fresh using Google’s Content API for Shopping.’ The recorded webinar is now available on YouTube. If you’re looking for a more scalable and flexible way to update your product data on Google Product Search, we encourage you to take a look to learn more about the following topics:
  • The Content API for Shopping
  • Google Shopping data freshness policy
  • Using Feeds vs. using the API
  • Available support for the API
  • Implementing and using the Content API for Shopping

Posted by Danny Hermes, Developer Programs Engineer, Google Commerce Team
2 comments | Labels: , ,

Posted:
Admit it – you get caught up, at least a bit, in the rush to discover what each holiday season’s hottest gifts will be before the crowds do. Will it be UGGs, Elmo, and iPads again? Or is a little-known brand going to be the most coveted item this year?

For retailers hoping to rack up sales and for shoppers who want to pile up the must-have items, Google Insights for Search is the next best thing to a crystal ball. Today we’re giving you a head start on uncovering trends in Apparel. We’ll also be posting about other top category trends in the weeks ahead, so stay tuned.

Looking for the perfect Winter look? Maybe just the right gift? Search trends indicate that Penguin sweaters and Versace for H&M are sure to be a hit.


Or maybe there’s an athlete on your list who’s asked for cold weather workout gear. Not surprisingly, as temperatures drop, searches for warm apparel staples like [sweaters], [coats], and [jackets] are on the rise.


And for your athletes, searches around [running tights] and [waterproof jackets] are gathering steam. Insights’ top and rising searches also often call out brands that are trending above the pack.


Lean on Insights for Search to help you pick trends and winners this year, then seal the deal with Google Product Search. Search the products you want, do a little price comparing, and for instant gratification, see which local stores have your look in stock.

Happy shopping!

Posted by Benson Dastrup, The Google Retail Team
No comments | Labels: , , , , ,

Posted:
[cross-posted on the Google Commerce Blog]

Shortly after joining Google from Like.com, my team and I developed and launched Boutiques -- a fashion website offering women new ways to browse and shop for apparel. Today, we’re taking the features that shoppers absolutely love from Boutiques and incorporating them into Google Product Search -- so millions of people can use them every day. This is the first in a series of improvements we’re making to Google Product Search leveraging the computer vision and machine learning technology developed by the team we affectionately call our fashion and computer nerds. We hope you’ll enjoy what’s new today, and what’s around the corner for the upcoming holiday season. A 

Redesigned Homepage The first thing you’ll probably notice is our new homepage. This new look and feel is designed to inspire and facilitate easy, enjoyable browsing and shopping.



Better Ways to Shop, Starting with Dresses
By increasing the size of each image, simplifying much of the text around the images, and lightening the text color, we’ve emphasized the more visual aspects of apparel shopping. We’ve also integrated the most popular search refinements from Boutiques. Using the same innovative machine learning and computer vision technologies we developed for Boutiques, you can now browse dress collections that match the color, silhouette and genre you desire.



Explore visually similar styles
And because we think browsing and discovering new items is what makes shopping fun, we’ve added a feature to Product Search that makes it easy to do just that. Let’s say a particular dress catches your eye. Now, you can explore similar styles and discover new designers by clicking on that dress and viewing dozens of visually similar ones. We think you’ll find this fun --and addictive!-- and we hope it brings that element of surprise and discovery we all love with brick-and-mortar shopping to the online shopping experience.



An update on Boutiques.com and related properties
As we continue to integrate technology and lessons learned from Boutiques.com into Google Product Search, we will be redirecting shoppers from Boutiques.com to Google Product Search. The former Like.com team, alongside the Google Product Search team, will drive new ideas for apparel shopping through one unified product. The team is excited to be a part of the shopping experience on Google and have our work displayed to millions of users every day.  

If you’re a user of Boutiques.com and other Like.com websites, you’ll soon receive an email with instructions for saving your data before those websites are transitioned on October 14. If you have any questions please email us at boutiques-feedback@google.com. 

Like other teams that have joined Google, we’re thrilled with the opportunity to showcase our experience and technology to all of Google’s shoppers.

Posted by Burak Gokturk, Like.com Co-Founder and member of the Google Commerce team
4 comments | Labels: , ,

Posted:
If you’re a retailer, you've probably seen the shopping results on Google.com and Google Product Search. These results are generally based on product feeds that retailers submit, for free, to the Google Merchant Center.

There are four key benefits for retailers who upload product feeds:

Free, Qualified Traffic through Google Product Search, a shopping search engine that helps consumers discover product information, compare prices and find a retailer from whom they can make a purchase. This is free traffic to your retail website, which you can only benefit from by submitting a product feed.

Richer AdWords Formats such as product extensions use the product feed to automatically display your products within AdWords ads where relevant.

Improve On-Site Conversion with Google Commerce Search. Commerce Search leverages your product feed and innovations of Google.com to deliver a powerful search and discovery experience on your e-commerce site. Among other things, Google Commerce Search provides an interactive shopping experience - which includes features like automated promotions and instant results - found only on the top retail websites, as well as a powerful merchandising suite that helps you integrate business goals and adapt to market dynamics.

Reach Mobile Shoppers through Google Shopper, our shopping application for Android and iPhone, Shopping for Mobile, our shopping website, and Google Commerce Search on your mobile website. On-the-go shoppers will be able to discover goods you submit in your product feed.

To take advantage of the unique features associated with the merchant feed, first submit your product data feed at the Google Merchant Center and then explore the hyperlinks listed above.

Posted by Kirill Kounik, Google Commerce Team
2 comments | Labels: , , , , , ,

Posted:
The retail landscape is evolving as new technologies provide additional ways to discover and purchase products. Mobile devices, for example, are fundamentally changing how consumers shop by facilitating product discovery, the reading of reviews, and more – all on the fly. Online shopping is also expanding as a result of technologies like Google Product Search and the Shopper mobile app, two of many new channels which drive traffic to both desktop and mobile sites.

In a March 2011 research study conducted by ROI Research, 49% of mobile searchers made a mobile purchase in the past six months, with 82% of respondents using mobile search to find an online retailer. Understandably, more and more retailers are not only improving their desktop site, but also creating distinct mobile experiences.

Join us tomorrow for a special look at innovations in e-commerce like the ones mentioned above. We’ll share our observations and a few ways you can increase conversion by bringing the latest in online retailing to your site.

When: Thursday, May 5, 2011 at 11:00 AM PT/2:00PM ET
Who: Nitin Mangtani, Group Product Manager for Google Commerce
Nancy Miller, VP of Internet and Development for Woodcraft Supply
Register now

We hope you'll join us, and also check out some of the other retail events we’re hosting in Santa Monica and New York.

Posted by Guillaume De Zwirek, Google Commerce Team
1 comment | Labels: , , , , , ,