Google pushing forward with interests in mobile commerce
Google muscled its way into mobile commerce only a short while ago, but the company is already working to reform its position in this competitive sector. In 2011, Google launched its Wallet platform, which allows users to make mobile payments. The Wallet was meant to be the company’s flagship in the field of mobile commerce, but received scathing reviews and suffered from technological problems. Google has been working to improve the platform ever since and believes that the Wallet is not capable of offering high quality mobile commerce services.
Checkout service to be shut down in six months
Google is so certain that the Wallet platform is ready for the limelight that the company has announced the closure of its Checkout service. Google Checkout had been used in the past to help facilitate digital payments for online merchants. The service was moderately popular, but was unable to attract the same kind of support that PayPal’s own services had attracted over the years. In six months, Google’s Checkout service will be shut down, replaced entirely by the Wallet.
Play developers to transition to Wallet Merchant Center
The transition will not only affect online merchants as many game developers also rely on the current Checkout system. Over the coming weeks, Google will be transitioning its Play developers to the Wallet Merchant Center, which will allow them to collect payments from consumers. Google believes that this will be a more intuitive system for the mobile games sector as the system itself is designed with mobile technology in mind.
Google Wallet continues to attract attention
Google aims to create a unified approach to the mobile commerce sector. While the Wallet platform received harsh criticism when it was initially launched, it has managed to attract a rather strong following. Consumers have praised the platform for the convenience it brings to the shopping experience.
Mobile commerce convenience remains most attractive feature among consumers
Just two years ago, there had been a significant amount of hype surrounding Google’s efforts in the mobile commerce sector. The company had introduced its Wallet application, which aimed to make mobile payments somewhat common among consumers and the company had made several moves in its various business sectors to make itself more accommodating to mobile commerce. While some of these initiatives have been less successful than the company had anticipated, Google remains invested in the mobile commerce sector and continues to introduce new services therein.
Wallet receives some criticism for lack of convenience
Part of the allure of mobile commerce lies in the convenience it offers to people. Consumers have praised mobile commerce platforms for their ability to make shopping and paying for products very easy and straightforward. In the past, platforms that did not offer consumers an adequate level of convenience received harsh criticism and, in some cases, ended up failing in their given market. Google’s own mobile commerce platform has received such criticism, which has encouraged the company to take measures to make the Wallet more attractive to consumers.
New feature allows for quick mobile payments
Google has announced a new update for its Wallet platform that will allow users to purchase products and applications in as little as two clicks. This is accomplished through the new Instant Buy API that has been introduced to the Google Wallet. This API allows app developers and merchants to offer instant but services, essentially allowing consumers to conduct a mobile transaction in a very simple manner.
New feature may encourage consumers to use Wallet platform
Google believes that the new capabilities of the Wallet will help consumers become more comfortable with the concept of mobile commerce. Many consumers have criticized the Wallet platform in the past because it did not offer an enjoyable experience, a problem that Google expects will be put to rest with the application’s new checkout feature. So far, Rue La La and Expedia are among the companies testing out this new quick checkout feature.
