Today, we take a look at what ecommerce merchants need to know about Google + and Google Product Search, learn more why the EU court says that online auction sites like Ebay can be held liable for trademark infringement, and examine some mobile commerce statistics.
New Merchant Rules For Google Product Search,Google+ For Businesses
Ecommerce merchants and business owners who maintain both online and offline storefronts are always looking for ways to effectively promote and sell their products online. If you have, or are planning to add your ecommerce store products to Google Product Search, Google has some new rules that you need to be aware of.
Merchants are now required to add product availability information to their websites and update it regularly. This includes whether the product is in stock, as well as identifying attributes such as color, size, and category. Retailers are also required to include the gender and age range of the product’s target demographic.
Ecommerce merchants are also required to post pictures of the products that they submit on their own sites, and Google encourages merchants to submit multiple photos of their products from different angles and views. You can go here to learn more.
On a related topic, if you haven’t created a Google+ account to promote your business or brand yet, don’t worry. As reported by multiple sources, Google recently asked businesses to wait, saying that they are working on making Google+ business profiles available later this year and will be deleting “non-user profiles” from Google+.
“The business experience we are creating should far exceed the consumer profile in terms of its usefulness to businesses. We just ask for your patience while we build it,” Christian Oestlian of Google said recently in a Google+ blog post.
E.U. Court Says Ebay, Other Online Auction Sites May Be Held Liable For Trademark Abuse
According to a recent EU court ruling, online marketplace and auction sites in Europe may now be held liable for trademark abuse and infringements if they “actively promote” the sale of counterfeit goods.
This ruling comes after multiple cases brought by cosmetics and beauty products company, L’Oreal, against Ebay, the world’s largest online auction site. Ebay, says L’Oreal, is liable for sales of counterfeit goods that took place on the auction site.
Counterfeit, in this sense, applies to not only unauthorized products, but “parallel imports,” i.e. branded products that are not intended to be sold in the European market.
Ebay and other online auction sites that operate in Europe will now be held liable for trademark infringement if these types of products are offered for sale on their sites.
Go here to learn more about the ruling and its implications for online merchants.
Mobile Commerce Shopping Statistics: Multiple Purchase Rates Continue To Increase
Do you have a smartphone? A mobile commerce site? If not, particularly if you are an ecommerce store owner, you may be missing out on both exclusive sales and many potential customers.
How many potential customers? According to Mobile Commerce Daily, nearly half of all mobile shoppers are also repeat shoppers who make at least more than one purchase via a mobile device per month.
19 percent of the largest group of these consumers surveyed went on to say that they make anywhere from 2 to five purchases per month. 16 percent of those surveyed said that they make more than 10 purchases per month.
“Everyone believes that mobile commerce is becoming more commonplace but what is interesting about these numbers was how many different purchases consumers are making per month as well as from different vendors,” says Jeff Sass, chief evangelist at Myxer, the company responsible for the study.
“Just as we are getting more comfortable using mobile devices for all different parts of our lives, now shopping is becoming a part of this, too,” adds Sass
