Google rolls out e-commerce tool for businesses

10 Nov 2011

Google has launched a new e-commerce tool for business in time for the lucrative Christmas sales season.

The new e-commerce tool, part of the Getting Business Online campaign, allows business owners to present a small product catalogue within their websites.

At present, a significant number of Irish people are gearing up to buy their Christmas presents online. The only problem is they won’t be buying from Irish retailers because more than 40pc of Irish businesses don’t have a website.

“Millions of people in Ireland shop online, presenting a significant marketplace for Irish SMEs to exploit,” Ronan Harris, Google’s director of Sales, North and Central Europe, pointed out.

If businesses have an existing PayPal merchant account, they will also be able to add specific ‘buy now’ or ‘cart add’ buttons on their websites. Businesses without a PayPal merchant account will be able to list other payment methods they will accept over the phone.

There is also a postal calculator from An Post aimed at helping sellers display pricing for a range of delivery services and destinations.

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com