In a bid to further simplify and improve the online checkout experience brands are able to offer clients, Google this week launched Pay with Google, a payment system available on Android devices and on mobile in the Google Chrome browser. Available worldwide, with 15 retailers at launch and more coming soon including Airbnb and Deliveroo, Pay with Google brings the quick click and tap payment we are all so familiar with from PayPal, Apple Pay and of course Amazon.
Pay with Google enables consumers to pay with any card they have saved to their
Google account, not just those they use with Android Pay. The payment still
processed by traditional payment providers such as WorldPay, with no additional
fees for the retailer.
Whilst many of the launch partners are in the hospitality and food delivery
sectors where streamlined in-app purchase is critical, Pay with Google will in
the future help enable businesses of all sizes to reduce the friction of the
checkout process – a convenience that has long contributed to Amazon’s success.
For retailers this not only yields an improved consumer experience but also the
prospect of reducing basket abandonment.
And with the ubiquity of Android, and adoption of Chrome, brands could do well
to add Pay with Google to their apps and websites.
The launch raises the question of how we may expect search and retail to
further converge in the future. Back in 2015 Google released ‘buy buttons’ in
the search results, with a
beta trial continuing in 2017 with select retailers to facilitate purchase
directly from search without consumers even reaching a brand or retailer’s
website.
Pay with Google could well pave the way for one-click payment from the search results and other Google properties such as YouTube.
