3 April 2024 Rita Boscarato
Journal of Experiences
Google Merchant Center Next as a new ally for small businesses looking to grow their online business
Although the online sales sector is constantly evolving, there are still many small entrepreneurs who have not digitized their business with a view to expanding it: even if they consider it an essential and inevitable move, this process brings with it some rather complex procedures. In response to this obstacle, Google brought to life its latest innovation: Merchant Center Next. This new platform promises to transform the way sellers manage their products online, incorporating advanced artificial intelligence technologies both in the Merchant Center itself and in advertising campaigns on Google Ads.
Before examining its new features, it is important to provide a brief overview of the Merchant Center. Launched in 2010, this platform offers merchants the ability to upload, manage, and publish their products on various Google services, including the Shopping section, the Search section, and other distribution channels. However, as anticipated earlier, this tool does not prove to be particularly accessible, as many procedures are complicated to follow for those who do not habitually use digital platforms. To try to solve some of these issues, during Google Marketing Live 2023, the brand new Merchant Center Next was unveiled.
What’s new in Google Merchant Center Next
User interface
One of the innovations of Merchant Center Next concerns the user interface: the goal is to make it as simple and intuitive as possible, as well as to facilitate all the procedures prior to sponsoring one’s products. In fact, the main novelty of the new version of the platform is that it will no longer be necessary to upload a file containing the information of one’s products. It will be enough to provide the url of one’s e-commerce, and the platform will independently identify and catalog the products on the site.
Product Studio
Another aspect that discourages small business owners from promoting their products online concerns their product presentation images. Creating eye-catching and unique photographs that help attract users’ attention takes a lot of time and resources. Merchant Center Next has thought of this as well, introducing the “Product Studio” tool.
Through this tool, it will be possible to create new images through generative AI, based on the changing needs of marketing campaigns (seasonal, promotion-based, or simply experimental). For example, during the holiday season, a company might request the generation of a themed background on certain products so as to further promote them as gift ideas.
At the same time, it will be easier to remove the background of a product. Often having many elements in an image can distract online users’ attention. Product Studio makes quick removal of a complex background available to companies that want a normal white background for a product image.
Finally, you can quickly improve the quality of small or low-resolution images, avoiding re-photographing the product. This function allows you to improve the clarity and detail of images, resulting in a better visual representation.
Analyzing and listening to online users
The last revolutionary aspect of Merchant Center Next involves analyzing large volumes of data to provide valuable predictive information to merchants. Using advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms, the platform can anticipate market trends and predict future performance of products and advertising campaigns. This enables marketers to proactively adapt their marketing and sales strategies to maximize profits and seize emerging opportunities.
By constantly analyzing data and online user interactions, merchants can identify any areas of weakness and opportunities for improvement in their sales and marketing processes, making adjustments and optimizations to ensure an ever-improving user experience over time.
In conclusion, the new features introduced by Google Merchant Center Next in 2024 mark a significant advance in the field of online sales. Through an improved user interface and consistent simplification of preliminary operations, it offers even small merchants the opportunity to make their business known by promoting products online.
Furthermore, thanks to the integration of the most modern machine learning and artificial intelligence systems, it will be possible to have access to a wide range of data that allow the observation of online user behavior and listening to their needs in order to create experiences engaging and personalized.