Google’s New Integration: A Game-Changer for Amazon MCF Retailers
Enhancing Shipping Data and Ad Performance
4 min readHighlights
- Google Merchant Center integrates with Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF).
- Retailers using MCF can now display accurate shipping information on Google Shopping.
- This integration could boost ad clicks and conversions for merchants offering expedited shipping.
Source: Freepik_Free Vector _ Online shopping concept for landing page
In a move that is revolutionary and potentially groundbreaking for the ecommerce space, Google yesterday announced it will begin integrating Amazon’s Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) service with its Merchant Center platform. This would clearly make this strategic partnership empower its users with the MCF with a few extra tools for reliable shipping to show out on Google Shopping while ensuring a probable increase in performance as well as possible conversions.
Key Components of the Integration Include:
- Intake Form: In Amazon Seller Central, you will also have an intake form where MCF merchants can link their website and Google Merchant Center ID.
- Shipping Policy: Google Merchant Center has now introduced a new shipping policy called “Amazon MCF”. This means it will directly fill in the shipping information for products fulfilled by MCF.
- Notifications: All Merchant Center will provide notifications to merchants about discrepancies and product eligibility and other types of alerts.
This would potentially give merchants selling expedited shipping the following benefits from Google:
- Higher Click-through Rates. US merchants who embrace free shipping with delivery in 3 days or fewer will register higher click-through rates on Google Shopping ads ranging between 1.5% and 7.6%.
- More conversion, too: The same merchants may also enjoy a conversion boost of up to 7.2%, and between 1.9%.
- Fewer Abandoned Carts: Shipping can be optimized to avoid cart abandonment with clear shipping expectations. This can in return prevent cart abandonment because customers will complete transactions if they know what to expect in terms of delivery time and cost.
How to Implement and Leverage the New Features
Updates on how to implement and use the new feature will reach the Merchant through Merchant Center. In this way, it will ensure a smooth and efficient transition, therefore, allowing retailers to achieve their best from integration.
A Collaboration of Industry Giants
Google Merchant Center and Amazon MCF have now come integrated, marking a strong collaboration between ecommerce giants. While MCF allows Amazon to let its merchants ship Amazon-fulfilled orders beyond its sales channels, the Merchant Center enables retailers to control how their product inventory appears on Google. With that merger of two powerhouses, Google can indeed give retailers a complete and efficient shipping information management solution alongside ad performance optimization.
Future of Ecommerce Integration
This sets the stage for greater interoperability and more cooperation among ecommerce platforms. In the near future, we will see much more partnership as well as innovation that will engage the retailers and consumers alike.
- Introduction Google Merchant Center and Amazon MCF Integration Effects on the E-commerce Landscape
- Integration of Google Merchant Center with Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment is going to change the ecommerce landscape in the following ways.
- The first is streamlined and efficient shipping operations with automated shipping information population for MCF-fulfilled products, saving retailers time and enhancing product accuracy, which can boost customer satisfaction while keeping operational costs low.
This integration might increase the visibility of Google Shopping along with the traffic. Shipping information counts to calculate rankings of search results. Correct and updated shipping information enhances the possibilities for higher ranking and more hits on shops due to search occurrences by retailers.
The integration might boost the sales and conversion of the retailers. In fact, research indicates that offering expedited shipping influences retail conversion rates significantly. Providing clear and accurate shipping information can give more confidence to customers in their purchasing decisions and would therefore increase conversion rates in retail.
Integration, in this sense, will also help retailers compete better with the larger online players. The major cause of the plight of smaller retailers is the ability of most of the larger retailers to offer faster and more reliable shipping. This makes it easier for the larger retailers to dominate the market, and MCF with Google Merchant Center power can level that playing field to make competition easier.
However, the integration itself is not a walkover process. The retailers have to ensure that their MCF accounts are set up correctly, ensuring they provide correct shipping details. Likewise, they need to monitor their performance on Google Shopping and make appropriate adjustments when necessary.
Integration of Google Merchant Center and Amazon MCF is the Best Development for Ecommerce Retailers
As a generalization, integration of Google Merchant Center with Amazon MCF is good for ecommerce retailers. This is because integration equips retailers with tools and resources that help in the development of their shipping operations. With such, they increase their visibility on Google Shopping, and retailers experience business growth in the competitive world of online retail.
Other Considerations
- Cost: Although the integration is free of cost, retailers are liable to pay extra charges for MCF services, like storage and fulfillment fees.
- Eligibility: The integration is not available for everyone as retailers need to meet certain eligibility, such as having a professional seller account on Amazon.
- Competition: The integration could increase competition between the retailers because with more retailers getting the integration done, more and more will be offering to send it out quickly.
- Data Privacy: The integration must also keep in mind the data privacy implications for the retailer. There must be total protection of customers’ data and should not violate any of the relevant data privacy laws.
Conclusion
Google Merchant Center and Amazon MCF integration is a kind of phenomenon that can be beneficial to ecommerce retailers in many ways. The retailer can integrate and thus enhance shipping operations, increase visibility, improve sales, and level the playing field with bigger retailers to grow business and thrive in the very competitive online retail world. Nonetheless, they need to be alert to the challenges and considerations of the integration and take proper measures to overcome them.
Sources:
- https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-merchant-center-to-integrate-amazon-for-shipping-data/529559/
- https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/15410970?hl=en
- https://ppc.land/google-merchant-center-announces-integration-with-amazon-mcf-for-retailers/
- https://twitter.com/sejournal/status/1843965884387180813