Below is a list of 4 new products from google. My goal is to inform and educate grocers on these products and suggest ways to implement these products into their grocery stores.
In Google’s quest to develop the best search engine they recently launched a new addition that factors your friends’ opinions into your search result, the product is called +1. Today Google is launching +1 for individual web pages. Webmasters everywhere will be copying and pasting a snippet of code provided by Google into their websites allowing users to +1 their most treasured webpages.
The way to use Google’s +1 for your grocery store would be to include the snippet of code on your weekly ads, and on other pages that you want your shoppers to promote. It truly is a great way to generate an internet buzz around your store.
How will Chromebooks affect your business? Well, let me start by saying I would strongly recommend getting a Chromebook. They are great for travel, pricing is going to be extremely competitive. As a grocery store owner, I am sure that you are aware that POS software is moving upwards to the cloud. Here at IT Retail, we are getting ready to launch a cloud-based POS Solution that we are anticipating will be of great value to several advanced grocers. What this means to you is that you will be able to check store sales, cashier statistics, product movement, etc., etc, from anywhere in the world with this Chrome book as it is connected to the internet everywhere there is a 3g or 4g signal. The launch date is June 15th so keep an eye out for them.
Groupon, Living Social… You’ve heard of these discount-finding websites in previous posts. With their recent success, Google decided to launch their version of a discount finding site. It is still in beta and there are only a few cities that you can sign up for at present but I do suggest getting in contact with Google offers to use it to drive traffic to your store.
Google Wallet has had a difficult time finding traction as the glitches are still being worked out. The concept is that the entire checkout experience will be sped up by this app that contains your credit card information, and that transfers this information over via the click of a button. I predict shoppers will start to expect Google Wallet compatible grocery POS systems by the start of 2012.
http://youtu.be/gZGoXvzW4WU
All in all, Google has been doing some cool things, and they are a company to keep your eye on. Constantly formulating, experimenting, and releasing new and innovative products it is fun to imagine what they could be coming out with next.