 As noted by Google, “finding the right customers starts with creating a good product data feed”, with, the better the feed, the more accurately Google is then able to connect online shoppers with merchants.
“For most products, the manufacturer will provide a Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) to uniquely and completely identify a product in the global marketplace,” Rob Rekrutiak, Google Shopping product manager, wrote in announcing the changes.“We’ve found that providing GTINs in your product data feed increases the likelihood that your offers are matched to the Google Shopping product catalogue. This helps us surface relevant, accurate results on Google Shopping; in fact, early experiments indicate that offers matched to the catalogue receive up to 40 per cent more user clicks than those that do not.” Further information on Google’s 2015 update to the Google Shopping products feed specification can be found here. “As one of the main building blocks of the GS1 system, the GTIN enables items to be sourced and traded globally in the knowledge that they can be scanned and have data retrieved from them in any application that is GS1 compliant,” Mark Fuller, GS1 Australia chief operating officer, commented in highlighting Google’s recent changes. “If you are a retailer or manufacturer, the GTIN is a vital component of your business in the age of digital disruption.” Google has stated it will disapprove offers that do not meet its new requirement or that are submitted with invalid GTINs. “As the world continues to transition through the digital transformation and the emerging retail reality of the omni-channel shopper, companies are actively undergoing a process of change to embrace the digital future,” Fuller stated. “Amazon and eBay are also requesting sellers to use GTINs in their new listing feeds to enhance the quality of product data to improve online and mobile search results.” |
