Google testing ‘curbside pickup’ badge for local shopping ads

San Francisco, May 11 (IANS) As online shopping grows in Covid-19 times, Google on Monday launched a "curbside pickup" badge for local shopping ads to help customers find products locally and avoid delays in shipping.

According to Google, searches for "in-stock" grew by 70% during late March-early April across the globe.

To help customers find out where they can shop safely, Google is giving retailers a new option.

"We're here to help you connect local shoppers with the products they need quickly, and promote your safer fulfillment options, like in-store and curbside pickup," the company said in a statement.

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Using local inventory ads, retailers can show users that the products they are searching for are available for nearby store pickup.

"Now, you can indicate if you offer curbside pickup, right in your local inventory ads," said Darshan Kantak, Vice President, Product Management.

This feature is available in the countries where local inventory ads have launched: Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and the US.

The curbside pickup badge can show on products available for store pickup.

The local inventory ads curbside pickup badge is currently in beta and available to advertisers who have completed the onboarding for store pickup.

"If you aren't running local inventory ads, you can still let customers know whether your store offers pickup, delivery, or curbside pickup," said Google.

Using Google My Business, people can add or edit attributes to their Business Profile that appear on Search and Maps. This feature is available globally.