Ware2Go, a UPS-owned company that provides fulfillment on demand through partnership with warehouse owners, through an integration with Google Shopping lets merchants offer free shipping early in the search and discovery process on Google, aimed at increasing conversion.
The service, called Google Free and Fast, allows merchants to dynamically display shipping promises within Google ads, either for free one-day or two-day shipping, based on real-time inventory availability across Ware2Go’s fulfillment network.
These so-called annotations lead consumers directly to the merchant’s page where they can check out. The order is then fulfilled use Ware2Go’s technology, based on inventory availability and closest proximity to the customer.
According to Google Shopping, initial data from the partnership shows merchants displaying the “free and fast” annotation saw a 7% increase in conversions, a 10% increase in conversions per dollar and a 9% overall conversion rate.
Ware2Go says its data platform allows merchants to optimize fulfillment based on inventory placement and availability and demand forecasting in support of their Google Shopping ads.
In a recent Ware2Go survey, 52% of merchants said a fast shipping promise is the most effective conversion optimization tactic, with nearly 65% reporting an increase of up to 25% in conversion rates when one- or two-day delivery was offered. Many other studies have confirmed this same kind of conversion lift dynamic as consumers find the offers attractive, even though fulfillment costs are often baked into the checkout price.
“Ware2Go is committed to building relationships with partners that enable merchants to exceed customer expectations across commerce,” said Ware2Go CEO Steve Denton in a release. “By pairing the new Google Free and Fast offering with our flexible and scalable fulfillment solution, merchants can grow their market demand faster by positioning their delivery speed as a revenue driver.”
As so much consumer purchasing has shifted online since the pandemic descended, it accelerated trends that were already in place. Many retailers with outdated technology have had to quickly upgrade supply chain and inventory management systems, among other things, in order to take advantage and not get swamped.
“A lot of our customers who relied on traditional sales channels struggled early on because they didn’t have fully optimized digital channels,” Denton said in a recent blog post. “Those that did … were able to make that shift quicker.”
Like other players such as Flexe, Darkstore and Flowspace, Ware2Go offers temporary warehouse-on-demand services that offer more flexibility and faster standup for retail and ecommerce companies than longer-term facility leases.
Google has been busy on the ecommerce front lately. In late July it said it was dropping commission fees for sellers who use its Buy on Google checkout service, while making its pilot-tested product recommendation engine publicly available to let sellers display more personalized offers.
In addition to eliminating the commission fees for sellers, Google has opened up its Google Shopping platform to third-party providers, starting with PayPal and Shopify. Google is banking on these moves drawing sellers to its platform from Amazon, eBay and newer platform entrant Facebook, which is coming on strong as well.