Google announces the shutdown of Google Checkout

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Google announces the shutdown of Google Checkout

bill

3:58 am on May 21, 2013 (gmt 0)

http://googlecommerce.blogspot.com/2013/05/an-update-to-google-checkout-for.html [googlecommerce.blogspot.com]

An update to Google Checkout for merchants

Today, we're letting web merchants know that in six months, Google Checkout will be retired as we transition to Google Wallet — a platform that enables merchants to meet the demands of a multi-screen world where consumers shop in-stores, at their desks and on their mobile devices.

So is Google admitting defeat to Amazon and PayPal with this move?

Lexur

4:55 am on May 21, 2013 (gmt 0)

Never. Google will never admit a failure; they just change the direction of its successful teams in the direction its smart managers point to the masses.
If later, masses go in other direction is just because they are plain stupid and "we have the Adword's money cow and you don't. Live with that.".

phranque

10:53 am on May 21, 2013 (gmt 0)

is Google admitting defeat(?)

there's still Google Wallet.

jwolthuis

1:41 pm on May 21, 2013 (gmt 0)

Checkout was a solution looking for a problem.

Their selling point to shoppers was, "trust us with your personal information, not some small website".

They tried to hook merchants by offering free credit card processing for a couple of years, but their API was complex and constantly being revised.

A direct comparison to PayPal is unfair, because Checkout was a Cart (including coupons and shipping options), whereas PayPal is just a payment method.

I think that once G dropped the free processing offer, merchant interest drifted away. I'd be leery to support the new Wallet API's, because of G's track record of retiring projects they lose interest in.

bwnbwn

5:49 pm on May 22, 2013 (gmt 0)

Actually it worked very well for me when I owned an ecommerce buz. Really sorry to see it go I had as many google checkouts as I did amazon. Google would accept the shipping charges added in the cart I had to configure amazon nightmare shipping.

Roxster

6:49 pm on May 22, 2013 (gmt 0)

Google checkout was my least stable method of payment as a business.

As a customer I liked how easy it was to buy; until it declined a valid card, and then I was never allowed to use that card again. Much like the adwords system. 2-3 declined card charges and that card will never work again in google's system. I quit using google checkout a long time ago.

dkap

3:31 pm on May 29, 2013 (gmt 0)

Google Checkout has been the best payment processing option I've used. Much cheaper than my own authorize.net account (which I retired in favor of Checkout), and much better fraud screening and lower rates than PayPal. The transition (last year?) from Checkout to Wallet was seamless, as I recall. From the announcement, it appears I'll be able to continue using Google Wallet unchanged for digital goods. Fingers crossed.

Dan